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Demo week, Grade 4 General Science

The water cycle

This is what a student sees. Teachers get the same lesson with instructions, expected answers, timings, differentiation and an answer key.

The evaporation race

Students discover the concept for themselves.

  1. Quick recap

    Hook, 0–3 min

    Where did Zara's puddle go?

    Tell your partner what you voted for yesterday.

  2. Evaporation race

    Experiment, 3–17 min

    Which dish will lose more water?

    We put the same amount of water in two dishes. One is in a sunny place. One is in the shade.

    • Write your guess.
    • Look at the line on each dish.
    • Measure where the water is now.
    • Tell your partner what changed.

    Evaporation Race

    Evaporation, about 30 minutes

    Low riskAdult supervision required

    Safety

    • Wipe up spilled water straight away to avoid slipping.
    • Place the dishes where they cannot be knocked over, away from electrical sockets and devices.
    • Do not drink water that has been left standing in the dishes.
    • Use plastic containers rather than glass.

    You need

    • Two identical clear plastic cups or shallow dishes
    • Water
    • Measuring cup or jug
    • Marker pen
    • Ruler
    • Sticky labels

    What to do

    1. Label one dish "Sun" and the other "Shade".
    2. Pour exactly the same amount of water into each dish.
    3. Mark the water level on the outside of each dish with the marker pen and measure its height with the ruler.
    4. Put the "Sun" dish in the sunny or warm spot and the "Shade" dish in the shady spot.
    5. At the same time each day, measure the water level in both dishes and write it in the table.
    6. After three days, compare how far the water level has dropped in each dish.

  3. Virtual lab

    Virtual lab, 17–24 min

    Move the sun control and watch what changes.

    Virtual lab: Water cycle

    Turn up the sun and see how fast water moves through the cycle.

  4. Dries quickly or slowly?

    Interactive activity, 24–31 min

    Where will the water dry quickly? Where will it dry slowly?

    • A wet shirt on a line in the sun

    • A wet shirt in a closed plastic bag

    • Wet hair under a hair dryer

    • A puddle in the shade on a cold day

    • A cup of water with a lid on

    • A puddle on a hot day

  5. Talk about it

    Discussion, 31–36 min

    • What happened to the water level in each dish?
    • Where did the water go? Can you see it?
    • What was different about the two places?

  6. Evaporation race sheet

    Worksheet, 36–42 min

    Fill in your guess first. Then record what you see.

  7. Exit ticket

    Exit ticket, 42–45 min

    Which dish lost more water? Why do you think that happened?