Water Cycle
Evelyn Carter, D'Lisa Pinkham and Jackie Taylor
Nez Perce Reservation, Lapwai, Idaho

Summary
Students learn about the water cycle using the sweat house as an analogy.

Grade level
Second

Time required
2 hours, plus 10 minutes a day for 3-4 days

Materials
The Nez Perce story, “Origin of the Sweathouse”
Digital camera (optional)
Science journals
Measuring tools
Book, “Sing Down the Rain”, by Judi Moreillon

Goals
By completing this lesson, students will

1. learn about the water cycle,
2. gain awareness of the importance of water to all things,
3. develop inquiry process skills and
4. gain awareness of the significance of water to the Nez Perce people.

Science standards addressed
National Science Standards

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Types of resources
• Systems, order and organization
• Properties of Earth materials

American Indian Science Standards

• Observations and understandings of nature and ecological relationships traditionally formed an essential base of knowledge among American Indian cultures
• Earth, air, fire and water and how they served as a basis for traditional American Indian production of clothing, housing, tools and food

Teacher tips
Though there may be different purposes for a sweathouse, in this lesson it is used only in the context of physical cleansing as an analogy for the water cycle. Many Nez Perce people living today grew up with no indoor plumbing and used the sweat house for bathing. We do not wish to address the spiritual aspect of the sweat house, which may not be deemed appropriate by some as a public topic.

Background information
Water has great cultural significance to the Nez Perce people. Much of the traditional life of the Nez Perce people was centered around the waters of the Columbia River and its tributaries. It is often the setting for their stories. They take very seriously their responsibility as caretakers of their waters.

The construction of a sweathouse is simple. Long bendable branches are bent and tied to form a dome shaped structure, which is about 3.4 to 4 feet high. Blankets or animal skins cover the wooden structure. Inside, near the side entrance, it is lined with flat rocks. In a hot fire, basaltic rocks are heated until they burn red. These rocks are then placed inside the small pit within the sweathouse.

Before the sweat begins, a pail of water is placed near the rocks. The bathers enter the sweathouse and securely close the door so that no light may be seen. The bather then splashes the water onto the hot rocks, creating steam. The sweathouse then becomes very muggy, just as a sauna would. Heat from the steam causes the bather to perspire. Using this, the bather can then rub her skin to get rid of dirt and dead skin. Once the bather is done, they leave the sweathouse and jump in a stream or river of cold water. They then repeat the whole process in a series of rounds.

Procedure
Engagement

1. Read and discuss the following quote from a respected tribal elder to your class.
   “The tribes treated water as a medicine because it nourished the life of the earth, flushing poisons out of humans, other creatures and the land. We knew that to be productive, water must be kept pure. When water is kept cold and clean, it takes care of the salmon.”
   - Levi Holt, Nez Perce
2. Discuss that water is important not only to people, but also to the land and other animals as well.
3. Tell the story “Origin of the Sweat House”. Discuss the story, along with the information given in the Background information section.

Exploration

1. Depending on the time of year, make a mud puddle outside your classroom and have your students make predictions on what the puddle will look like tomorrow. List these predictions on the board and leave them there for further discussion. Use a digital camera to document the puddle’s daily appearance.
2. Have small groups measure the size of the puddle every day. Allow each group to decide how they will measure the puddle. Assist them in creating a data table in their science journals to record their measurements. Alternatively, give each student group a pie tin filled with water and have them observe and measure the water in it daily.
3. Ask students to graph their data and develop a hypothesis to explain the disappearance of the water.

Explanation

1. Ask students to share their observations, graphs and hypotheses. Tell students that what they observed was part of the water cycle. Write the word accumulation on the board at the top of a circle and ask students to define it. Ask students where water accumulates (e.g., in a puddle or lake).
2. Write the word evaporation next on the circle and facilitate a discussion about evaporation, using the word in context. Have students develop a definition of evaporation.
3. Ask your class what they think happened to the water vapor. Explain to your class that as water vapor rises, it cools and eventually condenses. Ask students where the water vapor in air may condense (in clouds). Add condensation to the words written around the circle.
4. Ask students to predict the next step in the water cycle – precipitation. Write the word precipitation on the circle. Ask students to list the various types of precipitation.

Elaboration

1. Ask students to identify the steps of the sweat bath that correlate with the water cycle.
   • Accumulation – the bucket of water
   • Evaporation – the steam from water dripping on hot rocks
   • Condensation – water vapor turning to droplets on the bathers’ bodies
   • Precipitation – droplets dripping off the bathers’ bodies
2. Read the book Sing Down the Rain by Judi Moreillon, about the annual Tohono O’odham saguaro harvest and rain making ceremony. Discuss the importance of water not only to the people in the book but also to the region in which they live.
3. To reinforce the concepts of the water cycle, teach your students the following song
   Evaporation,
   Condensation,
   Precipitation on my head
   Accumulation
   The water cycle
   Then we start all over again.

Evaluation

1. Ask students to diagram the water cycle with drawings of each stage. Ask them to label the drawings using the appropriate terms.
2. Ask students to answer the following question, either orally or in their science journals: “Why is it important to care for Earth’s water?”
3. Observe students during their experimentation and review their journals to assess their process skill proficiency.

Vocabulary

Resources
Moreillon, J. & Chiago, M. 1997. Sing down the rain. Walnut, CA. Kiva Publishing.