Overview
This lesson breaks down the hydrologic (water) cycle and the science of how water travels through our ecosystem. Students will specifically look at the path water travels to get to their homes for daily use and back out as it goes down their drains.
Grade Level
8th-12th Grades
Essential questions the lesson will address:
● How is water transformed as it travels through the ecosystem?
● What is the path of water in our community?
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
● Understand how water travels through an ecosystem.
● Understand how water travels through their community.
Common Core State Standards (9th Grade)
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.4
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.5
Water Warriors Glossary and Concepts
● Ecosystem: the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit (Merriam-Webster)
● Evaporation: change from a liquid to a vapor (Merriam-Webster)
● Condensation: the conversion of a substance (such as water) from the vapor state to a denser liquid or solid state usually initiated by a reduction in temperature of the vapor (Merriam-Webster)
● Transpiration: the passage of watery vapor from a living body (as of a plant) through a membrane or pores (Merriam-Webster)
● Precipitation: water that falls to the ground as rain, snow, etc. (Merriam-Webster)
● Runoff: the portion of precipitation on land that ultimately reaches streams often with dissolved or suspended material (Merriam-Webster)
● Groundwater: water within the earth especially that supplies wells and springs (Merriam-Webster)
● Surface water: natural water that has not penetrated much below the surface of the ground (Merriam-Webster)
● Infiltration: to cause (something, such as a liquid) to permeate something by penetrating its pores or interstices (Merriam-Webster)
● Residence time: the duration of persistence of a mass or substance in a medium or place (such as the atmosphere) (Merriam-Webster)
● Reservoir: a place where something is kept in store: such as a: an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use; b: a part of an apparatus in which a liquid is held (Merriam-Webster)
● Water cycle: the sequence of conditions through which water passes from vapor in the atmosphere through precipitation upon land or water surfaces and ultimately back into the atmosphere as a result of evaporation and transpiration (Merriam-Webster)
International Document Reference
● Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Article 25
● UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP): Article 29
Formative Assessment Strategies (What will you be looking for in their work, and how?)
The teacher can make note of:
● Student engagement in the journaling activity and following discussion.
● Individual and whole-class participation and discussion about the Hydraulic Cycle Terminology and Diagram handouts.
● Partner collaboration in the Path of Water discussion.
Materials for Instructor
● Whiteboard, Blackboard, SmartBoard, or Flip Chart
● Water Warriors Glossary Board (Physical or Virtual)
● Projector and Screen
● Urban Water Cycle worksheet to project
● Hydrologic Cycle Terminology Answer Key
Materials for Students
● Hydrologic Cycle Terminology Handout
● Hydrologic Cycle Diagram Handout
● Water Journal
LESSON PLAN
I. Discussion (15 min.)
Begin the lesson by writing this phrase somewhere it will be visible to all students: “ I am a drop of water falling from the sky...”
Have students copy the phrase in their journals and allow them to write for 5 minutes, thinking about how water travels through our environment. After silent reflection, select students to share their responses.
After students share, ask them to think about some of the means by which water traveled and/or changed during the course of its path. Encourage them to think about where the water comes from. Ask students to consider how old the water is that is on the earth today.
Tell students that the water on the earth today is several billion years old. Ask them to think and share how this is possible. Inform them that this water is recycled over and over through the hydrologic cycle.
II. Hydrologic Cycle (20 min.)
Step One. (7 min.)
Distribute a copy of the Hydrologic Cycle Terminology handout to each student. Give students 5 minutes to complete this independently and then review the answers as a class.
Step Two. (6 min.)
Provide students with a copy of the Hydrologic Cycle Diagram handout and have them fill in the terms from the worksheet at the proper locations on the cycle. For example, they should label the clouds as “condensation.” Give students 5 minutes to complete this independently and then review the answers as a class.
Step Three. (7 min.)
After students finish labeling the cycle, direct student attention to the chart of residence times on the Hydrologic Terminology handout. Define “residence time” as the average length of time that a water molecule will remain in a reservoir (a body of water).
Considering residence times, ask students which parts of the water cycle they think might be the “cleansing” phases. Ask them where water has the most opportunity to be recycled and renewed. Ask them to consider where in the water cycle we can have the most impact on water quality if there is such a place.
III. Path of Water in Our Community (10 min.)
Ask students if the hydrologic cycle happens where they live. Ask them how the “urban” water cycle might differ from the diagram of the hydrologic cycle they worked with in the previous section of the lesson.
Instruct students to get into pairs and work together to add “urban” components to their diagram. Prompt students to discuss the following questions with their partner:
● Where is your water from?
● How is water managed before it comes out of your tap?
● How does it get to your house?
● What happens to water before it comes out of your tap?
● What happens to water after it goes down the drain?
Have some of the pairs share their responses with the whole class.
IV. Reflection (5 min.)
Project the Urban Water Cycle Diagram for all students to see. While reviewing the image, students should add the following components to their diagrams:
Rain, watersheds, reservoirs
Streams and rivers
Reservoir for water storage
Water treatment facility
Pipes/Tunnels to transport water
Scientist Testing
Storage facilities such as water tanks
Water use at home
Sewer pipes to bring wastewater to a treatment facility
Wastewater treatment facility
Pipes to outlets such as rivers or oceans
Ask students to reflect and share if they learned something new or if something surprised them.
V. Homework
Have students write a short narrative in their Water Journal, beginning with the short phrase from the start of class: “I am a drop of water falling out of the sky…”
After they learned more about the water cycle, encourage them to detail how the water droplet travels through their community to get to their house and how it leaves again using the key terms from the terminology worksheet. Ask them to also think about ways the water can be recycled or reused.
Note for Teacher:
Hydrologic Cycle Activity
● Cleansing phases of the water cycle are points of evaporation as most contaminants are left behind in this process. Infiltration can also be a cleansing process as some contaminants will have a stronger attraction for soil particles and will therefore be removed from the water.
● There is no “right or wrong” answer for where we have the greatest impact on water quality. The intent is to have students understand that humans can have an impact at any point in the cycle.