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Science

The Water Cycle

Overview

Children investigate what happens to water when it is heated and cooled, connecting their observations to the water cycle.

Learning Objective
Children understand the basic stages of the water cycle and can observe simple evidence of evaporation and condensation.

Resources needed

  • Small containers of water
  • Sunny outdoor surface or a warm spot

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Wet a small area of stone or ground outside in the sun.
  2. 2 Ask: what will happen to the water? When will it be gone?
  3. 3 Return after 15 minutes — the water is gone. Ask: where did it go?
  4. 4 Introduce evaporation: water turns into invisible water vapour when heated.
  5. 5 Show a cold container: water from the air collects on the cold surface — this is condensation.
  6. 6 Draw a simple water cycle: sun heats water → evaporation → clouds → rain → rivers → sea.
  7. 7 Ask: where does rain come from? Follow the cycle.

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Boil a small amount of water and hold a cold surface above — show condensation directly.
  • Compare evaporation rates in sun vs shade.
  • Connect to weather: clouds are water vapour condensed high in the atmosphere.
More information

Teach: evaporate, condense, water vapour, cycle, cloud, rain, river, ocean. The cycle can be shown as a simple circle: sea → vapour → cloud → rain → river → sea.

Focus on just evaporation — water disappearing in the sun — as the most observable and verifiable part of the cycle.

Can children explain what evaporation is and give an example? Can they sequence the four stages of the water cycle in the correct order?

Sunlight and any available water are sufficient. The outdoor environment demonstrates the water cycle in real time.

Children often say evaporated water 'disappears.' It is still there as invisible vapour in the air — and will eventually return as rain.

The water cycle connects chemistry (states of matter), physics (heat transfer), and geography (weather and rivers). It is one of the most important integrating concepts in primary science.

Activity details
Primary Medium 20–25 minutes 5 minutes prep Whole Class, Small Group Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Water Cycle Evaporation Weather