Put the Water Cycle in Order

Start with the diagram page and keep it out as a reference for the rest. Look for real examples together: a cold glass sweating, a puddle drying, steam on a mirror. Check each page with the answer key.

Number a water drop's trip through the water cycle from 1 to 6. A cycle is a set of steps that happens again and again. In the water cycle, water moves from Earth to the sky and back. The directions on the page read: Read the steps of a water drop's trip. Then, number them from 1 to 6 in order and answer the questions. The answer key shows every answer.

Yes, both. We made it for 4th Grade water cycle, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Evaporation: the sun heats water and it rises as water vapor. Condensation: the vapor cools into tiny drops that form clouds. Precipitation: water falls as rain, snow, sleet or hail. Collection: water gathers in oceans, lakes and rivers, and the cycle starts again.

Evaporation turns liquid water into water vapor, a gas, and heat speeds it up. Condensation is the reverse: vapor cools and turns back into drops, like the water on the outside of a cold glass.

The sun's energy heats water so it evaporates, and gravity pulls rain and snow back down to the ground. One sheet uses puddle drying times on sunny and cloudy days to show the sun's effect.

Yes. All five water cycle sheets have an answer key that shows every answer, including sample answers for the questions children explain in their own words.