Unidad didáctica para 5º de primaria sobre el ciclo del agua en inglés

1. Subject: Science
Topic: Water
Unit: The water cycle
Grade: 5th Primary school Age: 10-11 years old
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
There is exactly the same amount of water on earth now as there was when dinosaurs hung out at the local pond
millions of years ago. Water keeps going around and around. It evaporates from rivers, lakes, and oceans. The
vapor from this forms clouds in the sky, then it returns to earth again as rain or snow. This process is called "The
Water Cycle"
AIMS:
- Understand that water on earth moves in a continuous cycle.
- Explain how the Water Cycle works.
- Be able to name and explain the stages of the water cycle, using the new vocabulary.
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
- Speaking:
- Communicative interaction listing the words found in the texts.
- Labelling the Water Cycle poster when the teacher is describing each process.
- Reading the poem aloud, in groups, focusing on the right pronunciation and intonation.
- Acting the poem by pairs.
- Playing the game ‘Who wants to be millionaire?’ answering with the right answer.
- Reading:
- Reading the text in groups in order to find the words related to water.
- Reading the Water cycle poem to act it the next day.
- Reading the teacher’s instructions about the project ‘mini water cycle’.
- Reading the questions from the power point of the game ‘Who wants to be millionaire?’ in order to
understand them.

2. - Writing:
- Writing the words found in the text on their charts.
- Filling in the gaps the Water Cycle Story about Randy the raindrop.
- Listening:
- Listening to the teacher when he/she is explaining the water cycle with the poster.
- Listening to the teacher when he/she is doing the picture dictation.
- Listening to the rest of the classmates when they are reading or acting the poem.
- Listening to the teacher when he/she is giving the instructions to do the ‘mini Water Cycle’
NEW LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CONTENT:
Communicative structures:
Question and answer routines: What does ‘evaporation’ mean?, Condensation/Evaporation/… is when water cools
down/falls/…, The correct answer is…
Vocabulary:
Specific vocabulary: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, gas, solid, rivers, oceans, vapour.
Pronunciation:
Evaporation [ɪvæpə'reɪʃən], Precipitation [prɪ'sɪpə'teɪʃən], Condensation ['kɑ:nden'seɪʃən].
Culture:
(There is no culture)

3. ATTITUDES:
- Value the importance of water.
- Interest to know where we take water from.
- Recognise the water cycle and its importance.
CROSSCURRICULAR CONTENTS:
- The knowledge of a real process: the water cycle.
- The use of real materials in order to simulate a mini water cycle (project)
- Role the poem process.
- The process that water undergoes as it moves through the environment.
- Identifying water's different states.
- Identifying and explain how each different state is formed.

4. DEVELOPMENT:
Unit: The Water Cycle Day 1 Sequence 1
Objectives: Find words related with water, get the main idea from the text, interacting with all the class saying the words.
Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation
Activity 1 Mindmap and Reading a text Classroom
Where is *Approach: Group work Time: 15’ language Provide children
water ‘What does with some
come Divide the class into two groups. Try to make the mindmap (exemple: (solid, vocabulary
from? http://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?a7efe8a420d246e6c0d3e32d9caca971) water,
Then, give one text to every group. Children have to read the text and underline lake,
words related to water or its process. They try to understand the text. Answer earth…)
questions about vocabulary. mean?’
‘I don’t
understand
the word
(solid)’
Activity 2 Placing the words Classroom
Words Approach: The whole class Time: 5’ language
related to
water Children place the words in common and they list them on the blackboard. ‘We have
(water,
rivers,
vapour)’
‘Can we
say
another
one?’

5. Unit: The Water Cycle Day 1 Sequence 2
Objectives: Understand the Water Cycle and its process, knowing the name of each process.
Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation
Activity 1 Label the descriptions Classroom language
How the Water *Approach: The whole Time: 15’ Expressing the descriptions
Cycle works class like:
‘When water vapour gets
The teacher shows a poster describing the water
cold and forms clouds it’s
cycle, without key words. The teacher reads the
called condensation’
descriptions and the pupils must label them.
Activity 2 Picture dictation Classroom language
Comprehension of Approach: Individual Time: 10’
the Water Cycle ‘Can you repeat, please?’
processes Give the children a worksheet with some pictures. The
teacher gives some descriptions and the children have
to guess which the picture is and also write the name
of the process.

6. Unit: The Water Cycle Day 2 Sequence 1
Objectives: Memorize and remember the Water Cycle process, reproduce the Water Cycle with a picture.
Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation
Activity 1 Reading a poem Classroom language
Reading and *Approach: Individual Time: 5’
memorize a text
Children have to read a poem about the water cycle in
order to remember the process. And they have to
memorize it at home.
http://authspot.com/poetry/the-water-cycle-
poem/
Activity 2 Reading aloud the poem Classroom language
Reading aloud in Approach: In groups Time: 15’ Language related with the
groups poem:
The teacher divides the poem into 4 parts. The class is
also divided into two groups. Every group will read ‘This is when the water…’
two parts of the poem
Activity 3 Illustrate the poem Classroom language
Illustrate the Water
Cycle Approach: Individual Time: 10’ ‘How can I draw
evaporation/condensation?’
Children have to reproduce the poem by illustrating it
in a picture. ‘Can I draw a lake?’

7. Unit: The Water Cycle Day 2 Sequence 2
Objectives: Be able to fill in the correct words in order to make sense to the story.
Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation
Activity 1 Randy raindrop story Classroom language Provides children
A raindrop’s life *Approach: Individual Time: 15’ some paper with
process ‘I don’t understand the some vocabulary in
The teacher gives the children Randy raindrop story. meaning of order to
There are some gaps which have to be filled with raindrop/puddle…’ understand the
some words provided at the end of the story. text better.
Unit: The Water Cycle Day 2 Sequence 3
Objectives: Understand the teacher’s instructions to bring the materials for doing the ‘miniature water cycle’
Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation
Activity 1 ‘Mini water cycle’ instructions Classroom language
‘Mini water cycle Approach: The whole Time: 5’ The teacher could
instructions’ class ‘I haven’t a plastic bowl/a give a paper with
ceramic mug? all the objects with
The teacher gives the instructions for doing a ‘mini
a picture next to
water cycle’. Listing the objects they need to bring
‘What’s a rubber them, so the
next day of class (a large metal or plastic bowl, a
band/string?’ children will know
pitcher or bucket, a sheet of clear plastic wrap, a dry
what every object
ceramic mug (like a coffee mug), a long piece of string
‘Can I bring…?’ is.
or large rubber band and water.

8. Unit: The Water Cycle Day 3 Sequence 1
Objectives: Simulate the water process by acting the poem, make a real water cycle experience, check the student’s
knowledge about the unit.
Concepts Tasks and activities Differentiation
Activity 1 Role the poem Classroom language
Experiencing the *Approach: By pairs Time: 10’
real water process
Children have to act the poem they learnt in the
previous days. By pair they have to role the poem by
acting the water cycle process and telling it.
Activity 2 Make the ‘mini water cycle’ Classroom language
Simulate the water Approach: Individual Time: 20’
cycle process ‘Can you help me, please?’
Children have to put the bowl in a sunny place
outside, they have to use the pitcher or bucket, pour ‘I can’t…’
water into the bowl until it is about ¼ full. They have
to place the mug in the center of the bowl. Then, ‘It works!’
students have to cover the top of the bowl tightly with
the plastic wrap and tie the string around the bowl to ‘It doesn’t work!’
hold the plastic wrap in place. At the end, the will
watch the bowl to see what happens.
Activity 3 Play the game ‘Who wants to be Classroom language
Check children millionaire?’ Provide children
knowledge Approach: In groups Time: 20’ ‘We know the answer!’ with the poster and
the descriptions.

9. Divide the class into two groups. Then put the power ‘We don’t know the
point and begin the game, making questions about the answer!’
water cycle process, giving different possible options.
Let children to answer the questions, then correct ‘It’s wrong’
them and let the other group say the correct answer.
Give 100 points to every group for each correct ‘It’s correct’
answer. If one group doesn’t know the answer and the
other group guess it, give to the winner group 200 ‘We win!’
extra points.
‘We lost’
Observation: It would be a great idea to make a Glog with all the class, including some extra activities (power
point presentation, songs, etc…) http://loscos.edu.glogster.com/the-water-cycle/ Also, introduce all the unit with it.

10. ASSESSMENT:
Before starting the unit:
- Presentation about water cycle: we use the mindmap about the water in order to know the previous
knowledge about the topic.
During the unit:
- Producing a poem into a picture: they show what they have understood from this text.
- Direct observation, gathering the participation in all the different activities.
At the end of the unit:
- Making their own Water Cycle: they “produce” the Water Cycle with home materials.
- Game: ‘who wants to be millionaire?’: they play the game and show their knowledge about the contents.
MATERIALS:
- Schemes on the blackboard, a poster.
- Labels with the key words.
- 2 texts containing water cycle contents.
- A poem.
- ‘Miniature Water Cycle’ material: a large metal or plastic bowl., a pitcher or bucket, a sheet of clear plastic
wrap, a dray ceramic mug, a long piece of string or large rubber band water.

11. Poster with descriptions

12. Labels
PRECIPITATION
CONDENSATION

13. EVAPORATION
COLLECTION

14. Text I and II

15. Poem
About the water cycle.
The Water Cycle is Unpredictable
You don't know when they'll strike
The water cycle happens in levels
It is kind of human like
The first stage is Evaporation
This is when water vapour comes up
Then comes up onto a mountain
Where the sun will sit up
Condensation
This is when the water vapour cools down
This becomes a stratus or a nimbus crown
Precipitation comes after that
This is when water falls to the ground
The rain falls down in a simple format

16. ‘Mini-water cycle’

17. REFERENCES:
Brewster, Jean. Ellis, Gail. & Girard, Denis. 2007. The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Penguin English Guides.
Civera, Isabel. & Murphy, S. Didàctica de la llengua anglesa (Methodology of English language teaching).
Readings. 2008-2009.