Lesson Plan Five
Lesson Plan Five - Water on Earth
I. LESSON DATA:
A. TEACHER CANDIDATE’S NAME: Michelle Rutan
B. SUBJECT AREA: Science
C: GRADE (PK-12): 5th
D: LESSON TOPIC: How can you make layers of water float on each other?
E: UNIT TITLE: Water on Earth
F: DURATION OF LESSON: 20 minutes
G: NYS STANDARDS:
STANDARD 1—Analysis, Inquiry, and Design:
Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design,
as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
Key Idea 1:
The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural
phenomena in a continuing, creative process.
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.1i
Approximately 70 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by a relatively thin layer of
water, which responds to the gravitational attraction of the moon and the Sun with
a daily cycle of high and low tides.
H. MATERIALS:
graduated cylinder; clear plastic cups; table salt; plastic spoon;
food coloring; dropper; room-temperature, very warm & very cold water;
containers; metric ruler, handout and crayons
I. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
Suppose you weigh a spoonful of water from each layer. Which would be the
heaviest? The lightest? Will the layers of water mix, explain?
II. INSTRUCTIONAL DATA:
-
Students will be able to decide if the properties of materials, density and volume can be compared and measured by using a ruler.
-
Student will know that by mixing the effects of salt and temperature together will generate different densities.
-
ASSESSMENT PLAN: Informal and formal Assessment –
-
Have students discuss how observations and experiences helped them understand the weight of equal volumes of water from each layer. Check their handout to see how they answered questions: Suppose you weigh a spoonful of water from each layer. Which would be the heaviest? The lightest? Will the layers of water mix? Is it easier to stay a float in fresh water or salt water? Check students before and after sketches of what they think the final order of colored liquid layers will be.
III. INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS:
A. Opening/Anticipatory Set:
Intro Joke: What can run but not walk? Water!
Ask them for background knowledge about salt water by asking if any of them
has ever swam in the ocean. Was it easier to float?
I will begin my lesson with a science experiment having students explore “How
can you make layers of water float on each other?” I will ask them to sketch what
they think the final order of colored liquid layers will be.
B. Main Body/Procedure:
-
- Have students discuss how observations and experiences helped them infer the weight of equal volumes of water from each layer. In this activity, students use water at different temperatures and salt concentrations to explore the layering effect of liquids with different densities.
-
Skills – Following directions in a sequence, measuring with metric ruler, and understand the sequences in science.
-
Questioning Techniques - Is it easier to stay afloat in fresh water or salt water?
Will the layers of water mix together?
Teacher/student Talk - Discuss the concepts of floating and sinking.
Objects float depending on their density compared to water; for an object to float its density needs to be less than that of water. Objects float better in salt water (density of salt water is greater than that of pure water).
Teacher Guided Practice – Review materials needed for the experiment: A graduated cylinder; clear plastic cups; table salt; plastic spoon; food coloring; dropper; room-temperature, very warm & very cold water; containers; metric ruler. Have students share jobs in their groups. Have three students from each group, come up and get the three different temperatures of water measuring 30ml into each of their plastic cups. Have student with room temperature water add a few drops of blue food coloring and then go back to their group and have someone else add ½ spoonful of salt to their cup and stir. Now have the person with the warm water add a few drops of red food coloring to their cup. Next have the person who measured the cold water return to their group and have someone else add the 2 spoonfuls of salt to their cup and stir. I will ask them to sketch what they think the final order of colored liquid layers will be. Students will answer the question Will the layers of water mix together? Now have a new person from the group use the dropper to gently add drops of the blue water to the cup with clear water. Have another student measure the blue layer so when they reach about 4 mm tall they stop the droplets. Now have another student add red water to make a 4 mm layer on top of the blue layer, having another student measure until the red water reaches 4 mm. Now students will sketch what the final order of colored liquid layers look like and compare their drawings. Did the students answer the question correctly “Will the layers of water mix together?”
-
Reinforcement/Student Practice - Based on what students observed, they can make an inference about the weights of equal volumes of the water from each layer.
-
– None used in lesson
C. Closure/Ending:
Did this science experiment help you infer the weight of equal volumes of
water from each layer? Did you identify relevant supporting details and facts to
support your findings?
D. Accommodations/Adaptations for Diverse Learners:
Providing one-on-one assistance to a student if they are having difficulty
reading or understanding directions. Take existing materials and simplify or
supplemented for them.
Read more on TeacherVision: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/special- education/resource/5347.html#ixzz1Dy4nCxuN
IV: OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS:
A. All Components Of The Lesson Are Connected To The Objectives:
The lesson plan is effective and can be implemented in a classroom. I feel
the hands on experiments are very engaging for students. The lesson is laid
out very clearly so students can understand how the experiment works. The
sequence of steps preformed in the experiment leads students into the video
where the water cycle begins its sequence. Explaining to students that lesson
understanding the sequence in which things happen is important in science.
This was created for fifth grade students according to New York State
standards.
B. Culturally Responsive Teaching:
This lesson plan respects the cultures and experiences of various groups. This lesson will not offend any race or group in anyway. All students will be treated equally, fair, and with respect.
V: REFLECTION
How can I make this lesson better? Where all students engaged and having fun?
Did my students like the way the experiment was presented? Do they really understand how water can float on itself?
Science Activity
EDU 502 - Methods of Teaching: Math, Science, and Technology
Renee Sturm
Making fresh water with the help of the sun!
Michelle Rutan
Grade: 5
Number of Students: 24 broken into four groups
Time Frame: 20 minute setup with a 5 minute check for a week
Objective:
Fresh water is vital to our survival. The body needs it every day to stay healthy. What would you do if you were surrounded by salt water without fresh water to drink?
How do we make salt water safe to consume?
Students will distill (to purify a liquid by heat and condensation) salt water so that it is safe to drink.
New York State Standards:
Standard 1 Analysis, Inquiry, and Design Scientific Inquiry: Key Idea 2:
S2.2 Develop, present, and defend formal research proposals for testing their own
explanations of common phenomena, including ways of obtaining needed observations
and ways of conducting simple controlled experiments.
S2.2a include appropriate safety procedures
S2.2b design scientific investigations (e.g., observing, describing, and comparing;
collecting samples; seeking more information, conducting a controlled
experiment; discovering new objects or phenomena; making models)
S2.2c design a simple controlled experiment
S2.2d identify independent variables (manipulated), dependent variables
(responding), and constants in a simple controlled experiment
Materials:
-
4 Large bowls
-
4 Short glasses or cups
-
Tape for 4 groups
-
Plastic Wrap enough for 4 groups
-
4 Small rocks
-
Picture of water enough for 4 groups
-
Salt enough for 4 groups
-
4 Long spoons for stirring
For each group of students provide the following:
-
Large bowl
-
Short glass or cup
-
Tape
-
Plastic Wrap
-
Small rock
-
Picture of water
-
Salt
-
Long spoon for stirring
Procedures:
-
First make salt water by adding some salt to your water. Stir until the salt dissolves.
-
Pour about 2 inches of water into your bowl.
-
Take your empty glass and put it into the center of the bowl. The top of the glass should be shorter than the bowl but higher than the salt water.
-
Put plastic wrap over the bowl. You may need to use tape to get the plastic wrap to seal tight.
-
Place your rock over the center of your glass so that it weighs down the plastic wrap a little bit, directly over the center of the glass in the bowl. Now you have made what is called a still.
-
Place your solar still in the sun for a few hours or all day long. Check on it throughout the day. Note how the water is condensing on the plastic wrap and dripping into the glass. The heat from the sun is evaporating the water up into the air in the bowl. The water then condenses on the plastic wrap, collecting and pooling where the rock is weighing the wrap down. When the water turns into vapor it leaves the salt behind. The result is pure water and this is what is collected in the glass.
-
When you want to test your water, take the plastic wrap off and taste your water in the glass. It’s no longer salty! This process of salt distilling is called desalination.
Did You Know?
The biggest desalination plant in the world is in the Middle East, where fresh water is very hard to find. The United States also has plants but they operate on a much smaller scale because the process is expensive.
Reference: