Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Where does the rain come from?
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/water-cycle/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/water-cycle/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Water moves in a never-ending cycle between the sea, the sky and the land.
- The Sun's heat makes water evaporate.
- Clouds are made of tiny water drops; drops fall as rain, snow or hail.
- Observe and describe changes over time.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Show a wet paper towel. Where will the water go when it dries? |
| 10 min | Read the story together and point to each step on a drawing. |
| 15 min | Make the water cycle bags and tape them to a sunny window. |
| 10 min | Play Up or down? or do the quiz. |
| 5 min | Later that day or the next day: look at the bags and talk about the drops. |
Materials for the experiment
- A clear zip-lock bag
- Water (a few spoonfuls)
- A little blue food colouring (optional)
- Sticky tape
- A marker pen
- A sunny window
Safety: Close the bag well and tape it so it cannot fall. Don't drink the water.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Clouds are made of smoke or cotton wool. | Clouds are made of tiny drops of water (or ice). |
| When a puddle dries, the water is gone for ever. | It has evaporated into the air and will come back as rain. |
| New water is made every time it rains. | It is the same water going round and round. |
Worksheet answers
- A picture with the sea, the Sun, a cloud and rain, with arrows going up from the sea and down from the cloud.
- Yes.
- Little drops of water. The Sun warmed the water, it evaporated, then turned back into drops on the cool plastic, like a cloud.
Quiz answers
- What warms the water so it goes up into the air? The Sun. The Sun's heat makes water evaporate.[2][4]
- What is a cloud made of? Lots of tiny drops of water. Water vapour cools and turns into tiny drops.[3][4]
- Why do drops fall out of a cloud? They join up and get too heavy. Small drops merge into bigger, heavier drops that fall.[4]
- Where does river water go? Back to the sea. Most river water flows back to the oceans.[5]
- What can fall from clouds when it is very cold? Snow or hail. Precipitation can be rain, sleet, snow or hail.[2]
Going further
Draw a chalk line around a puddle on the playground in the morning and look again at lunchtime. What happened to the puddle?
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] The Water Cycle (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science School): reliability High
- [2] The Water Cycle for Schools and Kids (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science School): reliability High
- [3] The Atmosphere and the Water Cycle (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science School): reliability High
- [4] Water cycle (Met Office (UK national weather service)): reliability High
- [5] The Hydrologic Cycle (JetStream) (NOAA National Weather Service): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/water-cycle/sources/
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