2. The Incredible Journey.
(modified from Project Wet www.projectwet.org)
Lesson at a glance: Students will simulate the journey of a single water molecule.
Goal: Students will describe the movement of water within the water cycle and identify the state of water as it moves through the water cycle.
Oregon Content Standards:
Science
6.2 Interaction and Change: The related parts within a system interact and change.
6.2E.1 Explain the water cycle and the relationship to landforms and weather.
Ocean Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts
1. The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
1.f. The ocean is an integral part of the water cycle and is connected to all of the earth’s water reservoirs via evaporation and precipitation processes.
3. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.
3.a. The ocean controls weather and climate by dominating the Earth’s energy, water and carbon systems.
3.b. The ocean absorbs much of the solar radiation reaching Earth. The ocean loses heat by evaporation. This heat loss drives atmospheric circulation when, after it is released into the atmosphere as water vapor, it condenses and forms rain. Condensation of water evaporated from warm seas provides energy for hurricanes and cyclones.
3.d. Most rain that falls on land originally evaporated from the tropical ocean.
Materials:
- Water Cycle Image
- Incredible Journey Dice
- Incredible Journey Station Images
- Incredible Journey Log
- Pony Beads in 9 different colors
- Twine or pipe cleaners
Estimated Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Set-up: In a large space, spread the “Incredible Journey Station Images” out in a large circle. Place the appropriate “Incredible Journey Dice” at each station. If students are adding beads to twine while traveling to different stations, place a single color container of beads at each station.
Activity:
Engage (1 min): Create an image for your students by asking them to close their eyes and provide this or a similar description.
“You are about to embark on an incredible journey that spans the globe. You will constantly change as you move to new environments and places. You are one of the most important things on this Earth. You are a water molecule.”
Explore (30 min): Show the students the places that they will travel as a water molecule by showing them the different stations. Have the students walk around the stations and ask them to make a prediction as to where they will travel during their journey while completing the “Incredible Journey Log” predictions section.
Once the students have made a prediction, explain to them that they will now embark on their incredible journey. Explain that a water molecule does not get to decide where it travels through the water cycle and is moved around the earth by different conditions in different environments. Our activity will be a demonstration of this travel by visiting different stations where a dice will tell you where your Incredible Journey will take you next through the water cycle.
Explain to students that they will need to record their Incredible Journey as a water molecule in two ways. The first is to complete the “Incredible Journey Log” and the second is by creating a bracelet tracking their journey. Give each student a piece of twine large enough to eventually tie into a bracelet that has one colored bead tied on the end. Explain each station has a different colored bead and that the first bead on their bracelet is where they should begin. Use lots of different colors so students start at different stations.
After they have rolled the dice, they should go to or stay at the station the dice tells them. They should add a bead at each new station they arrive and/or add a bead marking every time they are asked to stay at a single station. Some stations will require them to stay repeatedly and they should have multiple beads of the same color on their bracelet marking the time they spent there during the water cycle. They should also document on their “Incredible Journey Log” every time they move to a new station and/or stay at the same station.
Variation: Have the students document their journey in the “Incredible Journey Log” and create a bracelet after they have completed their journey.
Have the students conduct the activity and allow them to continue until they appear to be getting bored or trying to “cheat” the dice by going to stations that are not accurate to get different colored beads on their bracelet. About 5-10 minutes seems to be adequate. Students will begin to notice that water molecules will stay in certain environments for greater lengths of time and that there is less water in certain parts of the water cycle.
Explain (10 min): Have the students describe their Incredible Journey through the water cycle using the vocabulary solid, liquid, gas, evaporation, condensation, precipitation and freezing in writing or verbally. There are terms for the direct transition from ice to gas, sublimation, plant to gas, transpiration, and other transitions of water through the water cycle but it is not necessary to stress these are not critical vocabulary at this level.
Clarify any misunderstandings that students may still have regarding states of matter and the basics of the water cycle and/or identify questions/claims/observations students are making that could continue into a further investigation. Write down claims that students are making from their personal voyage as a water molecule that would extend their understanding of water on the planet.
Elaborate (20 min): Have the students identify a claim they’ve made based on their observations that they could test.
Examples:
Observation: I stayed in the ocean a lot.
Claim: A water molecule can spend a long time in the ocean.
Investigation: Create a bar graph of the number of student water molecules that spent 1 “time” in the ocean, 2 continuous “times” in the ocean, 3 continuous “times” in the ocean. Create a graph of another station in the water cycle and compare.
Observation: I never went to plants.
Claim: Not much water on Earth is stored in plants.
Investigation: Create a pie chart of the number of “times” student water molecules visited each station and compare where the most water molecules could be found.
Evaluate (40 min): Have students create a play of the water molecule using their vocabulary.
Variation: Complete the “Elaborate” and “Evaluate” sections of the lesson or just the “Evaluate” section of the lesson on a second day.