In implementations of the Water Cycle students frequently want to discuss clouds and rain. However, the discussions can vary widely depending on the ideas and questions students contribute. Two different discussions are presented in this section of our website. Here Chris's 4th grade class discusses how clouds rain, but this discussion is very different from the one in Kerri's class.

As you watch the video, note the students' ideas and their reasoning, and how they interact with each other. You might want to watch the videos more than once to help you get a good feel for the students' ideas. You may also want to view the transcript or print it for reference and making notes.

The conversation below took place a few sessions into an exploration of the water cycle. Chris noticed that students had mentioned clouds several times in their conversations, so he decided to start a discussion explicitly about how clouds rain.

Examining the video. What are the students' ideas and reasoning? Are students' ideas the beginnings of scientific thinking? Review Productive Student Ideas for help with this. How are the students interacting with each other? How is Chris encouraging and facilitating the discussion? After spending some time exploring the video, click here to delve deeper.