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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

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

Learn about the water cycle's major stages and the importance of the ocean in the water cycle with this Interactive Science Research Page.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore the integral role Earth's oceans play in the water cycle in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This is an accessible, easy-to-read book about the water cycle. It can be downloaded in Power Point, Impress, or Flash formats. For struggling or non-readers the book can be read aloud in a variety of voices. All of the books on the Tar Heel Reader site can be used with the Intellikeys keyboard with a custom overlay, a touch screen, and 1-3 switches. The text and background colors can be modified for students with visual impairments.

Type: Presentation/Slideshow

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 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