STEAM in the Water Cycle (LS-MT-235)
This learning scenario by Maltese teacher Anna Maria Gauci presents the driving question ‘Where does water come from?‘
Rain is one of the most important sources of water on our planet. What makes it rain? And what can we do to save water? Through Europeana digital resources and STEAM integrated learning, the students learn about the water cycle and ways to reduce water consumption.
The Context
This learning scenario promotes discovery learning by presenting different tasks that stimulate curiosity, wonder and questioning. The Europeana resources chosen at the start of the learning scenario, provide a great way to pique interest in the topic and stimulate thinking and discussion. Furthermore, the hands-on activities that follow provide opportunities for the students to explore, discover, and construct their own learning collaboratively to be able to answer the driving question.
Implementation
STEAM in the Water Cycle takes a cross-curricular approach and draws on these activities:
- Science – the students learn about the water cycle. They also conduct the ‘Rain Cloud in a Jar’ Experiment and ‘Rain in a Jar’ Experiment. The aim of these experiments is to help the students acquire knowledge about the subject, motivate them to observe, think critically, hypothesize, ask questions, assess information, and work constructively with each other.
- Technology – the students play interactive games to consolidate the learning about the water cycle.
- Language – the video The rain came and the discussion that follows cover speaking, listening, vocabulary and comprehension.
- Art – the students use their creativity to draw a rainy day scene.
- Maths (Capacity) – students learn and use the vocabulary related to capacity. They estimate, measure, and compare rainfall on different days of the week using non-standard units.
Conclusion
In this learning scenario, cultural heritage meets STEAM to make the learning appealing and meaningful to the students while promoting inquiry, critical thinking and collaboration. Through the multi-modal activities presented, the students will understand the importance of water, the water cycle, and how we can make the best use of water in our everyday life. Moreover, they will enhance their linguistic, creative, and maths skills through meaningful and lasting experiences.
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The featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana Collections and belongs to the public domain.