By: Nema Ahmed, Medina Hing, Jennifer Walsh & Marwa Zohny An MST Inquiry Unit

Table of Contents:

Overview of Unit Plan:

Standards Lessons correspond with New York City 4 th Grade curriculum standards based on the following subjects: Science-New York City’s Science Scope and Sequence Math- NCTM Technology- ISTE This Unit Plan focuses on the 4 th Grade Science curricula: Grade 4 Unit 3 “Properties of Water.”

Lessons Overview Lesson #1: “Plain as Water” What is water? Lesson #2: “Water Can be Diverse” What are the three states of water? Lesson #3: “What Goes Around Comes Around” What is the Water Cycle? Lesson #4: “How Does the Water Cycle Affect the Weather” R is for Rain Lesson #5: “What’s the Ocean Got to do With it?” What does the ocean have to do with the Water Cycle? Lesson #6: “You Never Miss the Water ‘till the Well Runs Dry” How can we save our water?

Three Lessons The three lessons that are going to be presented through this presentation are the lessons 1, 2 and 4: Lesson 1 is the introduction of the Water Cycle Unit by experimenting with water. Lesson 2 is the experimentation of the three states of water. Lesson 4 is about how the Water Cycle affects the weather.

Objectives for lessons 1, 2 and 4 Lesson 1’s Objectives: To identify the basic physical properties of water. To establish and classify what objects sink or float. Lesson 2’s Objectives: To understand and define the three basic states of water To identify the freezing and boiling points of water Lesson 4’s Objectives: To understand how the water cycle applies to weather. To recall facts about the water cycle.

Lesson #1: “Plain as Water” What is Water? Objectives: To identify the basic physical properties of water. To establish and classify what objects sink or float.

Lesson #1: Standards NYC Science Scope and Sequence: Inquiry Skills: Communication- giving oral and written explanations or graphic representations of observations Comparing and Contrasting- identifying similarities and differences between or among objects, events, data, systems, etc. Gathering and organizing data- collecting information about objects and events which illustrate a specific situation Predicting- making a forecast of future events or conditions expected to exist Process Skills: Manipulate materials through teacher direction and free discovery Classify objects according to an established scheme Observe, analyze and report observations of objects and events Observe, identify and communicate cause-and-effect relationships Generate appropriate questions [teacher and student based] in response to observations, events and other experiences Make predictions based on prior experiences and/or information Communicate procedures and conclusions through oral and written presentations NCTM Math Skills Process standards: Data analysis and probability Content Standards: Develop and evaluate inferences and predictions that are based on data Propose and justify conclusions and predictions that are based on data and design studies to further investigate the conclusions or predictions. ISTENETs Standards for Literature Students Creativity and Innovation: use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues Research and Informational Fluency: evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks

Lesson #1: Procedure After initiating the KWL chart, the teacher will introduce the group activity to be completed by each group. [3 minutes] The teacher will log onto the Filamentality website and students will watch briefly watch Bill Nye the Science Guy: Buoyancy video on sinking and floating online. Next, the teacher will model the activity as well as correct completion of the accompanied activity sheet. [7-10 minutes] Students will return to their desks and the assigned table monitors will be responsible for gathering materials. [2-3 minutes] Students will work in groups of 4-5 based on their assigned seating arrangement/table layout. Each student in the group will be given an assignment as recorder [documents data], reporter [presents data], or timekeeper [manages time]. Each student will be responsible for completing his or her own activity sheet which will later be assessed. The recorder will determine best answers to be shared during the concluding share-session. Students will begin and will have 15 minutes to complete the activity and accompanied activity sheet to be presented during share-session. Post activity, students will return to the meeting area and reporters will have 1-2 minutes to share their group’s findings. Teacher will ask which objects floated? [the wooden block, cork, straw, pencil]and which objects sank? [molding clay, magnet, paper clip][10 minutes] With students still at meeting area, complete the KWL chart, recording what we learned and establishing whether we have answered questions we had at the beginning of the lesson. [5 minutes]

Graphic Organizer: KWL Chart

Lesson #1 Web 2.0 Tool: Bill Nye the Science Guy Video “Buoyancy” bin/search/linfo.cgi?id= bin/search/linfo.cgi?id=7899

Lesson #1: Assessment The Assessment would be an exit card and a table of items that floated and sank.

Lesson #1: Assessment

Lesson #2: Water can be Diverse What are the three states of water? Objectives: To understand and define the three basic states of water To identify the freezing and boiling points of water

Lesson 2: Standards NYC Science Scope and Sequence: Inquiry Skills: Compare and Contrast- identify similarities and differences between or among objects, events, data, systems, etc. Communication- giving oral and written explanations or graphic representations of observations Identifying variables- recognizing characters of objects or factors in events that are constant or change Inferring- drawing a conclusion based on prior experiences Measuring- making quantitative observations by comparing to a convention or nonconventional standard Process Skills: Manipulate materials through teacher direction and free discovery Observe, analyze and report observations of objects and events Make predictions based on prior experiences and/or information NCTM Math Skills: Process standards: Problem solving: Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems Content Standards: Measurement: Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements. ISTENETs Standards for Literature Students: Research and Information Fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Lesson #2: Procedure While remaining in the meeting area, teacher will transition into the lesson by explaining that we observed water changing its state. Teacher will explain that today we will learn more about the different states of water. [2-3 minutes] Teacher will log onto the Filamentality website and students will watch the States of Water and the Water Cycle video about the different states of water which will reactivate prior knowledge from previous grades. As the children are watching the video, the teacher will pause at each state of water to discuss more in depth and make connections to the prior ice cube activity. Teacher will reiterate freezing and boiling points from the video. [10 minutes] Students will make predictions on how long they think it will take water to go from a solid state to a liquid state when heat is applied on their observation handout. [2 minutes] Teacher will demonstrate to the class how water changes from one state to another by: Placing a beaker with ice onto a Bunsen burner and applying heat while students take note of the time. The timer is stopped when the ice is melted. A measurement is taken by the teacher and recorded on the board by drawing a picture of the beaker and the measurement. Teacher will tell students to complete the next two questions on their handout. After students have done so, the teacher will call their attention back to the Bunsen burner where the water will be boiling. Students will observe liquid transitioning into a gas. They will watch for two minutes and a final measurement will be recorded on the board and their observational handouts. [15 minutes] Students will complete the observational handout independently. [5 minutes] Students will regroup and share their answers from the handout. [10 minutes] Students will briefly complete an exit card indicating their knowledge of freezing and boiling points. [1 minute]

Lesson 2: Filamentality and Web 2.0 Tool Teacher will log onto html#cat2 Filamentality website and students will watch “States of Water and the Water Cycle” which is a video about the different states of water. html#cat2 Students will watch a video about the different states of water:

Lesson 2: Assessment Students will complete the observational handout independently Students will briefly complete an exit card indicating their knowledge of freezing and boiling points

Lesson #2: Assessment Worksheet & Exit Card Student Performance Based Product [target rating] for Objective #1

Lesson #2: Assessment Exit Card and Graph Continued

Lesson #4: R is for Rain How Does the Water Cycle Affect the Weather? Objectives: To define accurately each stage of the water cycle To show the stages of the water cycle visually To produce a graph based on weather data

Lesson #4: Standards NYC Science Scope and Sequence: Inquiry Skills: Classifying – arranging or distributing objects, events, or information representing objects or events in classes according to some method or system Generalizing – drawing general conclusions from particulars Inferring – drawing a conclusion based on prior experiences Process Skills: Iv. Manipulate materials through teacher direction and free discovery xix. Make predictions based on prior experiences and/or information NCTM Math Skills Process Standards: Create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas Select, apply, and translate among mathematical representations to solve problems Content Standards: Represent data using tables and graphs such as line plots, bar graphs, and line graphs Recognize the differences in representing categorical and numerical data. ISTE NETs Standards for Literature Students: Creativity and Innovation: use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues. Research and Information Fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

Lesson #4: Procedure The teacher will guide students to the Filamentality website and direct students to click on the ‘Water Cycle Treasure Hunt’ under the information section. [3 minutes] Students will be given directions and told to complete the scavenger hunt independently as it will be their form of assessment for this lesson. The teacher will model how to access the answer sheet and how they should complete it in Word. [3 minutes] Students will be given the opportunity to complete the answer sheet from the scavenger hunt independently with the teacher available to assistance if needed. Students will also be responsible for graphing weather patterns on the ‘Weather Patterns’ handout. [25 minutes] Students will be instructed to save their documents and print their assessments/answer sheets. [2 minutes] Students will come together and share out their experiences with the website. Did they find it more helpful than reading a book? They will also be asked several questions including what happens when water precipitates. What happens after it rains? How can water that is stored in the ground be used? How is moisture added into the atmosphere? [10 minutes]

Lesson #4: Assessment

Lesson #4: Assessment con’t

Lesson #4: Assessment continued

Lesson #4: Scavenger Hunt Scavenger hunt for lesson #4: 20grant%20projects/Projects/greenfieldwatercyclehunt/ watercyclehunt.htm 20grant%20projects/Projects/greenfieldwatercyclehunt/ watercyclehunt.htm

Resources Filamentality Website: at2 at2 Scavenger Hunt: nt%20projects/Projects/greenfieldwatercyclehunt/watercycle hunt.htm nt%20projects/Projects/greenfieldwatercyclehunt/watercycle hunt.htm Web 2.0 Tool (Billy Nye Video): bin/search/linfo.cgi?id= bin/search/linfo.cgi?id=7899 Other Web 2.0 Tool (Video on the different states of water):