Teacher’s Guide
Our World Unit 1
Unit
Objectives
In this unit the students will:
• learn that we live on planet Earth.
• understand and describe how the Earth is rocks, soils, and water .
• learn that people, animals, and plants live on Earth.
• learn that the sun is a star, and that the Earth goes around it.
• understand and describe how the sun affects the Earth in different ways.
• learn that the moon is a satellite that goes around the Earth.
• complete fun tasks that will help you to observe and explore the world.
• do Engineering and Design project to help solve life-related problems.
• be creative through art and drawing.
Key Words
Planet, rocks, soil, water, air, people, animals, plants, sun, star, light, activities, grow, heat, warm, moon, satellite.
Lesson 1
A: The Earth
The Earth is the planet we live on. Who else lives on planet Earth?
• The key objective of this discussion is to teach students that the Earth is a ‘planet’. They will learn the meaning of the word ‘planet’ and will revise material learned in KG1 from the exercise book Science with Fun, namely that people, animals, and plants live on Earth.
• To begin, introduce students to the vocabulary word ‘planet’. Explain that the Earth is a planet and that planets are “large natural objects that orbit, or travel around stars.” Clarify that planets, in this case, the Earth, are different from other objects in space such as the sun or moon. Inform learners that they will learn about these items later in this unit.
• Invite learners to repeat the word ‘planet’ with you and clarify its meaning when necessary. Inform learners that there are many different planets and ask them if they have heard about any others from books, movies, or tv shows they have consumed. This is a nice way to link what they are learning in class to prior knowledge.
• Next, ask students to think about who lives on Earth. Ask learners to share their thoughts with the rest of the class. Guide learners through a discussion by asking them to think of their families or any pets they have. Ask them about where they live and if they have a garden. This should direct learners to think about people, animals, and plants, as living on Earth.
• Listen to the class discussion and provide praise as students bring up new and interesting points. Learners should be familiar with the idea that ‘people, animals, and plants live on Earth’ from their work in the Science with Fun exercise book in KG1.
• Correct students as needed and draw the discussion to a close by highlighting two main ideas. First, that the Earth is a planet and that planets are large natural objects that travel around stars. Second, that people, animals, and plants live on Earth.
The Earth is mainly rocks, soil, water, and air.
• This page of Explore Science will teach students about the composition of the Earth. They will learn that the Earth is mainly made from rocks, soil, water, and air.
• To begin, place a globe in the center of the classroom and ask students to tell you what they think they can see. Encourage learners to name everything that comes to mind, from specific countries to larger entities and concepts.
• If you don’t have a globe, show students a world map or image of a globe.
• During this exercise, students should be able to easily identify water and Earth or land as two main items that they see (among others).
• Use these answers to guide learners to the conclusion that the Earth is mainly composed of rocks, soil, water, and air. Invite students to repeat these vocabulary terms with you, pointing to each image in their exercise book as they do so.
• Inform learners that they will learn more about these substances during this unit.
• Allow learners to further familiarize themselves with and understand this vocabulary by using real-life examples.
• Take students outside and ask them to identify rocks, soil, water, and air. Alternatively, bring examples of each item into class for students to observe, e.g., water inside a bottle, air from the AC, and soil and rocks in the pot of an indoor plant. This is a great way to introduce students to these items using physical examples.
Task 1
Are there any rocks or soil near you?
Get some samples and show them to your classmate.
• The purpose of this task is for students to recognize and identify rocks and soil in their surroundings and understand that they are two components that make up the Earth.
• To begin, take students outside to the playground. Ask them to look around and identify examples of rocks and soil in their environment. Alternatively, bring in boxes of soil and rocks for students to observe and interact with in the classroom.
• Invite learners to dig through the soil and touch the rocks. Encourage them to describe their observations in relation to their five senses, using phrases like “I see … I hear … I smell …” to share their findings with a partner.
• If you notice students struggling to articulate their observations or having trouble determining what to focus on, give them examples. e.g., “I see dark brown dirt, I hear the rocks clanking against each other, I smell fertilizer and something Earthy”. Alternatively, ask them questions to prompt reflection such as “What does the soil feel like? Does it feel different from the rocks? What do you smell? Do you recognize rocks and soil? Where do you normally see these items in your daily life?” etc.
• This will give students practice recognizing and articulating precise scientific observations about the material they are studying.
• Once students have described the rocks and soil in their surroundings, ask them to draw and label what they’ve seen on a separate piece of paper. Encourage them to draw the rocks and soil in the playground or in boxes from the classroom.
• This will familiarize students with another part of the scientific method, recording data.
• While students work, walk around and observe, providing advice and assistance as needed. Ensure that students are not only drawing but also labeling what they’ve seen today.
Task 2
Go with your family to a nearby natural place. Take a picture and paste it into the space below, then label the following when applicable: rocks, soil, water, and air.
• This task builds on students’ ability to recognize and label rocks, soil, water, and air in their environment. It underscores the idea that these items are part of the Earth’s composition and also emphasizes the important role of families in the learning process by making them active participants in students’ education.
• To begin, take students outside to the playground and ask them to look for examples of water and air.
• As in the previous task, encourage learners to describe their observations using their five senses, with phrases like “I see … I hear … I smell … I feel …”
• If you notice students struggling to articulate their observations or having trouble determining what to focus on, give them examples or ask prompting questions. e.g., “I see a transparent puddle, I hear the wind against the leaves, I feel the breeze on my skin” or “Is there a color to the water? Do you notice the air more with your eyes or on your skin? Where do you see water? Where do you notice air?” etc.
• This will, once again, give students practice making and articulating precise scientific observations about the material they are studying.
• Once complete, bring learners back into the classroom and assign the rest of this task as homework. Instruct students to go with their family to a ‘natural place’. This can be a park, a garden, or any other outdoor space.
• Once there, encourage learners to take a picture of the area, print it out, and stick it in their books. Then, ask them to label the image using the words in their workbooks (air, water, rocks, soil).
• When students come into class the next day, set five minutes for them to discuss their images with a partner. As they do so, walk around and listen in on the conversations. Ask students to describe and point to each labeled item.
• By the end of this task, students should be able to easily recognize water, air, rocks, and soil, and understand that these items help form the Earth.
Lesson 2
Task 3
Look at the picture and answer the questions.
• This activity aims to teach students that people, animals, and plants live on Earth. Learners should already be familiar with this concept from their work in the KG1 Science with Fun exercise book.
• Begin the lesson with a class discussion. Invite students to step outside or look out of the window and tell you what they can see. Students may be looking at a playground or a road. Encourage them to identify everything they can see or hear. Students should cite people as one of their observations.
• From there, ask students to turn to page 10 of their books and describe the image at the top of the page. Ask them questions such as “What do you see? What does this area look like?” etc.
• From these discussions, students should realize that they observed people, plants, and animals in both the image in their books and when looking outside.
• Use this to emphasize the idea that people, plants, and animals live on Earth. Invite students to repeat this statement with you.
• Next, invite learners to complete the questions in their books. Read each instruction out loud and take the class through each sub-question one by one. Instruct students to complete the tracing exercises independently. Invite students to complete the speaking exercises in pairs.
• After everyone has completed Task 3, select a few students to read the statements at the bottom of the page out loud.
• By the end of this task, students should be confident in the knowledge that people, animals, and plants live on planet Earth.
• his is also a nice opportunity to revise cross-curricular material from math. Ask learners questions like “How many animals are there in the image? How many people?” etc. so they can practice counting.
Task 4
Complete the following drawing. Add people, plants, and animals in the boxes.
• Begin this task by initiating a class discussion, asking students to talk about their favorite people, plants, and animals.
• Give each student the chance to contribute, inviting them to name at least one person, plant, and animal. If students are struggling, ask them questions to prompt reflection. For example, “Can you talk about your family or friends? Do you have any pets? Have you visited the zoo; did you like any animals there? Do you have a garden? Have you visited the park; did you like any plants there?” etc.
• After each student has contributed, instruct learners to draw the people, plants, and animals they discussed in the appropriate boxes on page 11 of their books.
• While students work, walk around and observe.
Lesson 3
B: The Earth & Sun
The sun is a star. The Earth is a planet. It goes around the sun in a year. We see the sun in the daytime.
• This page of Explore Science will teach students about the sun and its relationship with the Earth. They will learn that the sun is a star that is seen during the day and that the Earth travels around the sun in one year.
• To begin, revise the material from the beginning of this unit by asking learners to describe the Earth. Students should recall that the Earth is a planet made mostly from rocks, soil, air, and water and that people, plants, and animals live on Earth.
• Next, introduce students to the vocabulary words ‘sun’ and ‘star’. Explain that stars are large, glowing balls of gasses and fire in space and that the sun is a specific type of star that is close to the Earth, giving off light and heat. Inform learners that they will learn more about the sun during this lesson.
• Invite learners to repeat the words ‘sun’ and ‘star’ with you and clarify their meanings when necessary.
• Next, use a flashlight or lamp, and a ball or globe, to conduct a demonstration and explain the relationship between the sun and the Earth.
• Place the flashlight face up on a table, then circle the ball around it. Explain that the flashlight represents the sun and that the ball represents the Earth. The Earth travels around the sun in a circle, taking one year to do so.
• You can even involve students in this demonstration to make it more engaging. Ask one student to act as the sun, holding the flashlight, and another student to act as the Earth, holding the ball and walking around their peer.
• This is a great way to help students visualize the relationship between the Earth and the sun.
• Alternatively, a mobile/model of the solar system can be used as well.
• Draw the demonstration to a close by highlighting two main ideas. First, the sun is a star, which is a large, glowing ball of gas in space. Second, the planet Earth takes one year to travel around the sun, and we only see the sun in the daytime.
1. The sun gives us light. The light from the sun helps us see things around us.
• This exercise aims to teach students that the sun emits light which helps us see.
• To begin, identify the sun outside the window for the class. As a safety measure when you do this, ensure that learners do not look directly into the sun.
• Explain that the sun emits light which helps us see. Define light for the class, clarifying that it is a form of energy that helps us see. It can come from many sources such as lightbulbs, fire, and of course, the sun.
• To emphasize this point, close the blinds/curtains in the classroom and turn off the lights. Ask students to describe what they notice about the room. They should note that the room is dark, impairing their vision.
• Once this observation has been made, turn on a flashlight or lamp and ask students what has changed. Explain that the lamp represents the sun, and the room represents the Earth. Without the lamp, i.e., the sun, the room, i.e., the Earth, will not have light.
• Next, open the curtains and reestablish the existence of the sun. Ask students what they notice about the room now that the curtains are opened and what has changed since they were closed. Learners should observe that the room has significantly more light and they can see a lot more clearly.
• This is a great interactive way to highlight the way the sun produces light and how important this light is for humans to see.
• Lastly, if there is time, take students outside at different points of the day so they can observe the difference in light from the sun at different times. This is a great way to slowly prepare students to think about the difference between night and day as they notice the difference in light from the morning, afternoon, and evening.
Thin k Box
1
• This activity is designed to increase learners’ critical thinking skills and prompt them to reflect and expand on the material they just learned.
• To begin, read each question out loud for the class.
• Next, separate the class into pairs and invite them to discuss the answers to each sub-question, writing in their books as needed.
• Lastly, initiate a class discussion on the same, inviting each pair to share their answers with their peers.
• Provide the appropriate praise and corrections as needed, closely moderating the discussion until the correct conclusions are reached.
2. We do many activities in the daylight.
• This exercise aims to teach students about the different activities completed in the daylight. Students should be relatively familiar with this from their experience in KG1 with the Science with Fun exercise book.
• Begin this exercise with a class discussion. Ask learners questions to prompt them into thinking about the various activities performed during the day, without the help of their books. For example, “What are we doing now? What do your parents do? What do you do when you get home?” etc.
• Once various activities have been established by the class, invite learners to read the words on page 15 of their books. Repeat each word with the class as many times as needed.
• Prompt critical thinking in the class by asking questions that expand on these concepts and relate to future lessons. For example, “Why do we do these things in the daylight? What do we do at night? Why?” etc.
• By the end of this exercise, learners should understand that many activities are performed during the day because of the light from the sun.
Thin k Box
2
• This activity is designed to increase learners’ critical thinking skills and prompt them to reflect on the material they just learned. Additionally, it builds on material from KG1 in the Science with Fun exercise book.
• To begin, read each question out loud for the class.
• Next, separate the class into pairs and invite them to discuss the answers to the first sub-question. Then, ask them to draw their favorite activity in the space provided.
• Lastly, initiate a class discussion on the same, inviting each pair to share their drawings with their peers.
• Provide the appropriate praise and corrections as needed, closely moderating the discussion
3. The sun helps plants grow.
• This exercise aims to teach students the importance of the sun in helping plants grow.
• Begin this lesson by explaining that plants are living things, much like humans and animals. As a revision of the content from KG1, ask learners what they think humans and animals need to live and grow.
• Once learners come up with a sufficient number of answers, redirect this discussion back to the lesson by asking students what they think plants need to live and grow.
• From this discussion, explain that the sun is important. Plants use the energy from the sun to help them grow amongst various other important processes.
• Give students practical examples to help underscore this point. Compare indoor and outdoor plants. Ask students what they notice about both types of plants. Indoor plants are often placed near windows so they can get sunlight. Because outdoor plants already have access to the sun, they survive more often.
• By the end of this exercise, students should have a clear understanding that the sun helps plants grow.
Observe, describe, and record your observation. Which of the following plants will grow and live?
• This task aims to highlight the importance of the sun in helping plants grow through a practical experiment. Additionally, it will provide them with hands-on experience using the scientific method.
• You can conduct this experiment in two ways, either preparing the plants in advance or conducting it with the class.
• Bring two small houseplants into class and explain that the students will be conducting a week-long experiment. They will be giving one plant (Plant A) access to sunlight and not the other (Plant B).
• First, invite students to make predictions about what they think will happen. Ask them questions like “What will happen to plant A after one week?”, “Why do you think that?”, etc. This will give them practice hypothesizing about the results of an experiment, as per the scientific method.
• Next, invite students to measure the plants using a ruler and note down any observations they make on their sheets. They can measure the height and width of both plants and can note down their color, how many leaves it has, how it is standing, etc. You can even take a picture for students to revisit at the end of the week. Encourage students to discuss their observations with their peers and double-check their measurements with each other. Make this observation period a discussion.
• Once students have made and written down their measurements and observations, cover plant B with a box or bucket. Inform students that plant A will get sunlight as it is next to a window, but Plant B will not as it is covered by the box. As you mention this, assign each student a day of the week. Instruct them to water the plant on this day. This is a great way to personalize the experiment and make students active participants instead of passive observers.
• After a week, invite students back to the windowsill and remove the box covering plant B. Once again, invite students to measure both plants and take note of any observations they can make. You can take another picture of the plants and project both on the screen for students to see and compare.
• Ask learners to draw conclusions about what has happened in the experiment. Invite students to share what they noticed happened to both plants during the week. Encourage them to share specific measurements and any empirical data they have collected. For example, the color of the plants, the number of leaves, if it is wilted or standing tall, etc.
• Additionally, ask the students questions such as “What did plant A look like at the beginning compared to the end of the week? What about plant B?”, “Why do you think Plant B didn’t grow?”, etc. This will encourage students to think critically about their findings and compare the data they collected from the beginning of the experiment to that collected at the end.
• Ask them to form a conclusion based on their experiment. From these discussions, students should realize that plant A grew but plant B did not grow because it didn’t have access to sunlight.
• If you do not have time in class to conduct this experiment with the students, prepare two plants in advance by covering one for a week and giving the other the appropriate sunlight. Bring these two plants into class and ask students to note and describe the differences between the two.
Lesson 4
4. The sun gives us heat. The heat from the sun makes us warm.
• This section of Explore Science aims to teach students that the sun produces heat which makes us warm.
• To begin, take students outside into the sun. Ask them to close their eyes and focus on what they can feel. Students should note a feeling of heat and warmth.
• Then take students back into the classroom. Ask them to close their eyes and compare how they felt inside compared to outside. Learners should recognize they felt much warmer outside than inside.
• Use this to explain that the sun not only produces light but heat as well.
• Ask students questions to prompt critical thinking. For example, “Why do you think night is cooler than the day? Why is winter colder than summer?” etc.
• After answering these questions, students should recognize that the sun produces heat.
Task 6
Explore, observe, and find out. What happens in the following experiment?
• This task will enhance students’ knowledge about how the sun affects the Earth through a practical experiment. in specific, they will recognize that the sun produces heat.
• Bring a tray of ice cubes to class and ask students to describe what they see. As students discuss their observations, encourage learners to write or draw them as well.
• Additionally, ask students questions about the ice. For example, “What form is the ice? How does it feel?” etc. This will encourage them to revise material from KG1 about the states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas), and think empirically about the data they are collecting before an experiment.
• Inform learners that they will be leaving this tray of ice in a sunny place. Ask them to form a hypothesis about what will happen based on what they just learned. These hypotheses don’t have to be 100% correct, it is just a way for learners to practice enacting the scientific method and making scientific predictions.
• Next place the ice cubes in a sunny place, for example, on the windowsill, and check in on them every 10 – 30 minutes.
• At each check-in ask learners what they notice about the ice. Students should recognize that the ice is slowly melting. Encourage learners to record their observations via drawings or notes. Ask students what form the ice is now. Students should recognize it has changed from a solid to a liquid.
• Initiate a class discussion about the results of this experiment and ask learners why they think the ice melted. Students should recognize that it was due to heat from the sun.
• Emphasize this conclusion and highlight heat as a second way the sun affects the Earth.
Think of other things that can melt in the sun.
• This discussion aims to encourage critical thinking. Students will practice expanding what they have learned in class to experiences from their personal lives.
• Separate the students into pairs and ask them to think of other things that can melt in the sun.
• After 5 minutes, initiate a class discussion on the same, asking pairs to share their thoughts.
• Provide the appropriate encouragement and corrections as needed.
Which clothes dry faster, A or B, why?
• During this exercise, students will apply the knowledge they just gained to a practical, real-life scenario.
• Initiate a class discussion about the images on the page. Invite learners to describe what they see, noting any key differences between the pictures. Ask learners if they have encountered this scenario in real life.
• Next, ask the class which clothes they think would dry faster and why. Encourage students to justify their answers using the knowledge they have gained in this unit.
• Students should recognize that the clothes in image A will dry faster as they have more exposure to the heat from the sun.
• If you have time, conduct a quick experiment with the class to test the scenario depicted in the images.
• Dip two towels in the water. Place one towel outside in the sun, and another inside the classroom, away from the sunlight.
• Set a timer for both towels and check them every 10 – 20 minutes. Encourage learners to observe both towels to see how quickly they dry.
• Students should note that the towel placed in the sun dried much faster than the towel inside the classroom. Ask learners why they think this happened. They should recognize that it is due to the heat produced by the sun.
• The aim of this investigation is for students to design and engineer a practical solution to real-life problems based on what they have just learned.
• This project can either be completed as homework or done in class.
• To begin, explain the project for the class, giving examples of different designs that fit the described scenario. e.g., shade on a playground, umbrellas, the shade in image B of the previous exercise, etc.
• Next, read the instructions out loud and separate the students into pairs or small groups of three.
• Ask each group to design a model that will reduce the sunlight on a surface. As they create their designs, encourage learners to make a small prototype to see if it works. They can test the prototype by shining a flashlight over it and seeing how much light it reduces.
• After making and testing their prototypes, instruct students to create a poster about their design, highlighting the materials they used and how it was made.
• Invite them to share it with their peers, explaining its function, how it was made, and what was used to make it. You can stick all the posters on a wall in the classroom for students to admire.
• Lastly, invite students to paste a picture of their designs into their books.
Lesson 5
C:
The Earth & Moon
The sun gives us heat. The heat from the sun makes us warm.
• This page of Explore Science will teach students about the moon and its relationship with the Earth. They will learn that the moon is a satellite that is seen at night, and that travels around the Earth in one month.
• To begin, revise the material from this unit so far by asking learners to describe the Earth and sun. Students should recall that the Earth is a planet made mostly from rocks, soil, air, and water and that people, plants, and animals live on Earth. They should remember that the sun is a star that produces heat and light and that the Earth travels around the sun in a year.
• Next, introduce students to the vocabulary words ‘moon’ and ‘satellite’. Explain that satellites are small objects that orbit or travel around other larger objects in space. The moon is a natural satellite for the Earth because it travels around the Earth. Inform learners that they will learn more about the moon later in this unit.
• Invite learners to repeat the words ‘moon’ and ‘satellite’ with you and clarify their meanings when necessary.
• Next, give the class a flashlight and ball and ask them to explain the relationship between the Earth and the sun. Learners should recall (and easily demonstrate) that the Earth travels around the sun.
• Add another ball to this demonstration to explain the relationship between the sun, moon, and Earth. Explain that while the Earth is revolving around the sun, the moon is revolving around the Earth, taking one month to do so.
• As earlier, you can also involve students in this demonstration to make it more engaging. Ask one student to act as the sun, holding the flashlight, and another two students to act as the Earth and moon, holding the balls.
• This is a great way to help students visualize the relationship between the Earth, moon, and sun.
• Alternatively, a mobile/model of the solar system can be used as well.
Does the moon have light?
• This discussion aims to teach students that the moon does not produce its own light, but instead reflects light from the sun.
• To begin, ask learners if they think the moon has light. Encourage them to reflect on their observations of the moon from their daily lives and draw a conclusion. This will grant students further practice forming a hypothesis based on limited data.
• Once you get feedback from the class, conduct a demonstration to explain whether the moon has light. As earlier, use two balls and a flashlight to do so.
• Turn the flashlight on and place it on the table, pointing to another ball. Add the last ball adjacent to the first. Explain that the flashlight is the sun, while the other two balls are the Earth and moon.
• Next, turn the flashlight off and ask learners what they can see. Students should recognize that it is dark, and nothing is emitting light. Use this to explain that the sun is what produces light, but the moon does not.
• Turn the flashlight back on. Highlight the fact that while the moon (or ball) does not produce its own
light, it can reflect the light from the sun (or flashlight) back onto the Earth (or ball).
• After this demonstration, ask students to reflect on whether they think the moon has light. All students should now recognize that the moon doesn’t have its own light, it only reflects light from the sun.
• Be sure to encourage students even if their answer was wrong at the beginning of the lesson. Assure them that making mistakes or incorrect predictions is a normal part of the scientific process.
How does night affect us?
• This exercise aims to teach students about the different ways night affects us.
• To begin, initiate a class discussion about daytime, reviewing material from earlier in this unit. Ask students about what happens during the day and the different activities they can do in daylight.
• Next, move the discussion towards nighttime. Ask learners about the different activities they do at night. Then ask them to identify the images on page 23 of their books. Students should recognize sleeping, reading, and camping as different nighttime activities.
• Learners should be mostly familiar with these concepts from their work in KG1 with the Science with Fun exercise book.
• After each image has been identified, ask students to describe other things they notice about nighttime. This is a great way to promote critical thinking skills and encourage comparison between night and day. Students should recognize that night is darker and colder than daytime among other things.
Discuss with a classmate. What else can we do at night?
• This discussion aims to encourage critical thinking. Students will practice expanding what they have learned in class to experiences from their personal lives.
• Separate the students into pairs and ask them to think of other things they can do at night.
• After 5 minutes, initiate a class discussion on the same, asking pairs to share their thoughts.
• Provide the appropriate encouragement and corrections as needed.
Unit Review:
• End this lesson with the unit review.
• To begin, read each question out loud for the class so learners have a clear understanding of what is being asked in each question.
• Next, instruct learners to answer each question in their books.
• Encourage learners to work with a partner or in small groups of three to answer the questions if they are struggling. This is a nice way to promote logical reasoning through verbal discussion.
• While students are working, walk around and observe, providing advice as needed.
Links
The Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZpNE0ADKRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZj5rdZ2oBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONFkb-PxKts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsJxHP0T4X4
The Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbG9eWivLMo
The Sun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sePqPIXMsAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_jiQzoQF5M
Water Unit 2
In this unit, students will
• Learn about the different sources of water
• Understand the water cycle
Unit
Objectives
• Learn about the forms of water, how they are formed and where these forms can be found in real life
• Learn about the different uses of water
• Develop thinking skills to solve life-related matters through discussion and sharing ideas with classmates
• Learn about the changes water can make to the environment
• • Complete fun tasks that will help students explore more facts about water
• Do an Engineering and Design project to help solve life-related problems by investigating and experimenting
• Create through arts and drawing
Key Words
Lakes, rivers, sea/ocean, snow/rain, goes up, vapor, clouds, falls down, gathers, liquid, solid, gas, ice, live, traveling, sports and pleasure, cleaning and washing, putting out fire, cooking, environment, drought, flood.
Lesson 1
A: Sources of Water
1. Where can we find water?
• The key objective of this discussion is to re-familiarize students with the sources of water. They will learn that water can be found in lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, snow, and rain.
• To begin, place a globe in the center of the classroom and ask students to tell you what they think they can see. Encourage learners to name everything that comes to mind. If you don’t have a globe, show students a world map or image of a globe.
• Students should recall from unit 1 that the Earth is made from rocks, soil, air, and water, and should be able to point to the general location of these items on the globe.
• Use this discussion to highlight the presence of water on Earth (in multiple places) by pointing to the blue parts of the globe. Explain that water is an extremely important part of the Earth, and it covers around 70% of it. You can illustrate the magnitude of this number by drawing and coloring a circle on the whiteboard to represent 70%.
• Next, initiate a class discussion about the sources of water. Ask learners where they would normally find water in the natural world and encourage as many responses as possible.
• Use this conversation to draw students to the conclusion that water can be found in lakes, rivers, seas or oceans, and snow and rain. Highlight this key point for the class and encourage learners to repeat the name of each water source after you as many times as needed.
• Engage students in applying what they have just learned by asking them to create a poster about the four sources of water in groups. Learners can draw pictures or cut images from magazines and newspapers. They can also ask you to print out images. Additionally, invite a few groups to present their posters to the rest of the class when everyone has finished.
• Lastly, place this song to emphasize the sources of water for the class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMfdMEA8e10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex5hGWrYrQY
• Invite students to complete the following worksheet on the sources of water
Worksheet 1
2. How is water formed? a. The Water Cycle
Warm-Up & Introduction:
• The objective of this activity is to teach students about the water cycle. They will learn how water moves around the Earth and will conduct practical experiments to gain a deeper understanding of this process.
• To begin, inform students that they will be learning about the water cycle. Define this term for the class, explaining that it refers to the way water is formed in nature. Explain that this process is a ‘cycle’, in other words, a series of steps that consistently repeats itself.
• Draw a simple circle made up of five arrows on the whiteboard. This circle will be used to highlight the five steps of the water cycle as the lesson progresses.
• Encourage students to start thinking critically and logically about this concept by asking them questions. For example, “Why do you think water is always moving? Where do you think the water goes?” etc. This will also prompt students into reviewing material regarding sources of water and states of matter that they learned in KG1’s Science with Fun book.
• Use these questions to initiate a class discussion, encouraging students to think out loud and share their ideas prior to learning about the subject.
Stage 1:
• Begin teaching students about the first stage of the water cycle through a practical thought experiment.
• ‘Spill’ some water on a towel and show it to the class. Then ask students if you should throw the towel away now that it is wet. Students should recall, from the previous unit, that the towel will dry when placed in the sun. As a result, there is no need to throw it away.
• Once learners reach this conclusion, ask them where the water goes once the towel is dry. Encourage students to make as many guesses as possible. This is a great way to continue promoting critical thinking skills within learners.
• After students make their guesses, explain the first two steps of the water cycle. Clarify that the water from the towel goes up to the sky to form clouds. This is because of the heat from the sun. Invite students to look at steps 1 and 2 in their books and read these sentences out loud for the class. Encourage learners to repeat after you.
• Conduct an experiment to illustrate these steps practically: Fill a plastic glass with water and draw a line at the point the water is filled to. Leave the glass outside for at least a day, and periodically check in on it with the students. After one day, show students the glass and ask them what they notice. They should see that the water content has reduced.
• Then ask learners to identify clouds in the sky. Highlight the fact that water from the
Earth travels to the sky as vapor to make clouds. As a fun question, you can even ask learners to think about how much water is in each cloud. (The answer: 500,000 kg or the weight of 4-5 double-decker buses.)
• Draw these steps on the whiteboard and ask learners to read and repeat steps 1 and 2 from their books out loud.
• By the end of this experiment, students should understand that water from the Earth travels to the sky as vapor to form clouds.
Stage 2:
• Before teaching students about the next steps of the water cycle, ask them to reflect on what they think will happen first. Ask them questions like “What do you think happens after the water is in the clouds? Where will the water go from there?” etc. This is another opportunity to promote critical thinking and logical reasoning skills. Explain that the answers to these questions will be asked in this next stage of the water cycle (the water falls down as rain and will be gather in lakes and oceans).
• Conduct an experiment to illustrate the next stage of the water cycle: Fill two glasses with water and place them side by side. Fill one with ice, leaving the other as is. After some time, ask students what has changed when they look at the glasses. They should notice that condensation has formed around the cup with the ice in it.
• Use this to explain that the water vapor near the glass has become liquid due to the cold from the ice. Similarly, when it is cold in the sky, the water vapor in the clouds falls down as liquid rain.
• Invite students to look at step 3 in their books and read this sentence out loud for the class. Encourage learners to repeat after you.
• Additionally, urge learners to look at the image in their books. Ask them how they think the clouds moved from step 2 to step 3. After learners make their guesses, explain the role of the wind in making clouds travel. This is another opportunity for critical thinking and logical reasoning.
• Lastly, add step 3 to the whiteboard and ask learners to repeat it one more time without your help.
Stage 3:
• Before explaining the final steps of the water cycle, ask learners what they think will happen next. Once again, use questions like “What do you think happens after the water falls down as rain or snow? Where does the water go?” etc.
• Once students make their guesses, explain that when the rain/snow falls, it is collected in rivers, lakes, seas, and/or oceans.
• Illustrate this point with a visual example. Take students outside to observe a sprinkler or hose. As the sprinkler/hose releases water, invite learners to observe how the water gathers on the floor or in the grass. Explain that the hose/sprinkler is like the clouds releasing rain and the puddles on the floor are like the oceans and rivers.
• When you go back into the classroom invite students to look at step 4 in their books. Read the sentence out loud for the class and encourage learners to repeat after you. Add this step to the whiteboard.
Final Step & Concluding Remarks:
• Lastly, urge learners to look at the final step of the water cycle. Explain that the whole process repeats itself again and again. This is what makes it a ‘cycle’. Emphasize this point by pointing out the circle of arrows on the board.
• You can also conduct another experiment to illustrate the process as a whole: Fill about a quarter of a Ziplock bag with water and tape it to a sunny window. You can also draw a sun, clouds, and an ocean on the bag to resemble the environment of the water cycle. Throughout the day, allow learners to observe the bag. They should notice the water in the bag evaporating, then condensing near the top and falling back down.
• This is a great way for learners to visualize the stages of the water cycle together.
• After this experiment, go through each stage of the water cycle once more. Read the steps on page 31 of
the Explore Science book and encourage learners to follow along and repeat after you. Encourage students to ask questions if they are confused, ensuring that the class is confident in each step by the end.
• Next, separate the students into pairs. Ask students to take turns explaining the water cycle to their partners by pointing to the image in their books. This is a great way for students to revise what they have learned and check in on how much learners have retained from these activities. While students are discussing, walk around and observe, correcting any mistakes students make out loud for the whole class to hear. This exercise will also pave the way for students to complete Task 1 later in the lesson.
• Lastly, play the following video to summarize and visually clarify the stages of the water cycle. Pause the video and add further explanations as needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncORPosDrjI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5gFI3pMvoI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B77sebHmfdk
Lesson 2
Task 1
Read the sentences, then write a, b, c or d next to the numbers in the picture.
• This task aims to build on students’ knowledge of the water cycle by asking them to apply what they have learned.
• Invite students to complete this activity directly in their books. Do so as a class. Read the first sentence on page 32 out loud, then ask learners to mark the appropriate step of the water cycle. Repeat this process for each step, reading each sentence out loud, then encouraging learners to mark it in their books.
• Once complete, play an interactive game with the class to review the water cycle.
• Assign each student one of the following roles: sun, clouds, rain, lakes/sea. Then, invite them to physically act out the stages of the water cycle. For example, the sun can chase some water from the lake to make clouds (the sun guides a few students from the lake group to walk to the cloud group). Then some water from the clouds can fall as rain back to the lakes (students from the cloud group walk back to the lakes) and repeat. This is an optional activity that can be done if there is time in the lesson.
• As a supplement to this lesson and activity, provide learners with a homework assignment at the end of class.
• Instruct students to draw their own picture of the water cycle. They can be as creative as they like as long as their image shows all the correct steps.
• In class the next day, select a few learners to present their images to the rest of the class. Alternatively, invite students to describe their images to a partner.
• This is a great way for students to revise the water cycle in a hands-on manner and practice their presentation and speaking skills.
Invite students to complete the following worksheet during, or at the end of this lesson at your discretion.
Worksheet 2
Lesson 3
B: Form of Water
A- Liquid: Keep a glass of water at room temperature. Do you notice any changes?
• This activity will re-familiarize learners with the concept that water can take different forms and teach students that water is liquid at room temperature.
• To begin, ask learners what they noticed about the water from the water cycle. Urge each student to contribute, thinking logically and critically about what they have learned.
• Students should realize that the water changed into different forms during the water cycle – from vapor in the clouds to liquid in rain and lakes.
• Use this to explain that there are multiple forms of water. Ask learners to guess what they are. Students should be familiar with this from their work in the Science with Fun book in KG1.
Note: This is a great opportunity to gauge students’ existing knowledge of the topic and determine which learners require differentiated instruction later in the lesson.
• Inform learners that they will be learning about the three forms water takes during this lesson.
• Conduct the experiment described on page 33 of the Explore Science book. Place a glass of water in the classroom and ask students to observe it. Learners should note that nothing about the glass changed after 15 minutes.
• Explain that at room temperature, water is a liquid. Read the sentence on page 33 of the Explore Science book and ask students to repeat it after you.
• Notes on Differentiation: Ask students who are already familiar with this idea to predict what will happen if this water is put in the fridge and if it is heated up. Urge them to discuss with a partner. Invite learners who may be struggling with this concept to feel the temperature of different sources of liquid water around the school, for example from taps in the bathroom or bottles in the cafeteria.
Task 2
Draw a picture of where you can find liquid water in nature.
• This task encourages learners to connect what they have learned in class to their day-to-day experiences.
• First, read the instruction out loud for the class.
• Invite learners to draw a picture of a natural source of liquid water in their books.
• Next, separate the students into pairs and instruct them to discuss and explain their images to their peers.
• After 3-5 minutes of discussion, initiate a class discussion on the same. Ask each student to explain their partner’s image for the class. This is a great way to test students’ listening and presentation skills.
B- Solid: Put liquid water in a freezer for one day, then take it out. What changes do you notice?
• The purpose of this activity is to teach students that water becomes solid in cold temperatures.
• Begin by placing the glass of water from the previous experiment into the freezer. Ask learners what they think will happen and why. Use guiding questions such as “What do you think will happen? Why? What has changed from the classroom to the freezer?” etc.
• After 5 – 10 minutes, bring out a few pre-prepared ice cubes from the freezer. Ask students what they notice is different and why.
• After learners make their guesses, explain that cold temperatures change water from a liquid to a solid. When water is cold, it becomes ice.
• Invite students to touch the ice and feel the cold temperature. Then read the sentence on page 34 of the Explore Science book and invite learners to repeat after you.
• Lastly, ask learners where else they see ice. Once students make their contributions, point to the images in the Explore Science book.
• By the end of this activity, learners should understand that liquid water turns into solid ice in cold temperatures.
Where else can you find ice? What happens to ice if it gets warm?
• This discussion encourages learners to think critically about what they have learned in class and connect it to their day-to-day experiences.
• To begin, read each question out loud for the class.
• Next, separate the class into pairs and invite them to discuss the answers to each sub-question.
• Lastly, initiate a class discussion on the same, inviting each pair to share their answers with their peers.
• Closely moderate the discussion, asking further questions and/or providing suggestions as needed.
C-
Gas: Watch when someone heats the stove. What happens to the water?
• The purpose of this activity is to teach students that water becomes gas in hot temperatures.
• Due to the safety concerns associated with boiling water, a practical experiment cannot be conducted in class. Instead, play the video for the students: Instruct learners to watch the video carefully. After it is finished, ask them what they noticed happening.
• Learners should see the water turning into gas because of the heat. Explain that this gas is called vapor.
• Read the sentence on page 35 of the Explore Science book out loud for the class. Invite students to repeat it after you.
• Lastly, encourage students to watch their parents at home when they boil water. This is a great way for learners to see water change from liquid to gas in person, in their homes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2bFGpzY-Zc
Invite students to complete the following worksheet during, or at the end of the lesson at your discretion.
Worksheet 3
Thin k Box
• This activity is designed to increase learners’ critical thinking skills and prompt them to reflect and expand on the material they just learned.
• To begin, read the questions out loud for the class.
• Next, separate the class into pairs and invite them to discuss the answers to the questions.
• Lastly, initiate a class discussion on the same, inviting each pair to share their answers with their peers.
• Provide the appropriate praise and corrections as needed, closely moderating the discussion.
Lesson 4
C: Uses of Water
• This lesson aims to teach students about the different practical uses of water.
• To begin, present students with a glass of water. Initiate a class discussion by asking them what it can be used for. Encourage learners to brainstorm and think about when they personally use water.
• As students make suggestions, invite them to draw a picture or write about their ideas on the whiteboard. Alternatively, you can add each new idea to the whiteboard as students discuss it.
• Once learners have contributed their initial thoughts about the uses of water, go through each example listed in the Explore Science book one by one.
• As you do so, explain each concept clearly for the class, providing multiple specific examples for learners to consider. Encourage learners to identify each image in the book, then think of their own examples as well (e.g., specific water-sports, modes of transport, ways to use water during cooking, etc.).
• Repeat each new vocabulary word out loud and encourage learners to repeat after you. Provide further explanations if you notice that students are confused.
• Wrap up this exercise by inviting learners to complete an activity in pairs. Instruct each student to talk about one use of water. Once complete, invite their partner to talk about another use. Urge students to continue taking turns until they have discussed all six uses of water from this lesson. By the end of this activity, each student should have explained three uses of water, with each pair discussing all six.
• Lastly, play this song for the class to underscore the different ways water is used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvTmW3Obpvo
Thin k Box
• This activity is designed to increase learners’ critical thinking skills and prompt them to reflect and expand on the material they just learned.
• To begin, read each question out loud for the class.
• Next, separate the class into pairs and invite them to discuss the answers to each sub-question.
• Lastly, initiate a class discussion on the same, inviting each pair to share their answers with their peers.
• Provide the appropriate praise and corrections as needed, closely moderating the discussions.
• As these questions are slightly difficult, provide suggestions or examples for the class to consider as they come up with their own solutions.
Task 3
Color the picture. Tell your classmate about your favorite water sports.
• This activity builds on children’s creativity and love of coloring. It adds fun to the lesson in a controlled manner and encourages learners to think about a use of water in their personal lives.
• Invite learners to complete this activity directly in their books. Instruct students to color the image, encouraging them to be as creative as they’d like.
• As they do so, urge them to discuss their favorite water sports in pairs.
• As a supplement to this lesson and activity, provide learners with a homework assignment at the end of class.
• Instruct students to draw a picture of their favorite watersport at home. This is a great way to personalize the lesson in a creative way.
• In class the next day, select a few learners to present their images to the rest of the class. Alternatively, invite students to describe their images to a partner.
• This is a great way for students to practice their presentation and speaking skills.
Invite students to complete the following worksheet during, or at the end of the lesson at your discretion.
Worksheet 4
Lesson 5
Make ice cream and design a container to keep it cold.
• The aim of this investigation is for students to design and engineer a practical solution to real-life problems based on what they have just learned.
• This project can be completed in class and continued at home. Prior to this lesson, bring materials into class that students can use to create their containers. For example, cartons or boxes, sponges, tin foil, cling wrap, ice, wool, Styrofoam, paper, bubble wrap, tape, pipe cleaners, etc.
• To begin, explain the project for the class, giving examples of different designs that fit the described scenario. Inform learners that they will be making ice cream and designing a container to keep it cold. For example, a freezer, or a cool box.
• Before beginning the design process, ask learners why they need to keep ice cream cold. This is a great way to encourage students to think critically about material from class in relation to real-life problems.
• Next, read the questions from section A out loud. Separate the students into pairs or small groups of three and encourage them to discuss the answers. After groups have discussed each question, initiate a class discussion on the same.
• Afterward, separate students into small groups of 3 – 5. Read question b.1 out loud and instruct them to discuss different materials they could use to design a container. As they do so, encourage them to start designing their container, drawing their plans on a piece of paper.
• Once they have come up with a solid design, invite them to create their containers using the materials provided in class. If they have chosen a material that you do not have, guide them to use a similar one, or try to bring it into class the next day.
• At the end of class, instruct students to test their containers when they go home. Ask them to work with their parents to make their own ice cream (if this is not possible, they can use store-bought), then put it in their containers and bring it to school the next day.
• When students come back to class, encourage each group to present their design to the rest of the class, explaining how it was made, what was used to make it, and whether it was successful in keeping the ice cream cold.
• As students present, read the final question on page 41 out loud for the class. Invite learners to give feedback on their peers’ designs, thinking of ways each design could be improved.
Lesson 6
The environment is the natural area in which living things live. Water can change the environment in different ways.
• This activity aims to teach learners about the ways water can change the environment. They will learn about the effects of having too much or too little water in the environment.
• To begin, revise the material learned earlier in this unit. Ask learners to help you remember the steps of the water cycle and the different forms water takes. Encourage each student to contribute and correct them when necessary.
• Next, introduce and define the term ‘environment’ for the class. Explain that ‘environment’ refers to the physical surroundings on the Earth, including living and nonliving things.
• Play the following videos for the class. They will teach learners about the effect of flooding and drought on the Earth. You can pause the videos and add further explanations as needed. Additionally, you can play as much or as little of each video as needed to illustrate your point.
Drought
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeP211Jz_EE&ab_channel=Flexiguru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkT2u3Y2D60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j6aJO52JYg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hQZCiZ21fk
Note: Videos with stories can be started at the start of the story rather than the beginning of the video.
• Afterward, go through the discussion questions in Think Box 3.
Thin k Box
• This activity is designed to increase learners’ critical thinking skills and prompt them to reflect and expand on material from class in relation to the real world.
• Initiate a class discussion by reading the questions on page 43 out loud. Guide learners through each question one by one, encouraging them to share their thoughts and ideas with their peers.
• After discussing each question, instruct students to draw a picture of one solution to save water. Set 5 –10 minutes for learners to do so.
• Next, encourage learners to describe their pictures to a partner, explaining their solution for water conservation. Alternatively, select 4 – 5 students to present their drawings to the rest of the class.
• Lastly, play the following video for the class. This will teach learners about the importance of water conservation and provide them with additional solutions. Pause and add further explanations as needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTcFXJT0Fsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGWr5jXJfbs
Invite students to complete the following worksheet during, or at the end of the lesson at your discretion.