Springfield College

Lesson Plan Template

Teacher: Kaitlin Ames
Subject: Science
Title of Lesson: Putting together the water
cycle

Date: 1/26-1/29/2016
Grade Level: 3
Lesson Length: 4 days (2
hours)

Overview of the Lesson

Lesson Summary: In these lessons, students out together and review what
we learned about the water cycle.
Massachusetts Framework Standards: Earth and Space Science, Grades
3-5: The Water Cycle 10 Describe how water on earth cycles in different
forms and in different locations including underground and in the atmosphere.
11 Give examples of how the cycling of water, both in and out of the
atmosphere, has an impact on climate.

Lesson Objectives: The students will be able to explain in detail what

happens during each part of the water cycle. They will be able to
explain which parts of the water cycle have a liquid, solid, or a gas.
Materials/Equipment to be Used in Teaching the Lesson: Book to read
aloud, water cycle booklets, water cycle flipchart, KWL chart, water cycle
quizzes
Enduring Understandings:
Big Ideas: The students will understand that there are four different
parts in the water cycle and that each part involves either a liquid, a
gas, or a sold.

Concepts: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection, gas,

liquid, solid

Essential Questions: What happens during each part of the water cycle?
Content
Factual Content:
Vocabulary:
Tier 1: sun, water, rain, sleet, hail, snow, ponds, rivers, lakes, streams,
oceans, puddles

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Lesson Plan Template
Tier 2: liquid, solid, gas, explain
Tier 3: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection
Critical Thinking Skills (Reading, Writing, Speech, Listening)
The students will need to explain what happens during each part of the water
cycle.

Assessments (Performance Tasks/Tests/Quizzes Formative/Summative,

Informal/Formal)
Informal assessment practice quiz on the flipchart
Formal assessment water cycle quiz

Action/Instructional Procedures
Procedures: For each procedure, list the teacher or student actions (with accommodations and
modifications) as well as the anticipated amount of time it will take to accomplish each task.

Anticipatory Set: (hook) I will begin the lesson by calling the students to the rug where
we will read a story together. It is called All the Water in the World by George Lyon and
Katherine Tillotson. During the story, we will talk more about what happens during each
part of the water cycle as we get to it. I will ask them other questions as well during the
story. (15 mins)

While the students are still on the rug, I will show them a sample of the water cycle
booklet that I made, and I will explain to them how to make it on their own. The rest of
the lesson will be spent with them coloring their water cycle booklets. (15 mins)

Day 2: I will start off by asking a few students to name a part of the water cycle and
describe what happens during it. The rest of the lesson will be spent coloring their
booklets, cutting them out, and gluing them together. (30 mins)

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Lesson Plan Template

Day 3: I will tell the students that today we are going to finish making our books and
then read them together. I will give the students 10 minutes to finish working on their
books.

We will all sit on the rug and I will pull sticks and have a student read each page. I will
ask them if there is anything that they are confused about and answer any questions. (5
mins)

I will send the students back to their seats and bring their attention back to the smart
board where I will have slides ready for them. There will be 11 slides that ask them
different questions about the water cycle. For the first 4 slides, I will have them use their
white boards to write the correct multiple choice answer. I will tell them if they are right
and we will quickly go over the four problems. After that, they will put their white boards
away and I will randomly pulls sticks to have students answer the next 7 questions. If a
student guesses the wrong answer, we will talk about why it is wrong and then I will pick
another stick. I will tell them that tomorrow we will finish their KWL chart and take our
quiz. (15 mins)

Day 4: I will begin by telling the students that they have learned a lot about the water
cycle and that I feel confident that they will all do well on their quiz. I will tell them to
take out their KWL chart and we will fill in the L. I will give them a couple of minutes to
work independently and then I will put mine on the board and call on students to share
with the class what they learned. As they tell me things, I will write it on the board. This
will be another quick little review before their quiz. (15 mins)

The students will then put their KWL chart away. I will have the assistant of the day pass
out the privacy folders. I will explain what each part of the quiz is and then pass the
quizzes and word banks out. Each student will get a word bank. This will not only be
beneficial to my students on IEPs, but it will help all of the students. There will be some
words on the word bank that they will not use. (15 mins)

Homework/Extension Activities: None

Reflection on Lesson
a. The Lesson Plan: The lesson went very well and they really enjoyed all of the activities.
It had them doing many different things and they learned a lot of new information.
b. Teaching Skills: By assessing their tests, I realized that there were some things that I did
not cover as well as I thought. Most of them were confused about which stage of the
water cycle changed from a liquid to a gas and which part of the water cycle changed
from a gas to a liquid. I will have to review these questions during morning meeting to
ensure that they understand what happens and why.

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Lesson Plan Template
c. The Students: In the beginning, only a few students knew about the water cycle. In the
end, they could tell me each part and what happened during each part. They were very
into it and engaged the whole time.