The Water Cycle: A Repeating Pattern in Nature
| Name: |
Jose Rosario |
| School: |
PS 35 |
| Address: |
261 East 163rd St |
| City: |
Bronx, NY, 10451 |
| Original Project: |
The Water Cycle: A Repeating Pattern in Nature |
| Author: |
Ben Goldstein |
| URL: |
http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet-lab/goldstein/watercycle/index.htm |
How did you modify this unit for use in your own classroom?: The original project was designed for 3rd-4th grade students. Therefore, I had to make modifications for this second grade bi-lingual class. 1) The students were introduced to content-related terms in their first language and their second language. 2) Students created the water cycle using arts and crafts materials instead of a PowerPoint presentation. 3) Students created a simple circuit computer to evaluate their performance.
List your primary instructional objectives for your students.
| |
The students will have to describe how water and land interact with each other. |
| |
The students will have to describe how energy, in the form of light and heat, helps water transform from one stage to another. |
| |
The students will have to identify evidence of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation throughout our planet. |
| |
The students will learn both English and Spanish appropriate terms to enrich their vocabulary. |
What role did technology play in this curriculum unit?: Students created simple-circuit computers. These web sites were visited to find ideas about science projects http://isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/steps.html http://superchicos.net/pasosparahacertuproyecto.htm Digital photos were taken
How did you assess and evaluate student performance?: 1) Students had to use the appropriate vocabulary to describe the water cycle. 2) Students had to explain the role of water in the development of the landforms and the bodies of water. 3) Students created simple computers to evaluate their performance. They had to match their content related vocabulary to its meaning/description. The simple computers were also used to transfer their knowledge in their first language to their second language.
Please tell us briefly about your background & teaching experience: Mr. Rosario teaches both monolingual and bilingual classes. He loves to provide his students hands on experiences. These experiences help both bilingual students and monolingual students’ language development. They also help students develop critical thinking skills. My educational background includes a Bachelor's Degree in Education and a M.S in Bilingual Education.
What are your recommendations for other teachers interested in adapting this unit?: Take a holistic approach. Guide students to understand that some phenomena are not isolated and that they help form part of the whole. Expose them to as many activities as possible, always stressing their interconnections. Providing second language learners visual aids is important for their second language development.
Samples of Student Projects
| |
Visual representation of the water cycle: Students used construction paper, cotton, aluminum foil, and index cards to show and describe the water cycle process. A summary of what was learned was done in their second language. |
| |
 |
| |
RosarioSample1.pdf |
| |
Students used a variety of art and crafts materials (yarn, modeling clay, construction paper, etc…) to create a model of landforms and bodies of water. |
| |
|
| |
RosarioSample2.pdf |
| |
Students constructed a simple circuit computer to self-evaluate their performance. They used wires, batteries, light bulbs, paint and oak tag to make their computer. |
| |
|
| |
RosarioSample3.pdf |
|
