Purpose: |
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To dramatically teach students
about the water (hydrologic) cycle. |
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Background: |
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(This information was
taken from Taken from STOP, LOOK, and LEARN About Our Natural World, Volume 2
by the Nebraska Natural Resource Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska. November 1988.) |
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Water doesn't disappear with our use of it in irrigation,
manufacturing or consumption. The water we have now is the water we had at
the beginning of time. Water forms, dissipates, and forms again in a cycle
called the hydrologic or water cycle.
The water cycle is a gigantic circulation system operating over the earth's land
and oceans in the atmosphere surrounding the earth. Being a cycle, there is no
beginning or ending but for illustration, let's begin with the waters of the oceans,
which cover about three-fourths of the earth.
Water from the surface of the ocean evaporates into the atmosphere. That
moisture in turn is lifted, eventually is condensed, and falls back to the earth's
surface as precipitation.
Precipitation that falls as rain, hail, dew, snow, or sleet is important to
people and agriculture. After wetting the foliage and ground, some of the
precipitation runs off into streams and other waterways. This is the water
that often causes erosion and is the main contributor to floods. Not all of the
precipitation runs off. Some soaks into the ground and is available for
evaporation. Some of it reaches the deeper zones and slowly percolates
(infiltration) through to springs and seeps to maintain and replenish them during
dry periods. The streams eventually lead back to the oceans, where the water
is again evaporated into the atmosphere. |
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Materials: |
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notecards (I used 5 x 8 inch cards) - one for each student - OR -
use master of "cards" at end of activity -
one sheet per student |
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Procedure: |
- List one hydrologic cycle element per card
(it doesn't matter that there may be an uneven amount of each element).
Suggested elements: PRECIPITATION (or rain), EVAPORATION, RUNOFF, INFILTRATION,
CONDENSATION (or clouds), STREAMS, SOLAR ENERGY (or sun), TRANSPIRATION.
- OR -
Have the students color the "cards" and cut
them out. Put all the colored cards into a bag or box.
- Allow each student to blindly pick a card.
- The students are to "act out" or pantomime
the word on the card. Without talking to anyone, they are to group themselves
with other like actions. Then, when everyone has found a group, they tell
the teacher what they are or are doing.
- Have the students choose a leader from each
group. The leaders from each group will then dramatize the entire hydrologic
cycle. Hints: 1) the hydrologic cycle is not linear, so the
students should not be standing in a line, 2) the hydrologic cycle in not 2
dimensional, encourage up and down variations, and 3) there is no proper beginning
or ending - it is a cycle.
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Extension: |
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Have each group draw their hydrologic cycle element on a large sheet
of butcher paper. Fill in with homes, school, mountains, highways, industries,
construction sites, etc., and discuss how each area affects the hydrologic cycle. |
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension
work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, James A. Christenson, Director,
Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, The University of
Arizona. The University of Arizona
College of Agriculture is an Equal Opportunity employer, authorized
to provide research, educational information, and other services only
to individuals and institutions that function without regard to sex,
race, religion, color, national origin, age, Viet Nam Era Veteran's
status, or disability.
For problems or questions regarding this web contact Dr.
Kitt Farrell-Poe.
This
document was last modified:
31-Aug-2005
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