Grade+2

= Foundational and Learning Objectives =

1. Recognize the importance of air and water to life
1.1 Identify those places on a globe or map that depict water. 1.2 Distinguish between fresh and salt water. 1.3 Describe the water cycle. 1.4 Observe indirectly that air is all around us. 1.5 Explain that virtually all living things require air and water.

2. Recognize that polluted air and polluted water endanger life.
2.1 Identify some ways in which air and water can become polluted. 2.2 Describe some ways in which polluted air and water can be harmful. 2.3 Suggest some things that can be done to keep air and water from becoming polluted.


 * Activity 1 – What is in our air?**

Objectives: 2. Recognize that polluted air and polluted water endanger life. 2.1 Identify some ways in which air and water can become polluted. 2.2 Describe some ways in which polluted air and water can be harmful.

Materials: -Vaseline -index cards

Engage: Students will have a 3 minute conversation with a partner about what types of pollution are in the air we breathe. Ask students to think about the air in our classroom and what types of pollution may be in it.

Explore: Spread a layer of Vaseline on a few index cards and place them in various areas throughout the classroom. Leave these index cards in different areas of the classroom for a few days and come back to them to see what has accumulated. Remind students that they should not touch the index cards on anything that has accumulated on them. Explain: Divide the students into small groups. Each group should have one of the index cards that were left in the classroom. Have the students examine the things that have accumulated on the index cards. The students should try to identify some of the materials they see on the index card and form a hypothesis about how they think the items ended up on the card. Elaborate: At this point have students think independently about what they saw accumulate over a few days on the index cards in the classroom. Ask students if they think of this as a form of pollution and if it could possibly be harmful to us? Students should begin to recognize that what was collected on the index cards in the classroom is a small form of pollution that is in the air we breathe. Students should realize that this pollution was confined only to the classroom and there is much more pollution outside coming from various sources.

Evaluate: Have each student write (or draw a picture if they are unable to write) about types of pollution they are aware of outside of what they have observed in the classroom.

Objectives: 1. Recognize the importance of air and water to life 1.3 Describe the water cycle.
 * Activity 2 – The Water Cycle **

Materials: -soil -water -small margarine bowl -large, clear plastic container or empty aquarium -plastic wrap -plastic trees, animals, boat, etc. -tape or large elastic band

Engage: During this activity guide students by telling them what is happening to them trough each stage of the water cycle. Have students get down on the floor and curl up into a ball. Tell them to close their eyes and be ready to go on a journey through the water cycle. First the students must pretend that they are a small drop of water in a puddle outside. They are just one drop of water sloshing around with the others in the puddle. Have the students actually “slosh” as they are imaging the scenario. All of a sudden the sun comes out from behind a cloud and shines down, how are you feeling now? (Warm) What do you think is happening to you? (Disappearing, Evaporating) Where are you going? (Into the air/sky) Have the students raise their arms as the “float” into the air/sky. As you float higher and higher it begins to get cold. What is happening to you? (Condensing into a water droplet) Bring yourself back together again as a drop of water but this time you are still in the sky. If you look around you can see other drops of water floating around you. Where do you think you are? (In a cloud) Explore: Arrange the soil in the large container to form mountains, hills, and a flat space for a lake. Place the margarine container in the area for the lake and fill with water. Decorate the container with the plastic toys to make the scene more realistic and interesting for the students. Cover the container with plastic wrap and secure with tape of elastic band. Watch the container to see what happens. It may take a couple of days for the water cycle to begin.

Explain: Ask students to think back to the journey they experienced when they pretended to be drops of water. Students should remember each of the stages they went through beginning as a drop of water, evaporating, condensation, becoming a drop of water in a cloud and returning as a drop of water. Ask students to explain how they saw this happen in the container.

Elaborate: At this stage students should understand that the water cycle they have observed in the container follows the water cycle that exists in nature. Evaluate: Have each student draw their own picture of what they understand the water cycle to be. Label the stages that they can and draw arrows to indicate which step comes next in the water cycle.


 * Activity 3 – Aqua Bodies**

Objectives: 1. Recognize the importance of air and water to life 1.5 Explain that virtually all living things require air and water.

Materials: -dried fruit -ripe fruit -balance -paper -crayons -scissors

Engage: Present students with the following situation. Two people are stranded on an island. The first person has enough food for one month. The second person has enough water to last a month. Who do the students think will survive on the island? Why?

Explore: Provide samples of ripe fruit and dry fruit. The only difference between the fruits is the amount of water inside them. Have students weigh the fruit to see how much of the fruit is actually made up of water. Ask students if they think there is water in their body?

Explain: Have students work with a partner to trace their body. Tell students that about 70% of their body is made up of water and have them illustrate what 70% of their body is like by dividing the body they traced into ten equal parts and colouring seven of them in to represent the amount of water in their body. Colour the other 30% of the body in a different colour and cut out the body for display.

Elaborate: After creating a visual representation of their body and the amount of water it contains ask students to think about other living animals and if they think their bodies contain water. Students should realize that all living things contain water and require water in order to live.

Evaluate: Have students create a short comic strip illustrating how various living things would look if they did not contain any water.

Objectives: 1. Recognize the importance of air and water to life 1.3 Describe the water cycle.
 * Activity 4 – Aqua Tunes **

Materials: -[|Aqua Tunes.doc] -[|Colour Me Blue.doc]

Engage: Ask students why they should drink plenty of water. Have them list ways they think the body uses water.

Explore: Have the class sing Aqua Tunes. Teach songs line by line so students are able to learn them progressively.

Explain: After singing the songs have students work with a partner to create a new list of the ways that they think the body uses water from the information they learned in the songs. Elaborate: After students have learned the songs and had more than one opportunity to sing them, give them each a copy of the Colour Me Blue Body Chart. Have each student colour the body parts that are mentioned in the songs.

Evaluate: Have students list the ways that they think the body uses water from their understanding of the Aqua Tunes Have students work in small groups to create their own songs about the ways that the human body uses water.
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 * Activity 5 – Water on Earth**

Objectives: 1. Recognize the importance of air and water to life 1.1 Identify those places on a globe or map that depict water.

Materials: -blow-up globe -paper -pencil

Engage: Ask students how much of the Earth they think is water? Give students a map or a globe to look at as they try to answer this question.

Explore: In order to estimate how much of the Earth is water, have students participate in a globe tossing activity. Using a blow-up globe about the size of a small beach ball works best for this activity. Have students stand in a circle and toss the globe to each other. Each time a person catches the globe record if their right index finger is on land or water. After tossing the globe ten times calculate how many times their finger was on water and how many times their finger was on land. Do this activity two more times in order to get more accurate results.

Explain: By doing this activity students should see that about 75% of the Earth is actually water so when throwing the beach ball their right index finger should have been on water seven or eight times out of ten. Elaborate: After doing this activity to calculate the amount of water on Earth students can do the activity again but this time calculate the amount of time their finger lands on ice. (the North and South poles) The ice can be recorded as water but students should also recognize that some of the water on Earth is actually in the form of ice.

Evaluate: Ask students how much of the Earth is covered in water? To have them show their answer you could provide a map of the world divided into ten sections and have the students colour in the amount of sections they think is water.

Cross Curricular and Ties to Other Activities:
This unit in the science curriculum offers connections to other topics. The topic of season is one of the connections. By looking at air and water you can discuss the changes that happen with air and water in the different seasons. One example of this is the water cycle; although there will always be precipitation because of the water cycle it comes in various forms such as rain or snow depending on the season. Air and water also links to the topics of rocks and minerals, and erosion and fossils. Air and water have an impact on rocks, minerals, erosion and fossils. The water cycle is especially important to study because it directly relates to the topic of erosion.