Chagrin Falls Middle School seventh graders are learning about the water cycle this month in a creative way. Mrs. Alison Hinesman, their teacher, turned each student into his/her own water molecule.
“We set up nine stations for different stages of the water cycle where water can be found, such as glaciers, rivers, plants, animals, soil, and clouds,” said Hinesman. “ Each station had a die with possible places the water molecule could travel next. They would roll the die and follow directions to stay at that station, or move on to the next.”
Students collected a bead at each station to track where they had been. At the end, the class compared journeys and discussed the different paths, where molecules spend the most time, and which stations had the longest lines. Students discovered that the ocean line was the longest, symbolizing that most water is in the ocean.
Students then took a “selfie” of themselves and their water cycle journey stick and wrote a reflection of the activity. Now, students will use the activity to create mini books with the story of the life of a water molecule.
