1 Engage/Explore 2 Explain 3 Extend/Evaluate Lesson

Active ReadingActive Reading

Where Does the Water Go?

The water cycle is the way water moves

from Earth’s surface into the air and back again.

The water cycle is another pattern. The water

cycle causes weather to change.

Explore the steps of the water cycle.

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A cause tells why something happens. What causes water to fall as precipitation? Draw one line under the cause.

The sun’s heat makes water evaporate, or change to a gas. The gas is pushed up and meets cooler air.

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2 Explain (continued)

Generate IdeasAsk a volunteer to read the heading aloud. Ask children to look at the pond and think about a puddle after a rainstorm. Repeat the question, and encourage discussion to brainstorm answers. Write the ideas on the board or chart paper and return to them later to confi rm or correct.

Develop Science Vocabulary

water cycle Point out that the term water cycle includes the word cycle. Draw a circle and explain that a cycle is like a circle; it goes around again and again with no beginning or end. Explain that the water cycle is how water moves from Earth’s surface into the air and back to the surface over and over.

evaporate, condense Point out that evaporate and condense are antonyms, or opposites. A liquid evaporates when it turns into a gas. A gas condenses when it turns into a liquid. Have children write “liquid ➞ gas” and “gas ➞ liquid” and correctly label each diagram with the vocabulary terms.

Interpret VisualsPoint out that the picture on these two pages is a diagram. Read the introduction, including the highlighted word. What is this diagram about? the water cycle

Direct children’s attention to the wavy lines above the water. Use the caption and highlighted word nearby to fi gure out what you see. What do the wavy lines represent, or show? The wavy lines show water evaporating.

Point out the big red arrows. Describe the arrows. They are curved and show movement from the land to the air and back to the land again. What do they show? They show the movement of water through the water cycle.

Differentiation — Leveled Questions

Extra SupportWhat happens when liquid water evaporates? It turns into a gas.

What happens when water vaporcondenses? It turns from a gas into a liquid.

ChallengeWhy is the water cycle important? Sample answer: It can bring rain, which waters plants and crops.

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1 Engage/Explore 2 Explain 3 Extend/Evaluate Lesson

Then the gas cools and condenses, or changes into tiny drops of water. The drops form clouds.

The water drops join to make bigger ones. The drops fall as precipitation.

The precipitation flows into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Then the water cycle starts again.

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How are condensation and precipitation connected to weather?

Gas condenses into drops of water. The drops

form clouds. The drops join and get bigger.

They fall as precipitation, or rain.

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Develop Science ConceptsWhy is the movement of water from Earth’s surface into the air and back again called a cycle? It is called a cycle because it is a pattern that repeats itself over and over again.

What makes liquid water evaporate? heat from the sun

What happens when the evaporated gas cools? It changes into tiny drops of water and then forms clouds.

Why does it rain? The tiny drops of water in the air get bigger and then fall as precipitation.

How are the water cycle and weather patterns the same? Both are repeating cycles that affect weather.

Active Reading CausePoint out that sometimes one thing happens because something else happens. Why something happens is the cause. To fi nd a cause, active readers ask themselves, “Why?” The answer will be the cause or reason why something happens.

Misconception Alert Children may think that the water cycle has a single starting point. Point out how the water fl ows around and that the cycle can start anywhere. Have children trace around the path from different starting points.

Remind children that precipitation does not just fall as rain—it can fall as snow, sleet, or hail.

Summarize IdeasHave children close their eyes and randomly point to a spot on the water cycle. Ask them to summarize orally or in writing the steps in the water cycle starting from that spot, paying special attention to the causes of each step. Discuss why children can start their summaries at different places.

Math Connection

Calculate Amount of Evaporation Have children solve this problem, using manipulatives or other models as needed:

You pour 15 cups of water into a bowl. You place it in a sunny location for a week. When you return, you measure that only

9 cups of water are left. How much of the water evaporated? (6 cups)

Challenge children to write their own evaporation word problems. They can then trade with a partner and solve each other’s word problem.

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