Lesson+6

Lesson #6

Creating Your Own Water Cycle Project In this lesson we will learn about the water cycle using several readings in class and an enhanced reading through a powerpoint that I will embed to this lesson page. After we have learned about the water cycle, we will take that knowledge and create a display of your choice that shows in detail the water cycle and it's phases.

The Assignment: ﻿The students will first complete a series of readings in class. The first three will be from books and scholastic magazines and the last one will be from the powerpoint that I have created and embedded on this lesson page. After the students have completed the readings and taken the knowledge check at the end the powerpoint, they will begin to work on their water sysle projects. Each student will create a display that details the water cycle. The display can be a powerpoint presentation, a online book, a 3D model or computer model, a music piece, or any other type of display or presentation that demonstrates they have a clear understanding of the water cycle and it's phases. The students can use any of the past presentations or project ideas from other lessons in this Unit, the only requirement is that the students utilize one aspect of technology instead of the standard poster board. I want the students to be able to choose what works best for them and something that they are comfortable with. Before they begin this process I will show them some examples from my last few classes. The guidelines for this project are that each student covers Evaporation, Condensation, Clouds, Precipitation, and Runoff or Groundwater. Within that the student should be able to tell me through their presentation where Rivers, Streams, Lakes, Oceans, and the Sun have to do with the Water Cycle. When their projects are completed the students will present them to the class in a relaxed environment. The student will only be graded on their work in the project and not on the overall presentation aspect. The presentation aspect is just so that I can see the student has learned from this lesson. Any projects that use technology will be posted to the class website and all other projects will be displayed in the classroom for the remainder of the Unit.

The Materials : You will need, a computer, the internet, access to the class website, the reading materials from class, the project worksheet to aid in creation and completion, a critically thinking mind, and a Great Attitude to complete this lesson.

The Technological Aspects:  The students will be able to demonstrate their skills in reading and comprehension when using a technology as the resource. The students will also use the enhanced reading to gain further insight to the water cycle with less actual reading and more evaluation through the pictures using their background knowledge and previous class readings. The students will also be able to elaborate on their knowledge and skills with using different types of technology. In this lesson specifically the students will be able to focus on something technological that they enjoy working with to better develop that skill for use in later life.

My Evaluation of the Lesson After it has Been Completed : This project was a great way to allow the students to branch out and be creative with their creation and use of technology. Over time I might even want to expand this type of a project to include other areas within the Unit so that the students can be even more creative and not restricted to only the Water Cycle. Overall I thought the students were very proud of their work and excited to share their creations with me and the class. I might want to include more brainstorming time for the students when creating the actual project. The technology can be tedious.

My Concerns: I am concerned as for the students that might not have access to the internet at home. They might need more time in class to develop their projects than other students with access to computers at home. Also the students that have a hard time reading or staying still might get distracted by all the other fun activities that are present and available through the internet. I am concerned that some student might get overwhelmed with the amount of choices they have when looking at which technology to choose as their medium. For the next time I do this lesson I might only allow for students to choose from a group of 10 technologies that we have worked with, while allowing students who want to use a different type not in the list of 10 only if they have previous experience with the medium.

Here is the embedded powerpoint. If you are having a hard time clicking the action buttons or answering the knowledge check questions I have included the file to better access the enhanced reading.

media type="custom" key="8905156"

