The Water Cycle

The Water Cycle

Grade: 4th · Time: ~50 min

Big idea

Water moves in a never-ending loop: it evaporates, condenses, and precipitates — over and over.

Vocabulary

• Evaporation — the sun heats water and it becomes an invisible gas (water vapor).
• Condensation — vapor cools and turns back into tiny droplets (clouds).
• Precipitation — droplets join, get heavy, and fall as rain or snow.
• Collection — water gathers in oceans, lakes, and rivers.

Hands-on (20 min)

Put a little warm water in a clear jar. Seal it and set it in the sun. In an hour, watch droplets form on the lid — that's condensation! When they get heavy, they "rain" back down.

Draw it (15 min)

Have your student draw the cycle with arrows and label all four stages.

Discuss (5 min)

Ask: "Where does the water go after it rains? Does the Earth ever run out of water?"

Standards

4-ESS2-1 — Make observations to provide evidence of Earth's systems interacting.