The Water Cycle: a full term of science

Ten ready-to-teach lessons for Year 4 Earth and space sciences. Print this pack and the term is prepared: every lesson comes with a step-by-step plan, the questions to ask, a student worksheet, cut-out cards or exit tickets, an assessment kit and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the term at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the lesson you need. Each lesson is three A4 sheets: plan, worksheet, cards or tickets.
3. Gather the few everyday items under “You need” on the plan. Nothing needs a science cupboard.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board or projector. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No science background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the science idea in plain words, lists the misconceptions children bring, and gives model answers. The big idea of the term: water is found in the ocean, on the land, underground and in the sky, and it is always on the move. Heat evaporates it into water vapour, cool air condenses the vapour into clouds, the water falls as precipitation, and it runs over and through the land back to the ocean, round and round.

Two ways to run each lesson

Every lesson works as one 60-minute block, or as two 30-minute sessions. The split point is marked in every plan. Lessons 2, 4 and 5 start things that run for a week or more (the sun-or-shade cups, the rain gauges and the bags on the window), so look ahead when you plan.

Safety and care in one look

Warm water for Lesson 4 comes from the tap, never a kettle, and an adult pours it. An adult cuts the gauge bottles and pokes the holes in the Lesson 7 cups. Wipe up spills at once, nobody drinks the water from a test, and everyone washes their hands after soil, sand or gravel.

The term at a glance

One lesson a week for a term. Each lesson stands on the ones before it, so run them in order where you can.

How the sequence builds

Lesson 1 finds where water is. Lessons 2 to 4 take the three key processes one at a time: evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Lesson 5 joins them into one loop, and Lessons 6 and 7 follow the rain once it lands, over the land and into the ground. Lesson 8 measures the rain, Lesson 9 meets the people who use water-cycle science to bring fresh water to our taps, and Lesson 10 is the making task and final check.

Curriculum links (Australian Curriculum V9)

The whole term teaches the Science Understanding descriptor AC9S4U02 quoted on the cover. The lessons also work these Science Inquiry and Human Endeavour descriptors:

Assessment in this pack

• Every plan ends with “Answers and look-fors”: what meeting the idea sounds like in a Year 4 voice.
• The assessment sheet near the front has a class observation checklist and a three-level rubric.
• Lesson 10 is the summative pair: a labelled water-cycle model with an explanation, plus the “Show what we know” check sheet.

Materials for the whole term

One gathering session covers all ten lessons. Everything on this page is an everyday item; nothing needs a science cupboard. Collect clear plastic bottles a week before Lesson 4.

The one-trip list

• From the classroom: clipboards, scissors, rulers, masking tape, markers, coloured pencils, a timer, a measuring jug.
• From the kitchen or home donations: clear plastic cups, clear drink bottles, a large glass jar, a small plate, zip-lock bags, a spray bottle.
• From the shops: ice cubes and blue food colouring.
• From the garden or a hardware shop: gravel, sand, garden soil and a few pebbles.

Safety and care in one look

• Warm water comes from the tap and an adult pours it. Never use a kettle or boiling water.
• An adult cuts the bottles and pokes the holes in the cups.
• Wipe up spilt water at once: a wet floor is slippery.
• Nobody drinks the water used in a test.
• Everyone washes their hands after soil, sand or gravel.

Assessment without extra work

The term assesses itself. Every lesson plan ends with answers and look-fors, and Lesson 10 is the summative pair: the labelled water-cycle model with an explanation, and the check sheet. This sheet is the place to jot down what you notice along the way.

The three levels

Class observation checklist

A tick a lesson is plenty; the Lesson 10 check sheet fills the gaps.

Word wall cards

Cut out the cards and build the wall as the words arrive. Lesson 1 starts the wall with fresh water and salt water; Lesson 2 adds evaporation and water vapour.

Dear families

This term in science, Year 4 follows water on its endless journey. We find where water is stored, in the ocean, in rivers and lakes, underground and in the sky, and we investigate the three key steps of the water cycle: evaporation, when the sun’s heat turns water into an invisible vapour; condensation, when the vapour cools into the tiny drops that make clouds; and precipitation, when those drops fall as rain, hail or snow.

Your child will build a rain gauge, test where the drops on a cold cup come from, and follow the rain as it runs over the land and soaks into the ground before it finds its way back to the ocean.

Try this at home

• After rain, look at a puddle in the sun and one in the shade. Which dries up first? Where does the water go?
• Take a cold drink from the fridge on a warm day. Where do the drops on the outside come from?
• Find out together where your tap water comes from: a dam, a river, underground or the sea.
• Next time it rains, watch where the water from your roof or street goes.

What to ask your scientist

• Where is most of the water on Earth?
• What is the difference between evaporation and condensation?
• Why does rain fall from a cloud?
• Is the water in our tap new water, or has it been round the cycle before?

A small note on safety: at school we only ever use warm water from the tap, poured by an adult, and we never drink the water from our tests.

Warm regards,

The Year 4 team

Printed from the free seegongsik Water Cycle teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y4/earth-and-space/AC9S4U02/pack

Where is water found?

Water is found in many places: salty water in the ocean, fresh water in rivers, lakes and dams, water soaking the soil and rock underground, frozen water in ice and snow, and water in the sky as clouds and as invisible water vapour. Almost all of Earth’s water is in the ocean. Children hunt for water around the school, sort water source cards, and colour a hundred-square model of where Earth’s water is.

We are learning to

• identify sources of water in the sky, on the land, underground and in the ocean,
• record where we find water and where it might go next,
• describe where most of Earth’s water is.

Success criteria

• I can name five places where water is found.
• I can say that most of Earth’s water is salty water in the ocean.

You need

• clipboards and pencils for the water hunt,
• the water source cards (third sheet), one set per pair,
• a blue and a green pencil for each child, and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the water hunt; start Session B with the card sort.

Watch for these ideas

• “Water is only in the sea, rivers and taps.” It is also underground, in the air as vapour, in clouds, in ice and snow, and inside living things.
• “Clouds are smoke or steam.” A cloud is millions of tiny drops of water, or bits of ice.
• “There is plenty of fresh water to drink.” Almost all of Earth’s water is salty ocean water; only a small part is fresh water we can use.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: hunt as a class, taking a photo of each place where you find water.
• Bigger: find out where our town’s tap water comes from: a dam, a river, underground or the sea.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A answers vary, for example a tap, a bubbler, a puddle, a gutter, damp soil, the rain tank, a plant or a cloud, each with where it might go next.
• Card sort: in the sky: cloud, water vapour, falling rain; on the land: river, snow on a mountain, dam, rainwater tank; underground: groundwater, bore, spring; in the ocean: ocean, rock pool.
• Part B: 97 squares blue (ocean), 2 left white with an I (ice), 1 green (fresh water in rivers, lakes, the ground and the air). The fresh water we can use is 1 square out of 100. Part C: ocean water is too salty to drink or to water crops, so the fresh water people need is only a small part of all water.

Our water hunt

A. Where did we find water?

B. All of Earth’s water in 100 squares

Colour 97 squares blue for the salty ocean. Leave 2 squares white and write I in them, for the ice. Colour the last 1 square green, for the fresh water in rivers, lakes, the ground and the air.

C. Think about it

Water source cards

Cut out the cards. Sort them into four groups: in the sky, on the land, underground and in the ocean.

Teacher note: some cards could start a good argument (snow melts into rivers; a spring brings underground water to the land). Accept a group that the pair can explain.

Evaporation: water goes into the air

When liquid water is warmed, some of it turns into water vapour, an invisible gas, and goes into the air. This is evaporation. Heat from the sun speeds it up, but water evaporates slowly even in the shade. Children trace a shrinking puddle with chalk, then start a fair test: two cups with the same amount of water, one in the sun and one in the shade, measured after a week.

We are learning to

• explain evaporation as liquid water turning into water vapour,
• plan a fair test that changes only sun or shade,
• measure water with a measuring jug, in millilitres.

Success criteria

• I can say where the water in a puddle goes.
• I can name what we change and what we keep the same in the cup test.

You need

• a bucket of water and a stick of chalk, and a warm, dry patch of concrete or asphalt,
• two clear plastic cups of the same size, a measuring jug, water, masking tape and a marker,
• a sunny windowsill and a shady shelf where the cups can stay for a week, the cup test step cards (third sheet) and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the first chalk line; start Session B with the cup test, and trace the puddle again at the end.

Watch for these ideas

• “The puddle soaked into the ground.” A little may, but on concrete most of it goes into the air: the chalk lines still shrink.
• “The water is gone.” It is still there, as water vapour in the air.
• “Water only evaporates in the sun, or when it boils.” Water evaporates slowly all the time; heat makes it faster.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: run one class pair of cups and record together on the board.
• Bigger: add a third cup in the sun with a lid on it, and predict how it will compare.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: the puddle shrinks inside its first chalk line; the water evaporated into the air as water vapour.
• Part B answers vary; a reasoned prediction says the SUN cup will have less water left, because heat makes water evaporate faster. Part C: we change sun or shade; we keep the same cups, the same 100 mL of water and the same week.
• Part D, in Lesson 3: the SUN cup usually has less left than the SHADE cup, and both have lost some. Water lost = 100 mL take away the water left.

Where does the water go?

A. The puddle

Draw the puddle and both chalk lines.

B. My prediction for the cup test

C. A fair test

D. Our results after a week (fill this in Lesson 3)

How we run the cup test

Cut out the cards and follow them in order. Keep them beside the cups for the week.

Teacher note: choose spots where nobody will knock the cups. Indoors, no rain or sprinkler can top them up.

Condensation: water comes out of the air

When water vapour in the air cools, it turns back into tiny drops of liquid water. This is condensation. It is how clouds form high in the cold sky, and why drops appear on a cold cup on a warm day. Children measure the Lesson 2 cups, then test where the drops on a cold cup come from by colouring the water inside, and sort everyday examples into evaporation and condensation.

We are learning to

• explain condensation as water vapour cooling into drops of water,
• use a test to decide where the drops on a cold cup come from,
• tell evaporation and condensation apart in everyday life.

Success criteria

• I can explain where the drops on a cold cup come from.
• I can sort everyday examples into evaporation and condensation.

You need

• for each group: two clear plastic cups, ice cubes, water, a few drops of blue food colouring, paper towel,
• a metal spoon from the freezer, the two cups from Lesson 2 and the measuring jug,
• the evaporation-or-condensation cards (third sheet), one set per pair, and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the cold cup test; start Session B with the card sort.

Watch for these ideas

• “The water leaked through the cup.” The drops outside are clear, not blue, so they did not come from inside: they came from the air.
• “The cold made water out of nothing.” The water was already in the air, as invisible water vapour.
• “Clouds are steam or smoke.” A cloud is millions of tiny drops of liquid water, or bits of ice.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: run one pair of cups at the front, and look closely together with a magnifier.
• Bigger: time how long drops take to appear on cups of ice water, cold tap water and warm water.

Answers and look-fors

• Part B: drops form on the outside of the ice-water cup within a few minutes; the tap-water cup usually stays dry. The drops are clear, not blue, so they came from water vapour in the air that cooled on the cold cup.
• Part C: evaporation, cards 1, 4, 6, 7, 10; condensation, cards 2, 3, 5, 8, 9.
• Part D: breath is warm and holds water vapour; the cold spoon cools it, and it condenses into drops.

The cold cup

A. My prediction

B. What we saw after five minutes

C. Sort the cards. Write the card numbers.

D. The cold spoon

Evaporation or condensation?

Cut out the cards. Is water going into the air, or coming out of it? Sort the cards into two piles.

Teacher note: the soup pot has both: water evaporates from the hot soup, then condenses on the cooler lid. The drops on the lid are condensation.

Precipitation: water falls from clouds

Inside a cloud, tiny drops of water bump together and join into bigger drops. When they are too heavy to float, they fall as precipitation: rain, or hail or snow when the air is cold enough. Children watch rain form in a jar, then build a rain gauge to measure how much rain falls over the coming weeks, in millimetres.

We are learning to

• explain how drops in a cloud grow and fall as precipitation,
• name kinds of precipitation: rain, hail and snow,
• build and read a rain gauge in millimetres.

Success criteria

• I can explain why rain falls from a cloud.
• I can read our rain gauge in millimetres.

You need

• a large glass jar, warm water from the tap (an adult pours it), a small plate and a handful of ice cubes,
• for each group: a clear straight-sided bottle with its top cut off by an adult, masking tape, a ruler, a marker and a few pebbles,
• the rain gauge cards and log (third sheet), one per group, and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the board; start Session B by building the gauges.

Watch for these ideas

• “Clouds are bags of water that burst.” Rain falls when the tiny drops join into drops too heavy to float.
• “Rain is new water from the sky.” It is water that evaporated, mostly from the ocean, and condensed into a cloud.
• “Snow and hail are not water.” They are frozen water; precipitation can be liquid or solid.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: build one class gauge together, with each group making one step.
• Bigger: find out how a weather station measures rain, and compare it with our gauge.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: water evaporated from the warm water, condensed into drops under the cold plate, and the drops grew and fell back like rain.
• Part B: the 0 mark is where the sides become straight; water 2 cm above the 0 mark is 20 mm of rain; we tip the water out to 0 so that the next reading starts from nothing.
• Part C: the drops in a cloud join into bigger, heavier drops until they are too heavy to float, and they fall.

Safety: the warm water comes from the hot tap, never a kettle, and an adult pours it. An adult cuts the bottles; tape over any sharp edge.

Rain in a jar, rain in a gauge

A. Rain in a jar

Draw the jar. Label where the water evaporated, where it condensed and where it fell.

B. Our rain gauge

C. Why does rain fall?

Build a rain gauge

Cut out the cards and follow them in order. Keep the log by the gauge and write in it every day.

Our rain log

The whole water cycle

Evaporation, condensation and precipitation join into one loop. Water evaporates from the ocean, condenses into clouds, falls as rain on the land, and runs back down rivers to the ocean, again and again; the same water has been going round for a very long time. Children set up a water cycle in a bag on a sunny window, put the loop cards in order and label a picture of the cycle.

We are learning to

• describe the water cycle as a loop through the sky, the land and the ocean,
• label evaporation, condensation and precipitation on a picture of the cycle,
• observe the water cycle in a model and explain it.

Success criteria

• I can put the water cycle in order and say what happens at each step.
• I can explain what is happening inside our bag.

You need

• a zip-lock bag for each pair, water, permanent markers, sticky tape and a sunny window,
• the loop cards (third sheet), one set per pair, and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• the rain gauge logs from Lesson 4.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the bags go up; start Session B with the loop cards.

Watch for these ideas

• “The cycle starts in the ocean and ends with rain.” It has no start and no end; it keeps going round.
• “Rainwater is new water.” It is the same water, used again and again.
• “Only the ocean evaporates.” Water evaporates from lakes, rivers, soil, puddles and plants too.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: order three cards first (evaporation, condensation, precipitation), then add the other two.
• Bigger: draw a second path for a raindrop that soaks into the ground before it reaches the ocean.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: A evaporation, B condensation, C precipitation, D the river carries it back.
• Part B, the numbers in the order printed: 4, 1, 3, 5, 2.
• Part C: within a day, drops form on the inside of the bag near the top (condensation) and run down (precipitation), after the sun warms the water at the bottom (evaporation).

Round and round

A. Label the water cycle. Write a word from the box in each slot.

B. Number the loop cards in order, starting with the ocean as 1.

C. Our water cycle in a bag

The water cycle loop

Cut out the cards and lay them in a circle, in order. Draw an arrow from each card to the next one, and from the last card back to the first.

Teacher note: keep the circles for Lesson 10. The bags can stay on the window for a week; drops usually appear within a day of sun.

Water runs through the landscape

When rain lands, it runs downhill over the surface, soaks into the ground, or evaporates. The water that runs off collects in creeks and rivers, which join and carry it to lakes and the ocean; the land that drains into one river is its catchment. Hard surfaces such as roofs and roads send most rain away as run-off, carrying litter and dirt with it. Children rain on a paper landscape, follow where the water and the colours run, and predict where rain goes on different surfaces.

We are learning to

• describe how water moves over the land after it rains,
• explain that run-off collects in creeks, rivers and lakes and flows to the ocean,
• predict where rain goes on different surfaces.

Success criteria

• I can show where the rain ran on our model, and say why.
• I can say where the rain that falls on our school goes.

You need

• for each group: a sheet of paper, water-based markers, a tray, a spray bottle of water and paper towel,
• the where-does-the-rain-go cards (third sheet), one set per pair,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the paper landscape; start Session B with the cards.

Watch for these ideas

• “Rain stays where it lands.” It runs downhill, soaks in or evaporates.
• “Rivers flow from the sea to the land.” Rivers flow downhill, from the hills towards the sea.
• “Stormwater drains go to a cleaning plant.” In most places they flow straight into creeks, rivers and the ocean, carrying litter with them.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: make one class landscape from a big sheet of paper, and spray it together.
• Bigger: map our school’s catchment: where does rain flow across the grounds, and where does it leave?

Answers and look-fors

• Part A answers vary. Part B: the water ran down the slopes into the valleys and pooled in the low places, carrying colour from the hilltops, just as run-off carries soil and litter.
• Part C: 1 runs off (into the gutters and downpipes, then a tank or a drain); 2 soaks in (the leaves and soil soak most of it up); 3 both (some soaks in slowly and the rest runs into a dam or a creek); 4 runs off (into a stormwater drain, then a creek and the ocean); 5 runs off (fast, down the slope, carrying soil with it); 6 soaks in (quickly, through the gaps between the grains); 7 soaks in (the mulch slows it down and the soil soaks it up); 8 runs off (into the drains; puddles left behind evaporate).
• Part D: from the roof into gutters and downpipes, then into a rain tank or a stormwater drain, a creek or river, and the ocean.

Where does the rain go?

A. Before the rain

Draw your paper landscape from above. Mark an X where you think the water will collect.

B. After the rain

C. Rain on each card: circle where it mostly goes.

D. Our school

Where does the rain go?

Cut out the cards. For each one, decide: does the rain mostly run off, mostly soak in, or both?

Teacher note: accept both for any card where the child can say what part runs off and what part soaks in. Some of every shower also evaporates.

Water soaks into the ground

Some rain soaks into the ground. It trickles down through the gaps between bits of soil, sand and rock and becomes groundwater, which fills tiny spaces underground like water in a sponge. Groundwater can feed springs and creeks, and farmers pump it up from bores. Children run a fair test: the same amount of water poured through cups of gravel, sand and garden soil, measuring how much drains through in 2 minutes.

We are learning to

• explain that rain soaks into the ground and becomes groundwater,
• run a fair test with three materials, changing only the material,
• measure and compare amounts of water in millilitres.

Success criteria

• I can name what we changed and what we kept the same.
• I can use our results to say which material let water through fastest and which held the most.

You need

• for each group: three plastic cups of the same size with the same holes in the bottom (an adult makes them with a skewer),
• gravel, sand and garden soil, enough to fill each cup to the same line, three catch containers, a measuring jug, water and a timer,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child, and the exit tickets (third sheet).

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the plan; start Session B with the soak test.

Watch for these ideas

• “Underground water is in big lakes in caves.” Mostly it fills the tiny gaps between grains of sand and the cracks in rock.
• “Less water came out, so the soil is no good.” It depends on what we need: a garden needs soil that holds water; a drain needs gravel that lets it through.
• “The water that did not come out disappeared.” It is held in the material: water held = water poured in take away the water that came out.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: test one material at a time as a class, at the front.
• Bigger: test a fourth material, such as potting mix or clay soil, and predict where it fits.

Answers and look-fors

• Part B: we change the material; we keep the same cups and holes, the same amount of material, 200 mL of water and 2 minutes.
• Part C and D: water usually comes through the gravel fastest and the soil slowest, and the soil holds the most. Water held = 200 mL take away the water that came through. Part D: the sandy place, because water passes quickly through the gaps between the grains, while soil holds more of it near the top.
• Exit ticket: 1 gravel, in most groups; 2 any one control; 3 rain trickles down through the gaps and becomes groundwater.

Safety: an adult makes the holes. Wash hands after handling soil, and sweep up spilt gravel and sand so nobody slips.

The soak test

A. My prediction

B. A fair test

C. Our results (200 mL poured into each cup)

D. What it tells us

Exit tickets

Print one sheet for every four children and cut along the dashed lines. Each child answers a ticket alone before leaving.

Teacher note: for 1, accept the material the child’s own group measured fastest; most groups find gravel. For 3, look for water moving down through gaps in the soil or rock.

Reading rain data

A rain gauge measures rainfall in millimetres: 10 mm of rain would cover flat ground 10 mm deep if none soaked in, ran off or evaporated. Weather stations measure the rain every day, and a graph of a whole year shows patterns, such as which months are wet and which are dry. Children total their own rain log, then read a year of rainfall for an example town in the north of Australia, where most rain falls in the summer wet season.

We are learning to

• read and total measurements of rain in millimetres,
• read a column graph and find patterns in it,
• use rain data to explain when water is easy to collect.

Success criteria

• I can find the wettest and the driest month on a graph.
• I can say whether a statement about the graph is true, and show how I know.

You need

• the rain gauges and the rain logs from Lesson 4,
• the graph statement cards (third sheet), one set per pair,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the year of rain; start Session B with the statement cards.

Watch for these ideas

• “A tall column means a long month.” Every column is one month; its height shows how much rain fell.
• “No column means the month is missing.” July is there; no column means 0 mm.
• “It rains about the same all year everywhere.” In many parts of Australia most rain falls in one season.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: read four cards together, finding each month on the graph with a finger.
• Bigger: look up our own town’s rainfall for each month on the Bureau of Meteorology website and compare its pattern with the example town.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A answers vary; the total is all the daily readings added.
• Part C: the wettest month is Feb, the driest is Jul, and 4 months had more than 100 mm (Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec). The farmer should be ready in the wet months, from about December to March. The year’s total is 710 mm.
• Statement cards: 1 true, 2 not true, 3 not true, 4 true, 5 true, 6 not true, 7 true, 8 true.

Reading rain data

A. Our rain log

B. A year of rain in an example town

C. Read the graph

True or not true?

Cut out the cards. Test each one against the table and the graph on your worksheet, then sort the cards into true and not true.

Teacher note: this is example data. For a true local picture, use your town’s monthly rainfall from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Water for people

Australia is the driest continent that people live on, so towns and farms plan carefully where their fresh water comes from. People use water-cycle science to collect it: dams hold back run-off, bores pump up groundwater, rainwater tanks catch rain from roofs, desalination plants take the salt out of sea water, and used water is cleaned and recycled. Children read water supply cards, match each one to the part of the water cycle it uses, and set up a solar still that makes fresh water from salty water.

We are learning to

• describe how people use the water cycle to get fresh water,
• match a way of collecting water to the part of the cycle it uses,
• plan a way our school could catch more water or use less.

Success criteria

• I can explain how one water supply uses the water cycle.
• I can say where evaporation and condensation happen in our solar still.

You need

• the water supply cards (third sheet), one set per group,
• for the solar still: a large bowl, a cup shorter than the bowl, salty water (a spoonful of salt in a jug of water), cling wrap, a small pebble and a sunny spot,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the cards; start Session B with the solar still.

Watch for these ideas

• “Tap water is made at a factory.” It comes from the water cycle, from a dam, a river, underground or the sea, and is cleaned before it reaches us.
• “We will never run out, because the water cycle never stops.” The cycle goes on, but the fresh water may not fall where and when people need it.
• “The water in the still’s cup came through the plastic.” It evaporated from the bowl, condensed on the cling wrap and dripped down.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: read three cards together (the tank, the dam and the solar still) and match each one to a step of the loop cards.
• Bigger: find out where our town’s water comes from, and draw its path from the sky to the tap.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: Bore: groundwater: rain that soaked into the ground; Dam: run-off from rain on the catchment; Desalination plant: the ocean, the biggest store of water; Rainwater tank: precipitation, caught as it falls; Recycled water: water people have already used, cleaned and sent round again; Solar still: evaporation and condensation, the same as in a cloud.
• Part B: water evaporates from the salty water in the bowl, condenses on the cool cling wrap, and runs down to the pebble and drips into the cup; the salt stays behind in the bowl.
• Part C answers vary; a good idea says which part of the water cycle it uses, such as a tank that catches precipitation from the roof.

Safety: nobody tastes the water from the still. Lesson 10 checks it for salt with a drop on a dark plate instead.

Water for people

A. Choose three water supply cards.

B. Our solar still

1. Put a cup in the middle of a large bowl.
2. Pour a few centimetres of salty water into the bowl, not into the cup.
3. Stretch cling wrap over the bowl and seal the edges.
4. Put a small pebble on the wrap, just above the cup.
5. Leave it in strong sun until Lesson 10.

Draw the still. Label where water evaporates and where it condenses.

C. Our school

Water supply cards

Cut out the cards. For each one, decide which part of the water cycle it uses: rain, run-off, groundwater, the ocean, evaporation and condensation, or water already used.

Teacher note: some supplies use more than one part of the cycle (a dam also loses water to evaporation); accept any answer the child can explain from the card.

Show what we know

The summative lesson, run as a celebration. Children check the solar still from Lesson 9, then make a labelled model or poster of the water cycle that follows one drop through the sky, over the land and back to the ocean. They gallery-walk each other’s models, sit the final check alone, and close with the on-screen quiz as a class game.

We are learning to

• show the water cycle with labels and arrows: evaporation, condensation and precipitation,
• follow one drop of water through the sky, the landscape and the ocean,
• show what we know on our own on the final check.

Success criteria

• My model labels evaporation, condensation and precipitation in the right places, with arrows that go round.
• I can show on the final check where water is found and how it moves.

You need

• the solar still from Lesson 9 and a dark plate,
• card or large paper, coloured pencils, sticky tape and leftovers from the term, such as the loop cards,
• the model-plan worksheet (next sheet) and the final check (third sheet), one each per child,
• the interactive unit open for the closing quiz.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after making time and keep the models safe. Start Session B with the gallery walk, then the final check and the class quiz.

Watch for these ideas

• Labels in the wrong place under pressure: condensation written on the ocean. Ask: where does the vapour cool? Then step back.
• A cycle that stops at the rain. Ask: where does the rain go next? Keep going until the drop is back in the ocean.
• “Evaporation means the water disappears.” Ask: where is the water now? It is in the air, as vapour.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: give a ready outline of the ocean, a hill and a cloud; the child adds the arrows and the labels.
• Bigger: add a second path for the drop, underground or through a rain tank, and label it.

Answers and look-fors

• Final check marking guide: 1 the ocean. 2 precipitation. 3 evaporation. 4 condensation. 5 the air high up is cold, so the vapour cools and condenses into tiny drops. 6 in the order printed: 3, 1, 4, 2. 7 any two of: it runs off into a creek, river or lake; it soaks into the ground; it evaporates; plants take it up. 8 no: water keeps evaporating, condensing, falling and flowing back, round and round.
• A score of 6 or more out of 8, plus a model with the three processes labelled in the right places and arrows that go round, meets the descriptor. The rubric near the front of the pack turns this into a level.
• Meeting the idea at the gallery sounds like “the sun evaporates it, it condenses into a cloud, it rains on the hill and the river takes it back to the sea”.

My water-cycle model

A. Tick each one as you add it to your model.

Labels to add: evaporation, condensation, precipitation. Arrows that go round.

B. Draw your plan.

C. Follow one drop.

Show what we know

Show what you know about water and the water cycle. Read each one, then circle, write or number. Take your time.

Teacher note: read the items aloud one at a time. The marking guide is on this lesson’s plan; the rubric near the front of the pack turns the score into a level.