Cabrini High School’s Science Squad was invited to St. Christopher School where they made the Water Cycle presentation.
Science chair Ann Smart with student assistants Lauren Blady’17 and Elizabeth Favret’18 explained to the 59 students in the three, sixth grade classes, how water cycles through the environment and the processes t goes through.
“Showing the children that if we start with water in the ocean, it can evaporate and go up into the atmosphere,” Ann Smart explained. “When it cools, it condenses in clouds and comes back to earth as precipitation. On earth, it can soak up into the ground fall into a body of water like a lake or river. It can be frozen in a glacier or be taken in by a plant or an animal.”
The presentation is specifically designed for the elementary level and includes various activities to engage them and keep them on the subject. “We began with a water cycle song using hand motions like water going up into a cloud or falling back to the ground.” From the song the students were given a leather cord with a lanyard hook on it. They started at one station and took a bead representing water then moved on to the next station. Each station is sign-labeled, such as blue for the ocean or green for a plant. They rolled a die to find out where to go next and what process got them there. They did this 20 times then tied it off to hang from their book bags to remember the water cycle.
The Science Squad is an academic activity open to all schools in the New Orleans area that helps expand the STEM concept at the elementary level. Hands-on science activities exploring Chemistry, Physics, Life and Environmental Sciences are led by Cabrini science teachers and student assistants. Teachers can choose from a variety of topics, or request a topic and the Science Squad will do their best to accommodate you. Topics are available in the Science Squad brochure mailed to all schools or on the Cabrini website. Schools may invite the Science Squad to visit their classes, or have their class visit the Science Squad at Cabrini.ua