Aquarius, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Students observe the process of evaporation, make comparisons about the process, then construct a diagram and use it to describe the process of evaporation.
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Lesson needs a student-friendly visualization of [link https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/water-cycle 'water cycle'].
The lesson is very appropriate for younger elementary age students. For older ages, instructors may want to insert more of the scientific process into the two activities/experiments.
The instructor may want to think about ways to get students to connect to their prior knowledge and experiences related to the disappearance of water before introducing the activities.
The guide is very simple, short, and easy for instructors to use while still containing all elements needed to maintain pedagogical effectiveness.
This resource includes two activities for learning about evaporation and the water cycle. In the first activity, students compare a closed container of water to an open container of water over several days. They compare and contrast their observations made before and after the evaporation.
Students construct a diagram of the experiment to explain the results through discussion and pictures.
In the second activity, students paint using salt water, and make observations of their painting several days later, noting that the salt has stayed behind.
Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
The two easy experiments/activities in this lesson are very age appropriate, and can be simplified or made more rigorous for varying age ranges and levels of understanding.
For older age groups, instructors can add more pieces of the scientific process, including hypothesis formation and data interpretation. For younger students, the lesson is appropriately scaffolded to help students develop a basic understanding of what happens when water evaporates.
The hands-on nature of the activity makes this activity engaging for multiple learning styles, and an instructor could add additional extension activities to encourage students to construct explanations or do further research.
Lesson objectives and student preconceptions are clearly identified. Simple and clear background information for the instructor is provided.
An assessment section for the entire group is included, though if instructors wish to assess students individually, they will need to develop their own assessments. Each section is clearly labelled, and the activity instructions are easy to follow.
This activity takes four 30 minute class periods. Additional materials are required.
