The water cycle didactic unit
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Subject: Science Topic: Water Unit: The water cycle Grade: 5 th Primary school Age: 10-11 years old ABOUT THE PROJECT: There is exactly the same amount of water on earth now as there was when dinosaurs hung out at the local pond millions of years ago. Water keeps going around and around. It evaporates from rivers, lakes, and oceans. The vapor from this forms clouds in the sky, then it returns to earth again as rain or snow. This process is called "The Water Cycle" AIMS: - Understand that water on earth moves in a continuous cycle. - Explain how the Water Cycle works. - Be able to name and explain the stages of the water cycle, using the new vocabulary. LANGUAGE SKILLS: - Speaking: - Communicative interaction listing the words found in the texts. - Labelling the Water Cycle poster when the teacher is describing each process. - Reading the poem aloud, in groups, focusing on the right pronunciation and intonation. - Acting the poem by pairs. - Playing the game ‘Who wants to be millionaire?’ answering with the right answer. - Reading: - Reading the text in groups in order to find the words related to water. - Reading the Water cycle poem to act it the next day. - Reading the teacher’s instructions about the project ‘mini water cycle’. - Reading the questions from the power point of the game ‘Who wants to be millionaire?’ in order to understand them.
description
Unidad didáctica para 5º de primaria sobre el ciclo del agua en inglés
Transcript of The water cycle didactic unit
Subject: Science Topic: Water Unit: The water cycle Grade: 5th Primary school Age: 10-11 years old ABOUT THE PROJECT:
There is exactly the same amount of water on earth now as there was when dinosaurs hung out at the local pond millions of years ago. Water keeps going around and around. It evaporates from rivers, lakes, and oceans. The vapor from this forms clouds in the sky, then it returns to earth again as rain or snow. This process is called "The Water Cycle"
AIMS:
- Understand that water on earth moves in a continuous cycle. - Explain how the Water Cycle works. - Be able to name and explain the stages of the water cycle, using the new vocabulary.
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
- Speaking: - Communicative interaction listing the words found in the texts. - Labelling the Water Cycle poster when the teacher is describing each process. - Reading the poem aloud, in groups, focusing on the right pronunciation and intonation. - Acting the poem by pairs. - Playing the game ‘Who wants to be millionaire?’ answering with the right answer.
- Reading:
- Reading the text in groups in order to find the words related to water. - Reading the Water cycle poem to act it the next day. - Reading the teacher’s instructions about the project ‘mini water cycle’. - Reading the questions from the power point of the game ‘Who wants to be millionaire?’ in order to understand them.
- Writing: - Writing the words found in the text on their charts. - Filling in the gaps the Water Cycle Story about Randy the raindrop.
- Listening:
- Listening to the teacher when he/she is explaining the water cycle with the poster. - Listening to the teacher when he/she is doing the picture dictation. - Listening to the rest of the classmates when they are reading or acting the poem. - Listening to the teacher when he/she is giving the instructions to do the ‘mini Water Cycle’
NEW LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CONTENT: Communicative structures: Question and answer routines: What does ‘evaporation’ mean?, Condensation/Evaporation/… is when water cools down/falls/…, The correct answer is… Vocabulary: Specific vocabulary: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, gas, solid, rivers, oceans, vapour. Pronunciation: Evaporation [ɪvæpə'reɪʃən], Precipitation [prɪ'sɪpə'teɪʃən], Condensation ['kɑ:nden'seɪʃən]. Culture: (There is no culture)
ATTITUDES:
- Value the importance of water.
- Interest to know where we take water from.
- Recognise the water cycle and its importance.
CROSSCURRICULAR CONTENTS:
- The knowledge of a real process: the water cycle. - The use of real materials in order to simulate a mini water cycle (project) - Role the poem process. - The process that water undergoes as it moves through the environment.
- Identifying water's different states.
- Identifying and explain how each different state is formed.
DEVELOPMENT:
Unit: The Water Cycle
Day 1
Sequence 1
Objectives: Find words related with water, get the main idea from the text, interacting with all the class saying the words. Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation Where is water come from?
Activity 1 Mindmap and Reading a text Classroom language ‘What does (solid, water, lake, earth…) mean?’ ‘I don’t understand the word (solid)’
Provide children with some vocabulary
*Approach: Group work Time: 15’
Divide the class into two groups. Try to make the mindmap (exemple: http://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?a7efe8a420d246e6c0d3e32d9caca971) Then, give one text to every group. Children have to read the text and underline words related to water or its process. They try to understand the text. Answer questions about vocabulary.
Words related to water
Activity 2 Placing the words Classroom language ‘We have (water, rivers, vapour)’ ‘Can we say another one?’
Approach: The whole class Time: 5’
Children place the words in common and they list them on the blackboard.
Unit: The Water Cycle
Day 1
Sequence 2
Objectives: Understand the Water Cycle and its process, knowing the name of each process. Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation How the Water Cycle works
Activity 1 Label the descriptions Classroom language Expressing the descriptions like: ‘When water vapour gets cold and forms clouds it’s called condensation’
*Approach: The whole class
Time: 15’
The teacher shows a poster describing the water cycle, without key words. The teacher reads the descriptions and the pupils must label them.
Comprehension of the Water Cycle processes
Activity 2 Picture dictation Classroom language ‘Can you repeat, please?’
Approach: Individual Time: 10’
Give the children a worksheet with some pictures. The teacher gives some descriptions and the children have to guess which the picture is and also write the name of the process.
Unit: The Water Cycle
Day 2
Sequence 1
Objectives: Memorize and remember the Water Cycle process, reproduce the Water Cycle with a picture. Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation Reading and memorize a text
Activity 1 Reading a poem Classroom language
*Approach: Individual Time: 5’
Children have to read a poem about the water cycle in order to remember the process. And they have to memorize it at home. http://authspot.com/poetry/the-water-cycle-poem/
Reading aloud in groups
Activity 2 Reading aloud the poem Classroom language Language related with the poem: ‘This is when the water…’
Approach: In groups Time: 15’
The teacher divides the poem into 4 parts. The class is also divided into two groups. Every group will read two parts of the poem
Illustrate the Water Cycle
Activity 3 Illustrate the poem Classroom language ‘How can I draw evaporation/condensation?’ ‘Can I draw a lake?’
Approach: Individual Time: 10’
Children have to reproduce the poem by illustrating it in a picture.
Unit: The Water Cycle
Day 2
Sequence 2
Objectives: Be able to fill in the correct words in order to make sense to the story. Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation A raindrop’s life process
Activity 1 Randy raindrop story Classroom language ‘I don’t understand the meaning of raindrop/puddle…’
Provides children some paper with some vocabulary in order to understand the text better.
*Approach: Individual Time: 15’
The teacher gives the children Randy raindrop story. There are some gaps which have to be filled with some words provided at the end of the story.
Unit: The Water Cycle
Day 2
Sequence 3
Objectives: Understand the teacher’s instructions to bring the materials for doing the ‘miniature water cycle’ Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation ‘Mini water cycle instructions’
Activity 1 ‘Mini water cycle’ instructions Classroom language ‘I haven’t a plastic bowl/a ceramic mug? ‘What’s a rubber band/string?’ ‘Can I bring…?’
The teacher could give a paper with all the objects with a picture next to them, so the children will know what every object is.
Approach: The whole class
Time: 5’
The teacher gives the instructions for doing a ‘mini water cycle’. Listing the objects they need to bring next day of class (a large metal or plastic bowl, a pitcher or bucket, a sheet of clear plastic wrap, a dry ceramic mug (like a coffee mug), a long piece of string or large rubber band and water.
Unit: The Water Cycle
Day 3
Sequence 1
Objectives: Simulate the water process by acting the poem, make a real water cycle experience, check the student’s knowledge about the unit. Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation Experiencing the real water process
Activity 1 Role the poem Classroom language
*Approach: By pairs Time: 10’
Children have to act the poem they learnt in the previous days. By pair they have to role the poem by acting the water cycle process and telling it.
Simulate the water cycle process
Activity 2 Make the ‘mini water cycle’ Classroom language ‘Can you help me, please?’ ‘I can’t…’ ‘It works!’ ‘It doesn’t work!’
Approach: Individual Time: 20’
Children have to put the bowl in a sunny place outside, they have to use the pitcher or bucket, pour water into the bowl until it is about ¼ full. They have to place the mug in the center of the bowl. Then, students have to cover the top of the bowl tightly with the plastic wrap and tie the string around the bowl to hold the plastic wrap in place. At the end, the will watch the bowl to see what happens.
Check children knowledge
Activity 3 Play the game ‘Who wants to be millionaire?’
Classroom language ‘We know the answer!’
Provide children with the poster and the descriptions.
Approach: In groups Time: 20’
Divide the class into two groups. Then put the power point and begin the game, making questions about the water cycle process, giving different possible options. Let children to answer the questions, then correct them and let the other group say the correct answer. Give 100 points to every group for each correct answer. If one group doesn’t know the answer and the other group guess it, give to the winner group 200 extra points.
‘We don’t know the answer!’ ‘It’s wrong’ ‘It’s correct’ ‘We win!’ ‘We lost’
Observation: It would be a great idea to make a Glog with all the class, including some extra activities (power point presentation, songs, etc…) http://loscos.edu.glogster.com/the-water-cycle/ Also, introduce all the unit with it.
ASSESSMENT:
Before starting the unit:
- Presentation about water cycle: we use the mindmap about the water in order to know the previous knowledge about the topic.
During the unit:
- Producing a poem into a picture: they show what they have understood from this text.
- Direct observation, gathering the participation in all the different activities.
At the end of the unit:
- Making their own Water Cycle: they “produce” the Water Cycle with home materials.
- Game: ‘who wants to be millionaire?’: they play the game and show their knowledge about the contents.
MATERIALS:
- Schemes on the blackboard, a poster.
- Labels with the key words.
- 2 texts containing water cycle contents.
- A poem.
- ‘Miniature Water Cycle’ material: a large metal or plastic bowl., a pitcher or bucket, a sheet of clear plastic wrap, a dray ceramic mug, a long piece of string or large rubber band water.
Poster with descriptions
Labels
PRECIPITATION
CONDENSATION
EVAPORATION
COLLECTION
Text I and II
Poem
About the water cycle.
The Water Cycle is Unpredictable You don't know when they'll strike The water cycle happens in levels It is kind of human like The first stage is Evaporation This is when water vapour comes up Then comes up onto a mountain Where the sun will sit up Condensation This is when the water vapour cools down This becomes a stratus or a nimbus crown Precipitation comes after that This is when water falls to the ground The rain falls down in a simple format
‘Mini-water cycle’
REFERENCES:
Brewster, Jean. Ellis, Gail. & Girard, Denis. 2007. The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Penguin English Guides.
Civera, Isabel. & Murphy, S. Didàctica de la llengua anglesa (Methodology of English language teaching). Readings. 2008-2009.
