The Water Cycle!

February 28, 2020

Gr 3-5-Most life on Earth requires water in order to function properly. It's imperative to know and understand this vital substance. Yasuda presents basic information about water, its importance, how people use it, and how people need to take care of it. Additionally, there are 25 hands-on projects that will help children comprehend the principles discussed in the text. Chapters cover the many forms of water and its relationship to mankind: water's chemical structure, life cycle, relationship to the weather, a few ways that people have accessed water, pollution, conservation, and ways water has inspired art. After each brief chapter, one to three projects are described, including a list of tools and materials and step-by-step instructions. Side notes provide interesting information about water in the past and present, additional facts about water and its uses, jokes, and words to know. The cartoon-like illustrations include a few photographs as needed for reference. Primary source references are scattered throughout the book with QR codes. A list of those websites is listed in the back matter. References, websites, and an index conclude the book. The projects vary from creating a notebook out of recycled paper to building a mini water wheel. The difficulty varies from simple to adult supervision required. Most of the projects are straightforward enough for a fourth or fifth grade student to complete alone. VERDICT An easy-to-read and understand introduction to water with activities. An additional resource where experiment or project books are needed.-Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT

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