A couple of weeks ago, we started on a new unit. One that focuses on water, the water cycle, and water pollution. A lot of the time I make our own science notebook pages, but there were so many wonderful resources already available, we used what we found online instead for this portion of our Weather and Water unit. I thought I would share some of these resources with you today.
Our main activity for this portion of our unit is using the Engineering is Elementary unit: Water, Water Everywhere, Designing Water Filters. It is a complete engineering unit put together by the Museum of Science. (Be sure to check out this earlier post about some of the free units offered by Engineering is Elementary.)
Even though the unit itself is quite complete, I am supplementing with some other free materials I’ve found online.
The USGS has a cute printable water cycle poster for kids:
Here are some cute pages that I used for ED: My Water Activity Book by SW Florida Water Management District
The USGS also has a terrific poster about the Water Cycle for older students:
There are a number of wonderful water-related posters from the USGS that we printed out to use in our discussions. Below are the USGS Water Education Posters. We used the printable posters about Water Use, Ground Water and How we Treat Waste Water. They have a number of other posters as well (wetlands, watersheds, water quality, etc.)
In the Engineering Unit we are doing, we are learning about pollution and the kids will be creating their own water filters. The kids brain stormed some sources of pollution. Here is a printout about pollution that we used:
As well as the USGS poster about water quality:
To go with your water cycle unit, you might want to check out these books. (These are affiliate links.) These are aimed at K-Gr. 3 (in my opinion):
Down Comes the Rain: This is a book we got years ago. It explains evaporation and how clouds form, why rain and hail form. The illustrations are bright. It was a mainstay in our homeschool until the kids were in about Grade 3.
Magic School Bus, Wet All Over: Our family also enjoyed the Magic School Bus science books. This one is about the water cycle.
Water is Water is another book aimed at K-Grade 1 or so. It is a basic introduction to the water cycle and the illustrations are really pretty!
Our family read Bringing Rain to Kapiti Plain when we did this unit. We talked about the consequences of drought. This was a Reading Rainbow book and is highly rated. (By us too.) It is also for K-Grade 2 or so.
The Water Cycle is a good non-fiction book about the water cycle for grades 2-3.
P.S. At the beginning of our Ocean Unit, we studied the water cycle again. Don’t miss the notebook pages I made for the kids about the water cycle, divides and watersheds, underground water – aquifers, etc. You’ll find those worksheets here:
Visit our other Weather Unit Posts:
- Free Earth Science Packet: Earth’s Atmosphere — As we started off this unit, we spent quite a bit of time learning about the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. You can download our free 19-page packet at that post.
After studying the water cycle, weather and meteorology, you might delve into Earth’s geology – the layers of the earth, plate tectonics, faults, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. Be sure to check out our Earth Science Packet
- Earth Science Packet: This unit includes 50+ pages of worksheets, hands-on activity ideas, and more! My kids loved this unit!! Topics in this unit are listed below.
- the solar system
- layers of the Earth, Earth’s axis
- compass directions, compass rose, how to use a compass
- Earth’s geologic timeline
- equator, latitude, longitude — Using a globe to determine latitude and longitude
- Pangaea and continental drift
- understanding convection currents
- tectonic plates
- 4 types of mountains
- 3 types of faults
- earthquakes and faults
- volcanoes – volcanic terms, types of volcanoes
- earthquakes and building construction, earthquake shake table
In all, this packet is more than 50 pages (and includes the suggested answers). It includes detailed instructions with pictures for all of our hands-on activities.
- More of our hands-on Earth science activities
- Human Body Systems – Free Worksheets
- Free Simple Machines Packet
- Free Rocks and Minerals Packet
- Famous Rocks from Around the World: Free Montessori Cards
See you again soon here or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! Don’t forget to Subscribe to our Homeschool Den Newsletter. You might also want to check out our Science Resource Page which has links to dozens of science posts. And don’t forget to check out Our Store as well. Happy Homeschooling! ~Liesl
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.