Science.4.10.A

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The student is expected to

describe and illustrate the continuous movement of water above and on the surface of Earth through the water cycle and explain the role of the Sun as a major source of energy in this process;

1666 TEKS header image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Earth and space. The student knows that there are processes on Earth that create patterns of change.

The further explanation is designed to be a resource for educators that helps them better understand the topic their students are learning. Further explanations may be written at a more complex level than would be expected for students at the grade level.

The water cycle on the surface of the Earth includes: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and run-off.  Although groundwater is depicted in this image, it is covered in grade 7 and transpiration is discussed in grade 8.

Water_Cycle_-_blank.svg: *Wasserkreislauf.png: de:Benutzer:Joooo derivative work: moyogo (talk) derivative work: Alexchris (talk), Water Cycle-en, removed terms watercourse, water table, and infiltration, CC BY-SA 3.0" class="caption caption-drupal-entity align-center">
Image of the water cycle. The solar energy enters the atmosphere. Evaporation of ocean water and surface water enters the atmosphere. As condensation happens, clouds form. Water leaves the clouds and atmosphere as precipitation. Precipitation falls back to the ocean or to the surface and runs off to oceans or lakes.
Water_Cycle_-_blank.svg: *Wasserkreislauf.png: de:Benutzer:Joooo derivative work: moyogo (talk) derivative work: Alexchris (talk), Water Cycle-en, removed terms watercourse, water table, and infiltration, CC BY-SA 3.0
Glossary terms and definitions are consistent across kindergarten through high school in the TEKS Guide. The definitions are intended to give educators a common understanding of the terms regardless of what grade level they teach. Glossary definitions are not intended for use with students.

a measurable quantity that describes how much change can occur within a system

a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result; a continuing natural or biological activity or function

the complex cycle by which water circulates between Earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land; water cycle stages are precipitation, evaporation, and condensation

Research

Keeley, Page. “Formative Assessment Probes: Uncovering Representations of the Water Cycle.” Science and Children 55, no. 5 (January 2018): 18-19.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44709896.

Summary: Formative Assessments should be used to guide instruction based on results. This formative assessment probe focuses on one common misconception that students have about the water cycle. This misconception is caused by the water cycle representations they see in books, on posters, and online. Most of the pictures of the water cycle we see have a large or surface body of water, leading students to believe a water cycle diagram must include the ocean or another body of water like a lake or river. Students should know that the water cycle includes evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Although diagrams including a surface body of water are correct, these can lead students to believe that water only evaporates from these water sources. Evaporated water can come from the soil, animal waste, or plant transpiration. After using the formative assessment to see what the class knows about evaporation in the water cycle, teachers should guide them in identifying various sources that water can evaporate from and have them draw the water cycle using one of those sources.