The
Water Cycle
Related Resources
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The
Water Cycle |
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Web Links
Have your students visit Quiz Star and take the Science for Ohio Online Water Cycle Quiz. Once at Quiz Star:
Click here to print a student version of the above steps that can be affixed to your classroom/lab computer(s). Click here to download a quiz results page (MS Word) that can be modified for all Quiz Star quizzes.
Protecting Your Environment: An Interactive CD-ROM (Selected for a 2001 Award of Excellence by the Environmental Education Council of Ohio) highlights steps that students, citizens and policy makers can take to reduce environmental health risks. Includes downloadable photos, video clips, and interactive windows to illustrate risks such as indoor air quality, motor vehicle pollution, ozone depletion, drinking water, abandoned industrial sites, destruction of wetlands, loss of species diversity, food toxins, and waste disposal. Ohio EPA will provide a single copy at no charge to teachers and environmental educators as long as supplies last.
The Invisibility of Water is a PBS Point of View weblink which offers the following introduction: "Water flows through our lives every day. But as long as our showers run and our toilets flush, we don't ask too many questions. Water becomes invisible, whether it's the expensive stuff in our bottles, or the polluted stuff under our bridges." An excellent link to promote classroom discussion for upper elementary and middle school classrooms.
BrainPOP.com, an award-winning site, offers original animated movies that answer kids' questions about health, science, and technology. The site provides an interactive quiz while movies load. To visit the site and watch their two minute Water Cycle movie, click on the icon above. Note: This is a subscription site, but selected movies are available without a subscription.
Science Court has a water cycle song as well as other science songs. Click on the icon above.
Bell LIVE! has an online game that illustrates the concept of watershed. It's a great way to illustrate what happens when water cycles. Click on the icon above.
Iowa State University offers FREE downloadable software about the water cycle. Click on the icon above.
Land and Water
adapted by Scott Hudson
The Greater Cincinnati Water Works has a variety of water related information including FREE resources through their Teacher Resources Center link. The Story of Our Drinking Water is an educational booklet with learning activities on the water cycle, treatment and distribution. Suitable for grades 4-6 but can be adapted for other groups. Multiple copies (up to 40) are available for the classroom. The Water Cycle (poster), developed by the American Water Works Association, is suitable for grades 4-10, but can be adapted for other groups. One copy per classroom, please. You can also obtain Drinking Water Activities for Students, Teachers, and Parents, Document No. EPA-80-B-99-002, by calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791). Click on the icon above. You can also view The Story of Drinking Water online (courtesy of the American Water Works Association).
The Water Water Everywhere Puppet Show is one of dozens of puppet shows you will find in Hands-On Nature: Information and Activities for Exploring the Environment with Children by The Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Assign a small group of students to create props and conduct this puppet show for the class. Click on the icon above to download this puppet show.
On Tap Magazine, courtesy of the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse, offers a webpage with helpful water information and tips for teachers about teaching water concepts. |
Books
A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry tells the inspiring story of the polluting of Massachusetts and New Hampshire's Nashua River through to its restoration, brought about by a determined local woman. ISBN 0-15-200542-0
The Water Cycle by Trudi Strain Trueit is an excellent read aloud or classroom reference book. The text is comprehensive, yet easy-to-understand. Ms. Strain Trueit is an award-winning television news reporter. She has forecasted weather for KREM (CBS) TV in Spokane, Washington, and KAPP TV (ABC) in Yakima. She has traveled to schools thoughout the Pacific Northwest to share the world of weather with elementary and middle-school students. ISBN 0-531-11972-6
Re-Cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross takes readers on a visual journey to discover the life cycle of a tree, the water cycle, and the soil decomposition (compost) cycle. These three stories can be read individually or together to stress the theme of cycles. An excellent read aloud for the elementary classroom. ISBN 0-7613-1818-6
Water Dance by Thomas Locker is a beautiful picture book with an unusual introduction to the water cycle. Using free-verse narrative and full page paintings, the book follows water through various forms. "I am rain," "I am lake," "I am clouds." The book concludes with four pages of each painting in miniature accompanied by text explaining that form of water or that phase in the water cycle. A wonderful integration of literature (poetry) and the water cycle. An excellent read aloud book. ISBN 0-15-201284-2
The Drop In My Drink: The Story of Water On Our Planet by Meredith Hooper and Chris Coady combines water and earth history nicely to give students a perspective of the lasting nature of the water from our faucet that we often take for granted. ISBN 0-670-87618-6
Where the River Begins by Thomas Locker uses vivid paintings and engaging text to take readers on a boy's journey with his grandfather. Together they discover the source of the river near their home as well as the value of their own relationship. A wonderful read-aloud or student shelf book for the elementary classroom. ISBN 0-8037-0090-3
The Water's Journey by Eleonore Schmid uses majestic paintings and simple poetic text to take readers on a journey from melting mountain snow to the ocean. A nice read-aloud for the elementary classroom. ISBN 1-55858-013-1
River Story by Meredith Hooper uses iridescent watercolors and lyrical text to tell the story of a river's journey from mountain to sea. A good student shelf book for the elementary classroom. ISBN 0-7636-0792-4
Where Does Water Come From? by C. Vance Cast uses colorful drawings and easy-to-understand text to tell the story of the water cycle. Includes human components of the water cycle such as the water treatment and water purification processes. ISBN 0-8120-4642-0
Water, Water Everywhere: A Book About the Water Cycle by Melvin and Gilda Berger describes evaporation, condensation, and the various forms of precipitation by which we obtain fresh water. It includes information about how water gets to your home and what happens to sewage. ISBN 1-57102-056
The Trip of a Drip by Vicki Cobb answers questions such as, "Where does water come from? How is it made clean? Where does it go when you pull the plug or flush the toilet?" The answers to these questions and many others are contained in this informative book. An excellent classroom reference book. ISBN 0-316-14900-4
A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Walter Wick, photographer of Scholastic's I Spy series, teaches readers about evaporation, condensation, snowflakes, how clouds form, and much more. The book's intriguing photographs offer inspiration to read the text to learn more. ISBN 0-590-22197-3
The Handy Weather Answer Book by Walter A. Lyons, Ph.D. includes hundreds of concise answers to questions related to the weather. ISBN 1-57859-054
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema is a wonderful rhymed retelling of a folk tale that has been passed down by the Nandi peoples of Kenya, Africa for generations. In the story, Ki-pat, and animal herder comes up with an ingenious way to bring the rain to his thirsty animals. A wonderful multicultural addition for your classroom. Special thanks to Mary Snellgrove, a second grade teacher at Lockland Elementary, for recommending this book. ISBN 0-8037-0807-6
Who Keeps the Water Clean, Mrs. Schindler! by Jill Duvall profiles Mrs. Schindler, a wastewater treatment employee, and the jobs that keep our water safe. An easy-read book. ISBN 0-516-20315-0
The Water Hole by Graehme Base uses simple text and wonderful illustrations to tell the story of animals around the world in their common search for water. Recommended as a read-aloud for primary classrooms after playing How Does Water Cycle on the Earth? (See Related Resources.) ISBN 0-8109-4568-1
Biosphere 2000, Third Edition by Don Kaufman and Cecilia Franz has a chapter entitled Water Resources which provides extensive information as well as detailed diagrams illustrating the human role in the water cycle. ISBN 0-7872-5713-3
Enviromath:Activities to Stimulate Interest, Integration, and Inquiry in Grades K-8 by Bobbie S. Oh is a wonderful teacher resource for connecting math and science. It contains 25 inquiries including Water You Know About Water an inquiry for grades 6-8. ISBN 0-7872-3950-X
Bottle Biology by Mrill Ingram
and Amy Kelley
1001 Questions Answered About the Weather by Frank H. Forrester is a comprehensive resource that provides readers with fascinating answers to weather questions. ISBN 0-486-24218-8
Hands-On Nature: Information and Activities for Exploring the Environment with Children by The Vermont Institute of Natural Science is a wonderful teacher resource which contains hundreds of activities including outdoor investigations, puppet shows, and more. It is a great life science resource for the elementary classroom. Copies can be ordered at 1-800-421-1561. ISBN 1-58465-078-8
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