Water Cycle - Science Lesson Plan

In the following lesson, students shall demonstrate knowledge of basic science concepts of earth science through direct experience, including an understanding of: (a) concepts related to everyday life through…patterns and how they repeat, and cycles; (b) how the basic needs of organisms are met. Students will have the opportunity to identify the elements and functions of the water cycle and be able to diagram it.. This is a great hands-on activity that students will be excited about.

The Water Cycle
Grade Level: 5-6

I. Concepts:
Students will learn the elements of the water cycle, the functions of the water cycle, and be able to diagram it.

II. Objectives:
*Students will learn how the water cycle works.
*Students will learn the functions of the water cycle.
*Students will be able to diagram the water cycle.

III. Materials:
*diagram of the water cycle
*water riddles
*testing paper
*writing utensil

IV. Procedure:
1. "I'm clear, vital for life, and make up most of your body. What am I?"
2. "I can be invisible, wet, or frozen solid. I am..."
3. “I come to greet you when it rains, fly away when it is hot and dry, and am everywhere you look when it's very cold. I am...."
4."I think that you can guess from these riddles that we will be learning about water today."
5. "Today we are going to be talking about a special feature of water." "As most of you know already we recycle our water everyday."
6. "The recycling of water is called the water cycle."
7. "Water comes in three forms."
8. "Does anyone know what the most common form is?"
9. "We most often see water in the form of a liquid."
10. "In Minnesota we also see a lot of water, during the Winter in the form of ice, the water that we do not see is in the form of a gas, or vapor."
11. "The water cycle begins with the water turning into a gas and escaping into the atmosphere."
12. "Does anyone know what might cause that to happen?"
13. "Yes, the sun causes evaporation to take place."
14. "What do you think happens to it once it escapes into the atmosphere?"
15. "Once it reaches the atmosphere it turns back into the form of a liquid again, or condenses."
16. "Scientists us the word condense to mean turn back into water."
17. "From what we know about water do you think that the water stays up in the sky or
comes back down to earth?"
18. "What do we call it when the water comes back down to earth?"
19. 'Rain and snow are both forms of precipitation."
20. "Lets look at the diagram of the water cycle and see how it makes sense to us."
21. "We can see the water escaping on this chart and making its way into the atmosphere, and what is happening here?"
22. "This is where it is becoming a liquid again."
23. "What is going to happen to the water now."
24. "Now it is ready to come back down to earth and begin the process again."
25. "It is now time for your quiz and to see what we have learned today."
26. "I will give each of you a piece of paper and I would like you to draw the water cycle, and write each step that takes place in it on your paper as well.

V. Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated based on their depiction of the water cycle and their accuracy
in describing what happens throughout the water cycle.

Download complete lesson plan PDF's in the upper right corner of each page.

Lesson Plans Contact Us Home