Background+Information

Teachers, this is for you!......................... After researching the ways that students may learn about the water cycle, we found that there may be some different misconceptions. In order for the students to be successful in learning this concept we have to take these misconceptions into consideration during our instruction. It is important to keep in mind that some students bring their own ideas and perceptions to class and we have to find ways to explain in order for the student to grasp reasons and facts. We have to be flexible and open-minded to new ideas so that our students will benefit.

Common Misconceptions that students may have about the Water Cycle: Aly Grimes sources: []
 * ~ //Students may think…// ||~ //Instead of thinking…// ||
 * When water boils and bubbles, the bubbles are air, oxygen or hydrogen, or heat. || Bubbles formed by boiling water consist of water vapor (steam). ||
 * Steam is hot air. || Steam is water vapor. ||
 * When steam is no longer visible it becomes air. || When water vapor condenses in the air it is visible as tiny water droplets. ||
 * Water in an open container is absorbed by the container, disappears, changes into air, or dries up and goes into the air. || Water in an open container evaporates, changing from a liquid to a gas. ||

Students may think... Instead of thinking...
 * Raindrops look like tear drops. || Raindrops are spherical. ||


 * Thunder occurs when two clouds collide. || Thunder (and lightning) are the result of a large transfer of charge between clouds. ||
 * Air and oxygen are the same thing. || Air is a mixture of gases. ||

Ashley Gaylor []
 * Clouds block wind and slow it down. || Winds are a result of the uneven heating of Earth’s surface and the resulting rise and fall of differently heated air masses. ||

Megan Seiber's Sources: http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/water-ice-and-snow/common-misconceptions-about-states-and-changes-of-matter-and-the-water-cycle
 * ~ //Students may think…// ||~ //Instead of thinking…// ||
 * The water cycle involves freezing and melting of water. || The water cycle involves evaporation of liquid water, condensation of water vapor, and precipitation (rain, sleet, hail, or snow). ||
 * Water only gets evaporated from the ocean or lakes. || Water can evaporate from plants, animals, puddles, and the ground in addition to bodies of water. ||
 * The water cycle only includes rain and snow. || Ice in all its forms (sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, icebergs, permafrost) is part of the global water cycle. ||


 * students may think... Instead of thinking...**

Tiffany Kitts Sources: http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/weather-and-climate-from-home-to-the-poles/common-misconceptions-about-polar-weather-and-climate
 * Humidity is moisture in the air. || Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. ||  ||
 * Rain falls when clouds become too heavy. || Rain falls when the water droplets in the cloud become too heavy to remain airborne. ||  ||
 * Rain falls because we need it. || Rain falls whether we need it or not. ||  ||

Teaching Tips Ashley Gaylor []
 * Students with language difficulties should be encouraged to rely on labeled diagrams to help answer the assessment questions.
 * Challenge the students to use their understanding of the water cycle to explain a related phenomenon.

Teaching Tips: Megan Seiber's Sources: []
 * Give students more hands on and repetitive activities so that they gain a broader understanding of the topic. The hands-on activities gives the students a concrete, visual representation to apply to the new concept of the water cycle.
 * Class discussion, observation, and assessing students (informal and formal) will also be beneficial for the student and allow the teacher to figure out where each of the students stand.

Teaching Tips:

- Show students a glass of water, and discuss where water comes from. - Define the key vocabulary terms at board and provide examples of when students may have witnessed evaporation or condensation. - Explain: What is a cycle? //Something that goes in a circle. A bicycle has two circular tires. Something that travels in a circle is a cycle.// //Aly Grimes Sources:// []

Teaching Tips:

-show students photos, and examples of the water cycle - extend your activities to include water is made of two different molecules -Introduce that water is found in states: solid, liquid, and gas - explain the effects of heating or cooling water Tiffany Kitts' sources: The Water Cycle http://www.nwl.co.uk/Water_cycle.pdf