Demonstrating Climate Change and the Water Cycle to Fifth Grade Students

Jennifer Murphy

University of East Anglia

I used this activity when I volunteered in fifth grade classrooms in California.

recording data in a table and graphing it
matter has three possible states
ability to draw conclusions from observations

This activity was stand-alone in that I only visited the class once, though many teachers chose to incorporate it into a sequence of discussions about the water cycle.

California Fifth Grade Earth Science Standards
California Third Grade Physical Science Standards
many aspects of California Investigative Strands

-water has three phases and can be interconverted in the environment by different processes (melting, condensation)
-temperature determines which phase the water will be found in

-hypothesize about effects of higher global temperatures on water cycle
-identify differences between classroom experiment and real world situation

-working in groups
-brainstorming
-considering relevance of personal actions to the environment

Students should have some familiarity with the states of matter and the hydrological cycle. A presentation will introduce them to the natural greenhouse effect and discuss ways in which human activity have led to increased global warming. In class the students will see a demonstration of the greenhouse effect and record data to graph the ability of the greenhouse to make temperatures rise. A second simple demonstration will be used to prove the existence of water vapor in the atmosphere, and how cold temperatures cause condensation. Further information is presented regarding the water cycle, differing geographical patterns of precipitation and water consumption, and specific information about where the students water comes from. A final activity involves an investigation of the role of temperature in changing the phases of water between solid, liquid and gas. Students are asked to extrapolate their results to the real world and infer about the effect of global warming on the water cycle. The activity ends with ideas for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption.

feedback from students in discussing the results