Heather Ferris

Science 225
Professor Callahan
GCC in the Classroom
October 29, 2015

GCC in the Classroom: Constructing a Scientific Model of the Water Systems

Grade Level:
7th Grade

GLEC- Science:
E.ES.07.11 Demonstrate, using a model or drawing, the relationship between the warming by
the sun of the Earth and the water cycle as it applies to the atmosphere (evaporation, water
vapor, warm air rising, cooling, condensation, clouds).

In this standard the child is responsible for making the connection that the sun is the major
source of energy for the earth. Also the child will need to understand that how the warming of
the earth by the sun relates to weather, climate, seasons, and the water cycle. And last but not
least the child be able to understand how the use of natural resources affects the earths
environment.

GLEC- Visual Arts:

ART.VA.II.7.2 Develop and apply critical thinking strategies through the art making process at
an emerging level.

In this standard the child will challenge their mind in critical thinking about different strategies
through their process of art making.

Activity:
Construct a Scientific model of the water systems.

Materials Needed:
Samples of Earth materials (gravel, sand, soil, etc.)
Clear plastic cups
Filter paper (coffee filters)
Plastic beaker or syringe (100 ml capacity)
Balance or scale
Stopwatch (optional but helpful)
Goggles for eye protection
Description of Activity:

In this activity, each student will collect their different earth materials, put each one in its own
plastic cup which is lined with the coffee filter, and then they will label them accordingly. This
activity is to address two related learning goals: (1) some earth materials absorb more water
than others and (2) water flows more easily through some earth materials than others.

In order to explore these concepts students will use the graduated cylinder or syringe to add
similar volume of water to each sample of their various earth materials. They will observe how
the water moves downward through the different samples and measure the mass of each
sample, before and after adding the water. Students will record both quantitative and
qualitative observations on worksheets given by the teacher.

Once the students share their observations and recording with the class as a whole, they will be
responsible for constructing their own model of the water cycle and be able to describe it in
detail of where the water goes and how much water goes to each area.

After each student makes their own representation of the water cycle, we will come together
as a class and construct one big representation of the water cycle to hang up in the room as
future reference.

Description of integrating in the classroom:

I will use this activity in my classroom to combine both science and art. They will construct a
piece that clearly shows the water cycle and explain how much water goes to each place. In
order to get an accurate picture to draw, they need to actually construct the scientific activity
and observations of the earths different materials and how water is absorbed into each one
differently.

I will incorporate Global Climate Change into this lesson because climate change can be
affected by a lot of things, including water and the water cycle. In this case I will explain to the
children that the temperature of the water has a huge impact on the global climate. The
warmer the water, the dryer the land surface are in some areas. Also when the atmosphere
becomes warmer, evaporation rates will start to increase. As well as the result of higher water
vapor leads to intense precipitation. I will show them these things by explaining them in our big
picture of the water cycle that we constructed together as a class.