Summary
1. Students learn how much water we use daily and that our water comes from lakes.
2. Students discuss how we rely on rainfall to fill these lakes and review the water cycle.
3. Students observe the results of an evaporation experiment, started 2 days before the lesson, and discuss the role of oceans in the water cycle.
4. Students watch a video to learn about drought in Texas and listen to a recording to learn the difference between weather and climate.
5. Students reflect on how droughts affect our water supply and the need to conserve water.
Supported TEKS (paraphrased)
-S.5.1.A – Ask questions and define problems based on observations or information from text, phenomena, models, or investigations;
-S.5.1.G – Develop and use models to represent phenomena, objects, and processes or design a prototype for a solution to a problem.
-S.5.3 – Develop evidence-based explanations and communicates findings, conclusions, and proposed solutions
-S.5.8.A – Describe how energy transformations occur in systems, such as sunlight driving evaporation in the water cycle.
-S.5.10.A – Explain how the Sun and oceans interact to drive the water cycle and affect weather.
-S.5.11.A – Design solutions to minimize environmental impact through conservation and recycling.
-S.5.12.A – Describe how organisms survive by interacting with biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems.
