Purpose of the discussion

The purpose of this discussion is to bring ideas together and connect them to real world phenomena.

Engage students in the focus question

In the real world, water is constantly transformed from liquid to vapor (gas) or solid and back again. What did you learn from your work with the mini-lake, the spray mister, the 2-bottle system, the Particle Magnifier, and the syringes to help you understand the transformation of water?

Refer to the poster with the five drawings and repeat the question that is the focus of this discussion:

• Focus the discussion on just one image at a time.
• Encourage students to use their notebook entries.
• Remind students that, as they make claims about new understandings, they should describe the evidence that supports their claim.

As time permits, ask students if they are thinking differently now about any of these questions:

• Why does a puddle disappear?
• Why do we often see water drops on the outside of a glass of water in the summer?
• Why do we see dew on the grass in the early morning and it's gone by noon?
• If the water level in a lake stays the same, does that mean that no water is evaporating?

Summarize the discussion and recap the investigation

This investigation provided students with an opportunity to bring together all of their experiences and learning about transformations of water, and to reflect on the ways their ideas and understanding have grown and changed. The last set of questions — about puddles, lakes, water drops on cold glass of water on a summer's day, and early morning dew — is a reminder that they now have a far deeper understanding of science phenomena that they experience every single day.