The Water Cycle
Describe the water cycle, tracing water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, and transpiration in plants, explaining how the sun drives the cycle
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“The Water Cycle means tracing water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and plant transpiration, driven by the sun. We will practise once together, then check a fresh example.”
Bring to the table
- Five word cards: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, transpiration
- Cup of warm water and a cool lid or mirror (adult-handled)
Extra for the adult
Worked example. Sun warms water → evaporates. Vapour cools → condensation → clouds. Rain is precipitation. Water runs off land. Plants also release water vapour.
Optional challenge. For The Water Cycle, add where runoff might go (river/ocean).
What to notice. Keep one parent note: stages ordered; sun mentioned; support used. This session samples the water cycle, not mastery of every pathway.
Share and support
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Teaching approaches
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2 approaches
The Water Cycle means tracing water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and plant transpiration, driven by the sun. We will practise once together, then check a fresh example.
Spend about 12 minutes ordering water-cycle words with a tiny steam demo, then checking a fresh stage.
Practise the bounded task in The Water Cycle; see exact limits before inferring broader coverage.
Practise the bounded task in The Water Cycle; see exact limits before inferring broader coverage.
Family records and proof options
Keep a record of your learning
Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Practice this concept
Start practiceThe water cycle practice
Trace evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and transpiration.
Free · no login · no ads · Practice answers and completion are not saved. Parent observation remains the lesson record.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
NASA Climate Kids · Practice link — not the full lesson
What Is the Water Cycle?
Before you open · source notes
What Is the Water Cycle? supports The Water Cycle. An adult previews and guides; this is a learning page, not a scored quiz.
Free educational page, no sign-in required for the tested path.
Before you openAsk the learner one fact they learned and one question they still have.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public NASA Climate Kids page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.
NASA Climate Kids. “What Is the Water Cycle?.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.
Unknown — link only
Check understanding
- Labels a water cycle diagram correctly
- Explains what drives each stage of the water cycle (e.g. solar energy drives evaporation)
- Explains the role of transpiration (plants releasing water vapour) in the water cycle
- Discusses how human activities (deforestation, paving) affect the water cycle
“If your child watched rain falling outside and was asked where that water had been before it fell, could they trace its journey through the water cycle from the sea to the clouds to the rain and back?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Ecosystems & Habitats
- Age range
- Ages 11–12
Standards