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This curriculum unit is designed to entice sixth graders initially to learn about and ultimately to care about water. By combining scientific observation and experimentation with simultaneous poetic observation and experimentation, students will reach an interdisciplinary understanding of the water cycle, its history and its phases.

The students will perform experiments that demonstrate various aspects of the water cycle. Upon completion of these experiments they will be asked to write poems in various forms based on their observations and reflections. The culminating project will be "Water Dance Notebook," a compilation of notes, experiments, poetry, illustrations, recommendations and assessments.

Both the experiments and the poems mentioned in this unit have been excerpted from existing curricula, or previously published books and anthologies of poetry. It is not my intention to create my own material but to borrow from the existing wealth of available material and to combine the best examples of basic scientific experimentation with forms of poetry that complement the science.

It is important to note that my target classes are sixth graders from a predominantly Hispanic population. Two-thirds of them read below grade level, most of them live at or below the poverty level, and when they get to high school, an appalling number of them drop out. Most are reluctant readers at best, who might skim a book about Michael Jordan or Johnny Tapia, but I would estimate that less than five percent of my students read for pleasure in their leisure moments or even find reading to be an enjoyable activity. It was therefore not surprising to discover that their science scores on the recent Terra Nova Standardized Test were abysmally low.

Given science's unfortunately dry reputation and its daunting vocabulary, (particularly so for struggling readers), and adding the fact that my sixth graders find little success in the science program on my team, which is primarily a self -directed one, a solution to this dilemma came to me: Why not use the same techniques and study skills I use in my Language Arts classes to motivate reluctant readers to learn about science?

As educators we have a tendency to compartmentalize our particular field and unfortunately, our students assimilate this separation very quickly. They have to be taught that the same note-taking skills their Lang/Lit teacher taught them can be used in science class, and math class, and so on. They need to not be surprised when their math teacher uses a poem as part of a demonstration on fractions, or their science teacher gives them a mnemonic device in the form of a song for remembering the names of their major bones. They need to learn that by observing a waterfall they are not only watching a part of the water cycle process, but they might be feeling a special kinship with that water--one that screams to be released in the form of a poem. They need to know that emotional reactions to environmental events are a testament to their humanity, to their left and right brainedness, to the ebb and flow, the waxing and waning, the completeness of being alive.

So it is that I hope to capitalize on my sixth graders’ innate love of poetry and their natural curiosity about the world around them to stimulate them to become actively involved with science through these experiments with the water cycle and the corresponding poems. Hopefully, they will be able not only to become excited about this highly motivational, hands-on approach to learning about science, but also to come away with a new respect for their environment and their place in it.

Because my school will be using block scheduling next year, that is, a rotating schedule wherein each class meets every other day for approximately seventy-six minutes, as opposed to the traditional forty-three minute class, I am estimating that this unit should take two to three weeks to implement, depending on the number of unexpected diversions from the regular schedule. I plan to insert it into the last part of my regular poetry unit which usually lasts about three to four weeks. It will serve as the culminating segment of my poetry unit, thereby insuring at least some familiarity with the many terms involved in the study of poetry. I am hoping that if my students feel comfortable with similes and personification, precipitation and transpiration will not be too much of a burden for them.

I introduce poetry to my sixth graders by writing the words to the popular sixties' song "Doo Wa Diddy" on the board. It is a truly awesome model of rhyme, rhyme scheme, alliteration, repetition, imagery, musicality, and sheer fun. I then turn it into a choral reading by having the boys sing, "There she was, just a walkin' down the street, singin..." and the girls chime in with, "Doo wa diddy, diddy, dum, diddy doo." We proceed through the rest of the lines, alternating, boys and girls, until we have mastered both verses. When the laughter subsides, I inform them that they have just used six poetic devices, and apparently had a great time doing it. Motivation is high at this point- a usually stellar moment!

So I will begin my "Water Dance" unit by reminding them of the "Doo Wa Diddy" exercise. I will then write on the board the words to a parody of the song which I wrote in order to introduce them to a very special part of our poetry studies: (Students are usually very appreciative when their teacher shares original poetry with them)

As soon as the applause subsides, I will tell them about our special task: We are going to combine poetry with science to learn about the water cycle, why water is important and what we can do to protect the water around us. We will become Scientific Poets, or Poetic Scientists, whichever they prefer, for the next few weeks while we use our note-taking skills, our previous knowledge of poetic terms, our observations and our reflections to experiment with water and to write poetry about those experiments. We will begin by taking a look at the history of water on Earth.

Students will be reminded that they are responsible for keeping a notebook on all phases of the unit, and that they should take notes on everything, particularly on the lecture portions of the unit.

Each segment of the unit will include a list of vocabulary words which the students will need to define and learn in order to understand the ensuing text. Word searches, crossword puzzles, the matching game (cards are turned face down; one card has the term, another card contains the definition. All cards are scattered randomly and students attempt to match term and definition by remembering the location of both cards) and games of Password using significant terms all help to ease the onus of bombardment by new vocabulary.

In order to trace the origins of water, we must first look back more than four billion years to the origin of the Earth. (Impress your friends by telling them a giga-annum is the coolest way to express a billion years.) Most scientists believe that the Earth and the Solar System were formed from the dust and gas ultimately formed during the "Big Bang," an explosive cosmic event, from which all energy and matter came. The dust and gas collected over time in certain regions of the expanding universe due to gravity to form a huge, sprawling cloud in space. As the cloud continued to spin, particles of dust and hot gas combined to form millions of stars in galaxies. One such star is the Sun, and the Earth and the other planets in our Solar System formed at the same time.

In the very beginning of its life, the Earth was a dense ball of largely solid rock. Some gases dissolved inside magmas that formed when part of the Earth's interior melts. These gases rise with the magma towards the surface where they are released by volcanoes and giant fissures in the Earth's surface. As these gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen escaped from the Earth by a process called outgassing, most of them were not able to escape all the way into space. The powerful pull of the Earth's gravity held all but light gases such as hydrogen and helium in Earth's atmosphere. This formed the first atmosphere, or the envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth.

This outgassing continued for hundreds of millions of years until the Earth's interior began to cool off. One of the gases in this early atmosphere was water vapor, water in gas form. As the temperature on Earth continued to cool, the newly formed water vapor in the atmosphere rained down as showers of hot water, covering most of the planet and forming the very first oceans. "Little water has been added to or lost from the surface of the Earth since the first rains that fell from the newly formed atmosphere" (1).

These first rains set in motion the hydrologic cycle, or water cycle, which is the continuous movement of water from one reservoir to another. Lakes, rivers and oceans, the atmosphere, land ice, and organisms, or living things, can all be thought of as reservoirs within the hydrologic cycle because water is stored in each of them at least for a little while. This continuous movement of water from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface and subsurface, and from these areas back to the atmosphere is known as the water cycle ( 2).

It impacts our lives in many ways. The weather we experience, how much and how often we must water our lawns in the summertime, how we store water, how we manage the water we have--these are all important aspects of our activities that affect the water cycle. Our understanding of how it works is essential for our very survival. Consider that of all the water in the world, only one percent is the fresh water in which we swim, wash our clothes, cook our macaroni, and with which we bathe and shower, not to mention what we drink! The fresh water that we use, where it comes from, and its continuous replacement are all aspects of the water cycle with which we need to become familiar.

One may consider the first major step in the water cycle to be the sun's heating of the surface of bodies of water such as lakes, streams, reservoirs, oceans or rivers, which causes that water to evaporate. Evaporation occurs because the sun’s intercepted radiation is transformed to heat, which is great enough to turn liquid water into water vapor or ice into water. Water vapor is also added to the atmosphere by transpiration, which is the release of water by plants. Plants collect water through their roots and lose it as it evaporates into the atmosphere through small openings on the undersides of their leaves.

Much of this water vapor is then carried higher into the Earth's atmosphere by rising air, which cools. This causes the water vapor to condense; the process of condensation can be recognized whenever water vapor comes in contact with cold air or cooler objects like the mirror in your bathroom after a hot shower, or dew or frost on plants or windows.

We can see the condensation of large amounts of water vapor in the form of clouds. As water vapor cools into clouds, the temperature determines what happens next. If the clouds stay warm, the water vapor will collect into ever increasing large drops. When these drops become too heavy, they turn into rain, a form of precipitation. Precipitation returns water from the atmosphere back to the surface of the Earth. If the clouds are cold, water vapor may turn into snow, or hail may be formed when rain drops are tossed high into the cold temperatures of the higher clouds.

During a rainstorm, some of the rainwater evaporates as it falls to the ground. The majority either infiltrates into the ground, possibly to become part of the ground water, or it may run over the surface of the ground until it enters a stream or a brook to become part of the surface water system. Streams combine to form rivers, which usually empty into lakes or oceans.

Sometimes rainwater soaks a few inches into the ground and stays there for a while before it is evaporated by the Sun's heat or is utilized by plants or animals. If the water soaks to really great depths under the ground, it may stay there for hundreds or even thousands of years. Water that collects under the Earth's surface is called groundwater.

Gravity causes it to seep downward into the subsoil, and the porous nature of soil, rock and sediment enables it to fill and flow through spaces around the rock particles. When it reaches a level where all the open space between the soil and rocks is completely filled with water, or saturated, it forms the water table. The water table may be very near to the surface of the ground, "or it may be as much as 200 to 600 feet deep, which is the case in many areas of the Southwest United States" (3). In any event, if the soil or rock formation which collects this water is able to hold enough of it for humans to be able to use it, it is called an aquifer. "About 88% of the population of New Mexico depends on ground water for drinking water", according to a report filed by the Environmental Protection Agency (4)

Different types of soil will vary in their ability to absorb water. In the Albuquerque area, the best combinations for yielding good ground water are sand/ silt and clay, sand/ pebble/ gravel, and gravel/ sand/ silt/ clay ( 5). In other words, if the soil is made up of mostly larger sand and gravel particles, there are more open spaces through which the ground water can travel. It can then be on its way to the water table.

When water does infiltrate below the ground surface, it may flow over the surface; this is called runoff. Runoff water travels over the surface of the ground and may cause soil erosion. Plant roots help limit this surface erosion. Water continues to flow underground, eventually flowing to the ocean. From the ocean and from the Earth's surface, water molecules can evaporate into the atmosphere, thereby contributing again to rainfall by initiating the water cycle again. Water is in constant motion through the ground water system (6).

At this point in the unit, it would be beneficial to the students to do a few summation activities. Because many of my students express a preference for using charts or diagrams as a means of collecting and organizing new information, a few are in order.

NOTE: Each student is required to write the objective for the day's activity in his agenda, a personal planner that is designed to teach students how to be organized.

Science Objective: Identify the parts of the water cycle and demonstrate the function of each in a drawing.

Lang/Lit Objective: Write alliterative combinations that deal with the water cycle. Write a four line poem that personifies some aspect of the water cycle.

I would write the following words on the board: sun, clouds, precipitation (rain, snow, hail), evaporation, mountains, ocean, river and waterfall. Then we would break up into groups of three or four and collaborate on a drawing of the water cycle, inserting arrows and terms in the appropriate places.

Next, I would ask them to pick three or four of these terms and write alliterative combinations of at least three words. For example, they might decide on "multitudes of majestic mountains," or "Eddie, the puddle, evaporated evenly." They then would be asked to summarize the main processes of the water cycle, and write them in bulletted form on the bottom part of their diagrams. For example, "The sun heats a water surface, which causes the water to evaporate." Students would then be directed to imagine that they are a drop of water in the water cycle and to write a four-line poem wherein they answer one of these questions:

1. Does evaporation hurt, or is it like being able to fly for the first time?

2. Is it hard to be torn away from your raindrop family? Do you have time to kiss goodbye?

3. Is being evaporated like dying in that you merely change form? Will you still have the same smile?

To maintain a high interest level , a general questionnaire on water and its properties might be used at this point. Water Science for Schools has developed such a questionnaire, with detailed explanations of the correct answers. It can be found on the Web at http://wwwga.usgs.gov/edu/sc3.html. Since my students are highly motivated by competitive activities, we could divide into two teams, Embryos and Zygotes, (my gentle reminder to them that they are still persons "under construction") and the team that comes up with the most correct answers, wins a prize (usually a sucker, which they can't seem to get enough of). They would be instructed to take notes when the correct answers were discussed. Then for homework, I would assign a water word search puzzle much like the one that can be found on the Web at http://www.fi.edu/qa97/puzzle12/puzzle12.html. Students would be asked to define the words they find in the word search. Which ones pertain to the water cycle and why? would be a bonus question.

Next, I think it might be helpful for them to see a diagram of the ground water system. There is an excellent one at another Water Science for Schools site, http://wwwga.usgs.gov/edu /earthgw.html. I will gather them around the Mac I am privileged to have in my room, and we will get an excellent visual portrayal of the system along with a detailed description of gravity, bedrock, sedimentary rocks and confining layers as they relate to the ground water system. Naturally, they will take notes and will approximate the drawing, with all the proper labels.

Tongue twisters occupy sixth graders for an inordinate amount of time, so at the risk of derailing a potentially serious thought, I will suggest that they create a tongue twister that relates to the ground water system. For example, "Saturated soil sits silently so Sara sees little saline on Saturday." Students will be reminded that all activities will be included in their "Water Dance Notebooks," which will be the major assessment tool of the unit.

There is one more aspect of the water cycle that we need to address and this is the effects of urbanization on the water supply. Urbanization can be defined simply as the population growth in cities. Before World War II many people lived in rural, or farm areas of our country. Many in dry regions had their own well from which they drew ground water. After World War II, people began moving to the cities for many reasons. When large amounts of people congregate in one place, more houses, sinks, toilets and washing machines, gardens, slip 'n slides, shopping malls, and Kool-Aid are needed. You get the picture--they need more water. But from where will it come?

Once again, Water Science for Schools provides a very understandable web site, http://wwwga.usgs.gov/edu/urbaneffects.html, entitled, "How Urbanization affects the hydrologic system." Again, I will troop my students over to the computer and we will read and take notes on "The Beginning of Urbanization," which deals with changes in land use and effects on the water system, "Beginning of large-scale urbanization, and finally, "Continuing urbanization." Both have segments on the change in land use and the corresponding effect on the water system. To conclude, the article presents "Local community takes steps to fix some problems," which offers possibilities for every community to use in dealing with increased urbanization and its effects on the water system.

This leads right into the section on what each individual can do to conserve water. The Department of the Interior/Bureau of Reclamation offers a series of lesson plans called "Water Share." "Urban Water--Water and You," is a middle-school lesson plan designed to encourage students to make a personal water audit. For twenty four hours, they keep track of their water use. For instance, "I took a bath, filling the tub almost full." After twenty four hours of use are documented, they are given a chart that shows the task, for instance, "bathing, full tub." They are told that that activity consumes forty gallons of water, but that a tub of low level water uses only fifteen gallons. Water amounts are given for many activities from getting a drink to washing the car, showing tables of average use, and then the conservation table. Students are then asked to document another twenty-four hour cycle using their newfound conservation behaviors. (A personal note: Since I read this report, I can no longer brush my teeth with the water running).

Before we can begin the joint experiment/poem section in earnest, a review of poetic terms and devices would be helpful. Students will be asked to review their notes from the beginning of the poetry unit, and to refresh their memories regarding the following terms:

Science Objective: Students will make a terrarium to demonstrate how the water cycle works.

Lang/Lit Objective: Students will read and interpret a selection of poems that deal with water in its many forms.

Experiment: The class will return to the web where we will link up with the "Live from Earth and Mars" site, http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/index.htmll. Students will observe the changes water goes through during its journey through the water cycle when they conduct this experiment entitled, "The Whole Water Cycle."

Upon completion of this experiment, students will be directed to read the following, taking notes for their notebook, discussing applicable terminology. In "Metamorphosis" by Carl Sandburg, water is asked if it remembers being ice, and ice if it remembers being water (8). "The Snowman's Lament," by Jack Prelutsky, begins with the snowman boasting, in very large print, about how handsome and tall he is. When the weather begins to turn warmer, and he begins to melt, the print becomes smaller and smaller until, like the snowman, it finally disappears ( 9). The imagery in Constancy Levy's "Icicles," and her use of metaphors in comparing icicles to "sharks' teeth, sleek frost fingers," (10) imbues these frozen wonders with new life. An example of a concrete poem, or a poem whose shape suggests its meaning, can be found in Jane Yolk’s "Icicle." The lines of the poem are arranged vertically to suggest the shape of the icicle ( 11). Because the students have already written poems about the water cycle in the Time Out section, we will proceed with the next experiment.

Science Objective: Students will be able to explain what occurs in this stage of the water cycle.

Lang/Lit Objective: Students will compose a lyric poem using descriptive words that involve the senses to describe a rainy day.

We will return to the website http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/pilot/water_cycle/ precipitation.html.l.

Upon completion of the experiment students will be given the following assignment:

In lyric poetry, writers express their thoughts and feelings about a subject in a brief but musical way. Recall the sights and sounds, tastes and smells of a rainy day. Write a first draft of your poem of between eight and twelve lines, and then read it aloud to your rewrite partner. Ask him if you can make your descriptions more vivid. Then revise and write the final copy.

As a means of modeling this assignment, I will read "The Rain at Night," by Tu Fu, an ancient Chinese poet who begins his piece with the line, "The good rain knows when to fall." (12)

Science Objective: Students will produce a cloud in a bottle.

Lang/Lit Objective: Students will observe clouds in the sky and create metaphorical comparisons for them.

We will return to the aforementioned web site, substituting the word "condensation." Adult supervision is required for this experiment so I will probably enlist the aid of parent volunteers. After the experiment has been completed, I will review metaphors with the class. I will provide some examples. For instance, in "Water Jewels," Jane Yolen refers to weeds that "Wear rain jewels upon their leaves." In "Waterfall," she calls the waterfall a "rumbling, tumbling, cataracting fool," and in "Algae," she refers to "Pond scum, Water's ghetto, Primitive greengrocers." (13) Students will then be taken outside to a quiet spot where they may observe the clouds, and work on their metaphorical comparisons. Students like to share their completed works, but usually prefer to remain anonymous. Therefore, I read their poems to the class but only after they have given me permission to do so.

Science Objective: Students will make water evaporate and then answer a series of questions about what they have observed.

Lang/ Lit Objective: Students will write a series of couplets that explains where water from different places goes when it evaporates.

Return to the previous web site, but this time insert "evaporation." After finishing the experiment, direct students to recall that a couplet is a two-lined poem that rhymes. Ask them to work with a partner to brainstorm ideas about couplets that tell the stories of different ways water can be evaporated. Remind them to try to use imagery in their selections.

Five: Groundwater

Science Objective: Students will be able to explain how ground water moves through the soil and how it interacts with the surface water.

Lang/Lit Objective: Students will compose a Bio-poem using ground water as the subject.

We will switch to a new web site for this experiment, http://www.epa.gov/region01/students/ teacher/gndwater.html. This site is a teachers’ resource center sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. Entitled, "Deep Subjects-Wells and Groundwater," it includes a comprehensive background section, an excellent diagram of the groundwater system, an illustrated table of groundwater terms, an informative experiment that both demonstrates the movement of groundwater and shows its connection to the water cycle. The experiment concludes with a water maze activity that shows the paths water might take as it travels down into the ground and then to the water table.

Upon completion of this experiment students will be directed to compose a Bio-poem, a structured piece that attempts to display several aspects of a person’s character, using groundwater as the subject of the poem. They will use the poetic device, personification, in order to transfer animate qualities to the inanimate groundwater. The format is as follows:

First line- name of subject (Ground water)

second line - two adjectives that describe the subject

third line- Sister/Brother of______________

Who Fears_____________________

Who Loves______________________

Whose Greatest Dream is to____________________

Last line- Repeats name of subject (Ground water)

Science Objective: Students will discover ways in which their families can conserve water.

Lang/Lit Objective: Students will use the Water Conservation Tips page at the end of the experiment to design a conservation jingle which they will illustrate on posters.

For this last experiment, the class will return to the previous web site and click on "The Case of the Mysterious Renters." Students will become detectives as they sleuth their way through a mystery that involves math skills. They will use a questionnaire to determine how much water their family uses in one day. The last page offers water conservation tips.

Students will be directed to use the Water Conservation Tips page to create conservation jingles that rhyme and that can be illustrated on posters. Posters will be displayed upon completion and prizes will be awarded to the top three.

As a wrap-up to the unit, I will show the video "The Urban Explosion" from the Journey to Planet Earth series provided by KNME, Channel 5 and PBS. The accompanying teacher's guide lists the following objectives:

• describe the environmental problems-specifically air and water pollution-created by the rapid development of urban areas.
• identify some solutions for dealing with problems caused by uncontrolled urbanization.
• explain the importance of urban development plans in dealing with cities’ environmental problems.

After viewing the video and following the format for discussion, the class will participate in one of the suggested projects. We will invite a speaker from the local water utility to speak to the class. Before the speaker arrives, students will have prepared questions such as, "Where does our water come from?" "Where are our aquifers in Albuquerque?" "How far down do we need to drill before we hit the water table?" "Where is the waste from factories and plants released?" "How is our local sewage treated and where is it released?" "How long do we have before Albuquerque runs out of water?"

As a final poetry assignment, I will ask students to write a myth or a legend, in poetic form, about population growth and its effects on the environment. They will be encouraged to use information from the video they have just seen and from the notes they have taken throughout the unit as a starting point for their poem. They will also be encouraged to stretch the believability factor and aim for an exaggerated version, or hyperbole, of their ideas.

I will prepare a checklist for the students by which their "Water Dance Notebooks" will be evaluated. They will receive this handout at the beginning of the unit so they will be aware of my expectations.

1. Listing objectives for each activity.................. 5 pts.

2. Taking complete notes...................................... 10pts.

3. Completing each experiment............................ 30pts.

4. Completing each poetry assignment...................30pts.

5. Jingle / poster assignment.................................. 10pts.

6. Definitions completed........................................ 5pts.

7. Diagrams and charts included........................... 5pts.

8. Organization / neatness...................................... 5pts.

Students will be encouraged to display their final notebooks and to share their recommendations for future Water Dance projects.

1. Were activities motivational, and did students enjoy them? 2. Did I make the best use of classroom time? 3. Which activities took longer than expected? 4. Are there some activities that should be deleted or altered? 5. Were students able to feel a sense of their responsibility within their environment? 6. Will students continue to make connections among their various areas of study and apply their learning across disciplines?

The Rio Grande Nature Center, located off Candelaria Street in Albuquerque, affords excellent opportunities for hands-on activities relating to the water cycle. The Visitors’ Center has highly detailed displays that depict the city of Albuquerque in the middle of the active water cycle. Other displays entitled, "The Rio Grande Valley's Geologic Past," and "A Three-Dimensional View of the Rio Grande Rift in the Albuquerque Region," offer concise, well-detailed explanations of the geology behind the water supply in our area.

A brief history of the Rio Grande, as depicted in various displays, tells how the well-meaning flood control efforts, initiated earlier in this century, have had a devastating effect on river hydrology and ecology. Not the least of these effects is the disruption of the ancient connection between river water and groundwater in the adjacent floodplains. Students can see the channel, the jetty jacks and the levee for themselves when they enter the grounds of the center, and hopefully come to a better understanding of the complexity behind most water issues.

There is a real pump in the Visitors' Center that students can operate to draw up groundwater, and the accompanying explanations of the aquifer and the water table reinforce what the students have already learned.

In addition to providing an excellent field trip opportunity, the Rio Grande Nature Center is also a resource for a varied and interesting array of workshops for adults and children. Bosque Tracks is the center’s publication which features upcoming events such as "A Raindrop's Journey," a program for children which includes hands-on water cycle activities. Or for teachers, the center periodically offers workshops such as "Project WET," a nationally developed, K-12 environmental education program which utilizes water as its theme.

1. Merritts, DeWet and Menking, Environmental Geology, (New York, W.H. Freeman and Co., 1998), 45.

2. Merritts, DeWet and Menking, Environmental Geology, 33-38.

3. "Deep Subjects- Wells and Ground Water." p. c-1, website http://www.epa.gov/region01/students/teacher/gndwater.html

4. New Mexico Ground Water Quality/Environmental Protection Agency web site http://www.epa.gov/ow/resources/9698/nm.html

5. Seminar handout: "Hypothetical Distribution of Lithofacies in the Albuquerque Basin."

6. Manuel C. Molles, Jr., Ecology, (McGraw-Hill, 1999), 49-50; Merritts, DeWet and Menking, Environmental Geology, Chapter 8.

7. From Rainbows Are Made, ed. Lee Bennett Hopkins, (Harcourt, 1982).

8. Jack Prelutsky, It’s Snowing, It’s Snowing, (New York, Greenwillow, 1984), 44-47.

9. Constance Levy, A Crack in the Clouds, (New York, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1998), 21.

10. Jane Yolan, Water Music, (Honesdale, PA, Wordsong Boyds Mills Press, 1995), unnumbered pages.

12. Tu Fu, Earth Poems, edited by Ivo Mosley, (Harper Collins, 1993), 266.

13. Yolan, Water Music

Fiarotta, Noel and Phyllis, Great Experiments with H2O, New York: Sterling Publishers,1995.
        Presents basic facts about water and includes simple experiments to illustrate various properties of water.

Gardner, Robert, Experimenting with Water, New York: F.Watts, 1993.
        Provides instructions for experiments and activities involving water.

Hooper, Meredith, The Drop in My Drink, New York: Viking, 1998.
        Presents the story of water on our planet.

Levy, Constance, A Crack in the Clouds, New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books,1998.
        A collection of thirty eight original poems about the natural world.

Prelutsky, Jack, It’s Snowing, It’s Snowing, New York: Greenwillow, 1984.
        A collection of poems about water in its many forms.

Rogasky, Barbara, Winter Poems, New York: Scholastic, 1994.
        A collection of winter poems ranging from late fall to early spring by such authors as Shakespeare, Poe, and Wallace Stevens.

Sandburg, Carl, "The Metamorphosis," in Rainbows Are Made, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, New York:Harcourt,1982.
        Seventy humorous and serious poems dealing with people, word play, everyday things and nature.

Seixas, Judith, S., Water: What it is, What it Does, New York: Greenwillow Books,1987.
        A simple introduction to water, describing its properties, uses and interactions with people and the environment.

Smith, David, The Water Cycle, New York: Wayland Publishers, Ltd., 1993.
        Describes the water cycle and the effects of water on the Earth.

Yolen, Jane, Water Music, Honesdale, PA: Wordsong Boyds Mills Press,1995.
        Original poems based on water in its various forms.

Chatton, Barbara, Using Poetry Across the Curriculum, Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press, 1993.
        A compilation of thematic units that use poetry across the curriculum. It is especially useful for its bibliography.

Chronic, Halka, Pages of Stone, # 3 The Desert Southwest, Seattle, Washington: Mountaineer Publishers, 1986.
        Part One offers a brief description of the geology behind the water cycle. Pictures, maps, diagrams and charts enhance the beginner’s understanding of basic           geological concepts.

Chronic, Halka, Roadside Geology of New Mexico, Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1987.
        Part One offers a brief description of the geology behind the water cycle. Pictures, maps, diagrams and charts enhance the beginner’s understanding of basic           geological concepts.

Journey to the Planet Earth, video; distributed by PBS and local channel KNME.
        A compilation of lessons based upon the public television series of the same name, which explore the fragile relationship between people and the world they         inhabit.

Kelly, T. E.,"History of Water Use in the Greater Albuquerque Area," in Albuquerque Country II, New Mexico Geological Society 33rd Annual Field Conference,          1982.
        Discusses the historical impact of municipal systems on the area aquifers. Traces impacts from the first three hundred years through 1978 with predictions for          the year 2000.

Merritts, Dorothy, Andrew DeWet, and Kirsten Menking, Environmental Geology, New York: W.H. Freeman and Co., 1998.
        Presents an integrated, Earth system, interdisciplinary approach to environmental geosciences. Chapters one through five, and chapter eight are relative to this           unit.

Molles, Jr., Manuel, C., Ecology, McGraw- Hill, 1999.
        Provides an evolutionary perspective as the foundation for the discussion of basic concepts and applications in Ecology. Chapters one through three are relative          to this unit.

Pielou, E.C. Fresh Water, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
        An exploration of the ways of water and the close connection between water and living forms. Informative chapters on the water cycle, ground water, and         rivers at work.

Rosner, Hy and Joan, Albuquerque's Environmental Story, Albuquerque, New Mexico: Published by the Albuquerque Public Schools, 1985.
        Pictures, charts and diagrams help make this a most useful resource for area geology, particularly as it relates to the water supply.

The Water Cycle:
small plastic cups, plastic wrap, soil and seeds

Precipitation:
a heat source to boil water, a pot in which to boil water, a Pyrex container with a handle, ice cubes, a pie pan or other container

Condensation:
A clean, clear 2 liter plastic bottle for every 3 students, a bow of wood matches for every three students, a thermometer for every bottle(available at fish stores), an eye dropper or other container for water.

Evaporation:
small dishes or jar lids ( two per group), tablespoons, water, light source (sun or lamp light), plastic wrap or lids to cover dishes.

Ground water:
markers, clear plastic cups, pea-sized, uncolored aquarium gravel, sand, water bottle spray nozzles (at hardware stores), pieces of nylon stockings or tights, cake pans, water, food coloring, unsweetened red Kool-Aid, paper cups with holes punched in the bottom.

Conservation:
a glass or clear plastic gallon jug of water, large piece of butcher paper, markers, pens, writing paper

Useful Web sites:
http://edcen.ehhs.cmich.edu/~kformsma/lesson_plan.html
http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/pilot/water_cycle/teacherpage.html
http://www.montana.edu/wwwwet/journey.html
http://www.nwf.org/nwf/kids/cool/water3.html
http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/kids/wrdsrch.html
http://www.epa.gov/region01/students/teacher/gndwater.html