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The water cycle is the system by which Earth's fixed amount of water is collected, purified, and distributed from the environment to living things and back to the environment. Through a game and an experiment, this activity will introduce students to the various steps of the water cycle and will help them make connections between the water cycle and all living things.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will study how water cycles through the atmosphere. Students will create a graphic organizer labeling all the parts of the water cycle including evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration & runoff. Then students will work with a lab partner (team) to create their own model of the water cycle using a plastic container to show all parts of the cycle.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches the water cycle through class experiments/ displays, videos and diagrams.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will investigate the steps of the water cycle. They will describe each step of the water cycle and the state of matter that the water is in during each step. Students will recognize that the sun is a crucial part of the water cycle and that the water's state of matter can go back and forth. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the water cycle by designing and building their own water cycle model.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA asks the students to design a system to water plants using rain water. Students apply their knowledge of the water cycle and grade specific content vocabulary to label and justify their design. Students also use context clues and dictionary skills to define the term permeability.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will construct models of the water cycle, draw a diagram, and write an explanatory essay on the stages of the water cycle.

Type: Lesson Plan

Ever wonder why rain falls to the Earth's surface? Where does it go after it falls? Will we ever run out of water? Students encounter these questions and more everyday as they observe natural occurrences happening in their back yard. This lesson will help you to create a simulation of the water cycle with a few simple tools and a probing conversation between two friends.

Type: Lesson Plan

Water plays a major role in the planet's weather and climate, as well as nourishes people, plants, and animals; it is a crucial ingredient for life on Earth. Earth's natural mechanism for transporting, cleansing, and recycling water between the surface and the atmosphere is referred to as the water cycle. This lesson has students recognize water's different forms and where it exists in the environment. The class will discuss and perform experiments, modeling the water cycle and exploring how salt water can be distilled into fresh water.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson features a companion lesson entitled The Water Cycle - Back and Forth (part 2) published on CPALMS. In this first lesson, students create a model (drawing) after learning the parts of the water cycle. The drawing will be in their science notebooks and will be something they will build on in future lessons. At the end of the unit they will display larger finished models. Vocabulary words are defined and connected to a model of melting ice in a water bottle.

Type: Lesson Plan

Water, Water Everywhere! Research the Water Cycle asks students to conduct their own research on the water cycle (hydrologic cycle). Working collaboratively in small groups, students will research and write about the relationships between stages in the water cycle and the three states of matter relating to water. After completing this lesson, students will be prepared to create a model of the water cycle.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn how water moves into the atmosphere as it moves through the water cycle. This is part 2 of a three-part interactive tutorial series. 

Click to open part 1

Click HERE to open part 3 (Coming Soon)

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore different sources of water as it travels through Earth's water cycle.  Discover the importance of the oceans and other water sources as you follow water's journey in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Dr. Tom Van Lent and Rajendra Paudel describe how hydrologic modeling is used to evaluate environmental conditions in the Everglades.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Students will research the parts of the water cycle and create a visual display and final product on what they know about the water cycle.

Type: Project

The representation is a detailed, labeled diagram of the water cycle. Included in the representation are the major concepts of evaporation, precipitation and ground infiltration, as well as more advanced ideas such as transpiration and water storage. Above and below the diagram are several paragraphs that provide an introduction to the water cycle, a quick summary of the parts of the water cycle and information about global water distribution.

Type: Teaching Idea

This is a great song to help students remember the water cycle. My students love to sing this song. I use it throughout the year, especially when we have a little extra time before lunch or changing classes.

Type: Teaching Idea

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The article walks the reader through the water cycle, from the point of view of a drop of water.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article discusses the steps in the water cycle.

Type: Text Resource

The process that moves water around Earth is known as the water cycle. I this ZOOM-adapted video clip, the cast uses a homemade solar still to separate pure water from a saltwater mixture, mimicing this natural process.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

The hydrologic cycle describes how water is perpetually recycled, continuously traveling between Earth's surface and the atmosphere through five main processes: condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration. This NASA-adapted interactive resource explores the steps of the water cycle in a computer model.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation