The Tech Savvy Teacher

The use of technology in the classroom is one of the best ways to help students progress in their education. Technology allows for a great deal of variety in the classroom, and therefore, all teachers should remain up to date on technology that can be used in the classroom. Because students are exposed to so much technology outside of school, they are better able to relate to lesson plans that incorporate technology in some way.

The Utah Science Core Curriculum for 4th grade requires teachers to teach about the water cycle. Standard 1 says, "Students will understand that water changes state as it moves through the water cycle. Objective 2: describe the water cycle." The class began by discussing the different stages of the water cycle and learning about the forms that water takes throughout the cycle. In order to incorporate technology in the study of the water cycle, we used the program Kidspiration to create an interactive activity for the class to show their knowledge of the water cycle. Kidspiration is a program which has a wide variety of computer activities the students can do to help reenforce their knowledge of a subject, from science to language arts to history. There is also the option for teachers to create activities that relate to their lesson plans. In the assessment, the students were given pictures and labels of the four different stages of the water cycle, (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and accumulation) in a random order on the side of the screen. They were asked to put the pictures and labels in the correct order on the screen.


As the students go through the activity, they will drag and drop the pictures and labels in the order of the water cycle.

Step 1

Step 2



Step 3


Step 4

In the text box where the pictures had been, the students write the forms that water is in at each of the four stages of the water cycle.

This activity helps students remember the process of the water cycle, and what form water is in throughout the cycle. It allows them to be accountable for the information, but gives them a more interactive way of remembering it. This activity would be very beneficial in any classroom, and allow students to learn the information on a deeper level.