The Water Cycle

Topic: the water cycle

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will understand what the water cycle is and how it works.

Materials

• Diagram of the water cycle (either handmade or from a textbook)
• Bottle with water
• Ice cube
• Hot water
• Funnel
• Jar or container
• Markers or crayons

Warm-up

• Ask students if they have ever played with a water hose or fountain before. Ask them what they did and what they saw.
• Introduce the concept of the water cycle and explain that it is the continuous movement of water on Earth, from the oceans to the atmosphere, to the land, and back to the ocean.

Direct Instruction

• Show students the handouts with pictures of the different stages of the water cycle.
• Ask students to look at the pictures and tell you what they see.
• Explain that when water evaporates from the ocean or other bodies of water, it becomes water vapor and rises into the atmosphere.
• Tell students that as the water vapor rises, it gets colder and turns back into water droplets. These droplets join together to form clouds.
• Explain that when the clouds get heavy enough, they may rain back down to the land or ocean.
• Ask students to repeat the steps of the water cycle after you.

Guided Practice:

• Have students work in pairs or small groups to complete a worksheet or activity on the water cycle.
• Go over the answers as a class.

Independent Practice:

• Have students draw a picture of the water cycle and label the parts.
• Encourage students to include details such as clouds and rain in their drawings.

Closure

• Ask students to share their drawings with the class and explain the parts of the water cycle they included.
• Review the main points of the lesson: rainfall, rivers, oceans, clouds, and evaporation.

Assessment

• Observe students during the guided and independent practice activities to assess their understanding of the concept of the water cycle.
• Collect and review their drawings as a formative assessment to see if they understand the parts of the water cycle and can effectively draw them.