Water Cycle

Explanations:

• The sun heats up the water in seas, lakes, rivers and snow on mountain tops.
• The water turns into water vapour, a gas which we cant see, and rises up into the sky.
•   Up in the sky, its cooler and the vapour turns back into water droplets.
• The water droplets bump into eachother and join together to make clouds.
• As more water is added, the droplets get bigger and heavier and fall to the ground as rain.
•   The rain falls down to the ground where it flows back into seas, lakes and rivers.

Stage 1: Evaporation

In this stage , the sun starts to evaporate the water in the water bodies, like oceans, seas, lakes, ponds and rivers. This water is in the liquid stage in the water bodies, but changes in weather, and heating due to the Sun converts it into gaseous form. Slowly, these vapours of water start rising up to the sky. Transpiration, which is water escaping from plants due to the Suns heat, also contributes to some extent, to the process of evaporation.

Stage 2: Condensation

It is in this stage the cloud formation occurs.

The water in the form of the vapours rising, cools down at a certain heights and condenses to form clouds.

Stage 3: Precipitation

The water keeps condensing to form clouds, but when there is too much accumulation or collection of water in these clouds, the clouds become heavy. This means the air can no longer hold this much mount of water, and the water starts to fall back, mostly in the form of rain.

Stage 4: Collection

This water falling down in the form of rain or snow, gets collected in different water bodies. When it falls on the ground, it gets stored under the ground, and is called ‘ground water’. The, again evaporation starts due to the Sun’s heat and the cycle happens again.

The water cycle is the process by which water circulates from the Earth to the atmosphere (air) and back again. When the Sun heats water at the Earth’s surface, some of it evaporates. This means that liquid water turns into water vapour (gas). The water vapour rises. As it does so, it cools and turns back into tiny droplets of liquid water. The droplets group together to form clouds. Eventually, the water falls back to Earth as rain (liquid), hail (solid) or snow (solid), and cycle begins again.

Key Words:

Evaporation:

Heat from the Sun causes water on Earth (in oceans, lakes etc) to evaporate (turn from liquid into gas) and rise into the sky. This water vapor collects in the sky in the form of clouds.

Condensation: As water vapor in the clouds cools down it becomes water again, this process is called condensation.

Precipitation: Water falls from the sky in the form of rain, snow, hail, or sleet, this process is called precipitation.

Collection:

Oceans and lakes collect water that has fallen. Water evaporates into the sky again and the cycle continues.

There are six important processes that make up the water cycle.

1.     Condensation - the opposite of evaporation. Condensation occurs when a gas is changed into a liquid.

2.    Infiltration - Infiltration is an important process where rain water soaks into the ground, through the soil and underlying rock layers.

3.    Runoff - Much of the water that returns to Earth as precipitation runs off the surface of the land, and flows down hill into streams, rivers, ponds and lakes.

4.    Evaporation - the process where a liquid, in this case water, changes from its liquid state to a gaseous state.

5.    Precipitation - When the temperature and atmospheric pressure are right, the small droplets of water in clouds form larger droplets and precipitation occurs. The raindrops fall to Earth. 

6.    Transpiration - As plants absorb water from the soil, the water moves from the roots through the stems to the leaves. Once the water reaches the leaves, some of it evaporates from the leaves, adding to the amount of water vapor in the air. This process of evaporation through plant leaves is called transpiration.

Here are some images I found on the internet aimed at children. They all show illustrations rather

than actual photos. This makes it more simple and easy to understand for children as the sea, sky, 

and land are easy to distinguish between. They also all have arrows, often red, to emphasise whats 

happening (evaporation, condensation, precipitation) and the direction its going in. This suggests 

that a visual guide is more effective than text. On all the images there is little text. This makes it less 

confusing for the learner.

Here are two examples that would not be suitable for children at the Eco Farm. As you can see they are much more complex, there is a lot more text, and the illustrations are a lot more detailed. This would confuse the children and they wouldn't learn as much.

Final Character

Here is my final character. It is made out of a milk carton, butter tub, toilet roll tube, stress ball, plastic cup, yoghurt pot, straws, tangerine net, wood, and an old propeller. I covered the body with green tissue paper and wooden legs with shiny wrapping paper. For the spots and stomach, I cut out green wrappers such as an 'after eight' chocolate box and a cheese & onion crisp packet. Overall I am pleased with the outcome as it represents green dragon eco centre well and has a eco theory. The theory is the propeller on its back. This would generate electricity when wind turns it, just like a wind turbine. This is an example of renewable energy which will have a positive influence on the children.

Here are some images of the character incomplete. Here you can clearly see the milk carton, butter tub, plastic cup, toilet roll tube and propeller. At this stage, the design was top heavy so when rested it would fall forward. This was due to the heavy propeller on the front half of the dragon making it unbalanced. I only had to add the tail and legs to the rear half, both of which are light so knew the design would still be top heavy when finished. To solve this problem I crushed some old ceramic tiles and put them through the lid of the milk carton. These are heavy and so balanced it out when they had fallen to the bottom of the carton. I then added the tail, legs, head and wings to finish it off. However, as the design was now a lot heavier, it couldn't stand on its own because the legs were only glued on. I added a block of wood underneath it which acts like a stand. If the legs were drilled in then the design would be sturdy enough to stand up, however this would have damaged the milk carton. If I hadn't checked my design throughout making it then it would not have been as successful.

This picture is taken after the ceramics had been added and as you can see it now stands up without falling over.

Character Ideas/Development

Here my initial character designs. For the first three I looked at making the character out of just one piece of rubbish, like the Blur music video I researched.

I then looked at creating a character by connecting, stacking and joining different pieces of recycled products.

 We were then informed that the Eco centre would be called Green Dragon Eco Centre. I then made some new designs that would be more fitting to the name. First I drew different styles of dragon, cute ones, large ones, small ones, varying the shape and sizes of wing etc.  I chose the bottom right design as a guide as it had a nice balance and would be suitable for children of all ages. For example its not too cute yet not too realistic. I then had to start thinking about making this shape out of rubbish and recycled products. I came up with a milk carton and butter tub for the main body shape because when arranged correctly it forms the curved shape of the body going into the tail. I then added some features of previous designs, such as the yoghurt pot as a hat, a propeller and straws for limbs.

Character Analysis

FIREMAN SAM
Fireman Sam is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople. It first appeared on TV in 1985 and finished in 1994, but a new series which expanded the character cast commenced in 2005. The series has been sold to over 40 countries and is used in UK to promote fire safety. This shows how popular and influential the character is.

Apart from being the main character, he is a nice person, the good guy, which is why he is so popular. Children always idolise the good guy, the one that saves the day, which is what the programme want to portray. As well as entertainment, these type of shows are to educate children from young, teaching them right from young and good morals etc. When it comes to the appearance and personality, the character is always smiling and enthusiastic which comes off as friendly, welcoming and likeable. Also the outfit resembles the fireman's uniform in reality which is another subtle form of information. This also teaches safety as he is always wearing a helmet. I will try to use this friendly, 'good guy' character that promotes safety in my character design as it is successful and popular with the children.

BOB THE BUILDER
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of anthropomorphised work-vehicles and equipment (all made of clay). In each episode, Bob and his group help with renovations, construction, and repairs and with other projects as needed. Bob's catchphrase is "Can we fix it?", to which the other characters respond with "Yes we can!".

This character is similar to Fireman Sam as it is another character that helps people and saves the day. This is why this programme is also very popular and shown in many countries. This show is also educational, emphasising conflict resolution, co-operation, socialisation and various learning skills. Once again the personality of the character is friendly, enthusiastic and welcoming. The appearance of the character is a chequered shirt with denim dungarees and working boots, a helmet and toolbox. This is a common look for a builder so is relevant. This also teaches safety as he is always wearing a helmet. The character is always smiling. I will try to use this friendly, 'good guy' character that promotes safety in my character design as it is successful and popular with the children.

BUGS BUNNY
Bugs Bunny is a funny animal cartoon character best known for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes produced by Warner Bros during the Golden age of American animation. His popularity during this era led to him becoming an American cultural icon, as well as a corporate mascot of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray hare or rabbit who is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality, a pronounced New York accent, his portrayal as a trickster, and his catch phrase "Eh... What's up, doc?" (usually said while chewing a carrot). 

Bugs Bunny is very popular due to his personality. He is a comical character which immediately makes him popular with the audience. He is also very clever and capable of outsmarting anyone who antagonises him. Another reason for his popularity may be because he is the only one that communicates with the audience for example saying 'be with you in a minute folks' describing someone in the audience. There are some cons as well as pro's to his personality. For example good things are that he tries to avoid conflict which is setting a good example to the children. However he does chew with his mouth open in his famous catchphrase 'whats up, doc?' which may not be the best thing to do seeing as many children would imitate his actions. I will try to use some of these features such as humour and being interactive when designing my character.

BARNEY (& FRIENDS)
Barney & Friends is an American children's television series aimed at children from ages 2 to 5. The series, which first aired on April 6, 1992, features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, optimistic attitude.

Barney is popular with children because he is friendly and interactive. For example he is always smiling and enjoys singing which the children can join in with. Also he is loving and makes dinosaurs seem nice rather than scary animals that will eat you. He also educates the children and because he is a role model the children look up to him. I will try to incorporate a gentle, loving character that is educational when designing my character.

Primary Research

For primary research we went to Dunstable library and looked in the children section. Here we got inspiration, looked at existing children's characters, and saw what appeals to children both good and bad. One thing that was featured in a lot of the books aimed at really young children that are learning to read, was different textures sticking out from the page, as appose to just 2D text and imagery. This provides a third element to reading and involves the reader more as they get to touch the different materials. Some examples can be seen below:

(furry tail)

(furry stomach)

(soft ears)

(stringy tail)

(shiny bucket)

(furry ears)

(rough nose)

(furry ears)

Another unique thing some books had were windows within the actual pages so you can see the next page.

In the children's section there is an explosion of color compared to the rest of the library. There are lots of things to entertain the children such as colorful rugs, seats, and book holders. Another thing I noticed was the alphabet sections of books. Each letter marking a section had a image to support it. For example the 'O' section had an 'orange' and the 'K' section had a kite. All these things make reading and learning a more fun experience.

I also took some pictures of books describing the water cycle to see how they conveyed the information to a young audience. From these I can pick out whats good and bad and learn from this before I design my poster. For example the page with a colored background (blue), lots of images and clear arrows is much more eye catching and has clearer information that a young child would be able to understand. This is much more effective than the pages that have large paragraphs of text and small images which will deter children.