Water Travels in a Cycle

Wow!  We were so lucky to have Doug Keivit-Kylar from the Vermont Department of Drinking Water and Ground Water in our classroom this morning teaching us all about the water we get in our houses and schools and where it comes from.  We have already learned about the water cycle this year so the first graders were well prepared for Doug and impressed him with their knowledge of water in our world, town and school. 

Doug took clean, drinkable water from our sink and turned it into water that we might find out in our town in lakes and streams by adding sand, gravel, debris, trash, chemicals and other run off (including debris from our pets... such as what they leave behind on a walk... the students enjoyed THAT part the most.) The first graders in four groups (and their teacher...yikes!) were challenged to build a filtration system that would filter the water to make it more drinkable.  

We all started with a basic filter and could add 5 other items to it to try to filter out the debris.  We could choose from, gravel, sand, charcoal, cotton balls, sponges, coffee filters, rubber bands, or straws.  When we were finished, we tested them against one another and we learned that the best filtration systems contained sand, gravel, and charcoal.  I'm happy to report that the teacher filter made it to the top two!  The first graders were *not* so happy about that!  Unbeknownst to the first graders, I did have an unfair advantage, my mom works for the Water Department in the Colchester Village so I'm a little familiar with water and it's filtration.  (Just don't tell her that mine didn't win!)

What an amazingly fun, scientific day we had today!

Remember to practice your poems! 

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