Friday 29 January 2010

Water for Life: video & activities

Did you know that approximately 70% of the earth's surface is covered with water? If there is so much water, why do we still hear that there is a shortage of water, and that we're running out of water?


The answer lies in the fact that only 2-3% of this is fresh water, the rest being sea water, which contains salt and other minerals, making it undrinkable for humans.

To make matters worse, 90% of this fresh water is unavailable to us because it is in a frozen state in the North and South Poles, or too deep beneath the earth for us to reach.

More than a quarter of the world's population is without safe drinking water. Without water, there is no life. We can survive up to a month without food, but we won't last a week without water. 60% of an adult body and almost 80% of a baby is water! Even though water is constantly recycled, factors such as natural disasters and contamination are reducing the supply of fresh water, while at the same time, demand is increasing.

It is no surprise then that the UN has decreed 2005-2015 the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’.

Watch this entertaining video, and learn the catchy lyrics following it. Then, do the activities at the bottom.

The Water Cycle Song

Somewhere out there the sun is shining in a little puddle.
That's just part of something that we call: the water cycle.

Water from a little puddle turns to gas: Evaporation
The gas forms into puffy clouds: Condensation
The clouds get heavy and the rain pours down: Precipitation in their puddles on the ground

Oh, the water cycle round and round
Vapour goes up and the rain comes down

Water in the sky, in the ocean, in the ground
It's all in a cycle going round and round

Some clouds look like a horse's tail: that's cirrus (Cirrus)
Some clouds look like cauliflowers: that's cumulus (Cumulus)
Some clouds look like a blanket of grey: that's stratus (Stratus)

There are high clouds low clouds and in between clouds
Fog on the ground is also where we see clouds
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Oh, the water cycle round and round
Vapour goes up and the rain comes down

Water in a river, in a glass, in a cloud
It's all in a cycle going round and round

When warm air meets cold air trouble brews
That could mean a storm and that's bad news
A hurricane can form when that happens near warm water

Look out if that storm reaches land
Get out of the way; grab your sons and daughters
Crash, bash, boom and Kebam
Oh no, we forgot Uncle Dan

I'm okay, I'm allright, I was just hiding in a garbage can
(He was hiding in a garbage can)

Oh, the water cycle round and round
Vapour goes up and the rain comes down

Water in a person, in a well deep down
It's all in a cycle going round and round

Have a go at this 12-question quiz. Don't forget to comment below!


This is a simple exercise where you have to match pairs of sentences. You have a time limit of 3 minutes.

To start the game, click on the icon below.


Chiew's ESL EFL CLIL Games for Education Blog, 游戏学英语

Now, try this word search. The words are related to water and can be found at the bottom of the page. Try to do it without looking at the words first. If you still can't find them all, you can look at the keys here.


If you like this game, please link to it by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:

Games for Education

6 comments:

  1. Pablo Alonso Jiménez de el I.E.S los tarahales 1º D1 February 2010 at 10:14

    Hay muy poco tiempo

    ReplyDelete
  2. <span>Pablo, I think 3 minutes should be enough. In any case, you can play it more than one time.
    </span>

    ReplyDelete
  3. <span>You're right!</span>

    ReplyDelete
  4. A Clil To Climb4 June 2010 at 10:02

    Who's right, Karla? Pablo or me?  ;)
    Are you from Tarahales? Please don't forget to do the SURVEY, you all!  >:o ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pablo Alonso Jiménez de el I.E7 July 2011 at 08:59

    Hay muy poco tiempo

    ReplyDelete
  6. A Clil To Climb7 July 2011 at 08:59

    Who's right, Karla? Pablo or me?  ;)
    Are you from Tarahales? Please don't forget to do the SURVEY, you all!  >:o ;)

    ReplyDelete

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