By Teach4MeTools.com ©

Before we start take a moment to think about what you already know about the water cycle. How about what you want to know? Record your responses on your KWL chart. What I know about the water cycle: What I want to know about the water cycle: What I learned about the water cycle: You will do this box after the PowerPoint. Are you ready? Let’s go……….

…is the same water that was here when dinosaurs roamed the planet. It has just been recycled! How can this be????? Watch and I will explain.

Look at this empty soda bottle. Pretend it holds all the water on Earth. Some of the water is in oceans, some in lakes and rivers, and some is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. Use a blue crayon to show how much you think is ocean water. Use a green crayon to show how much you think is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. Use a red crayon to show how much you think is in lakes and rivers that we can use to drink, grow crops and wash.

Now let’s compare what you drew to a close approximation of how much there really is. Blue shows about how much is ocean water. This is salt water and we cannot drink it or use it to grow food. Green shows how much is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. This is fresh water but we cannot use it because it is frozen in remote sections of our planet. Red shows how much is in lakes and rivers that we can use to drink, grow crops and wash. How close were you? Where you surprised? Now, put a large “x” over that bottle. Now draw the real distribution on the bottle next to it.

97% is in the oceans. We cannot drink this because it is salt water. 1.6% is frozen in polar ice caps and glaciers. 0.36% is underground in aquifers and wells. Less than 1% of the water is found on the surface in lakes, rivers and other places we can use. This is the water we use to drink, wash our clothes and water crops.

evaporation & transpiration condensationprecipitation collection Water moves from place to place in this never ending cycle. It is recycled-made into something new again.

Evaporation is when the heat of the sun pulls water vapor out of lakes, rivers and even puddles into the air. Transpiration is when the heat of the sun pulls water vapor out of plants into the air. Water vapor is the gas form of water. Steam is an example of water vapor.

Condensation happens when water vapor from evaporation bonds together to form clouds. You can see this condensation happen before your eyes if you leave a really cold water bottle on your desk. The bottle isn’t leaking, it is collecting water from the air around you.

When enough water condenses together, the weight causes it to fall as precipitation. It can fall as rain, sleet, snow or hail depending on the temperature.

Water from precipitation collects in streams, rivers, oceans and even in pockets underground. This is the collection of water we use to drink, grow food and wash our things.

evaporation & transpiration condensationprecipitation collection This cycle has been happening over and over since the Earth formed! No new water is ever created, it just moves to a new part of the cycle.

So it is true! The water I played in millions of years ago could be the same water that falls on kids as rain today? Yes! Lake water evaporates, condenses into clouds, rains as precipitation then collects in the lake again. Don’t worry kids, the Earth has its own way of cleaning water during the water cycle. The problem is, this whole cycle can take thousands of years to complete so if we contaminate water now, we won’t have it to use again for a very long time!

Evaporation When the heat from the sun pulls water vapor from lakes, rivers and puddles into the air. Condensation When water vapor collects together. This is when clouds are formed. Precipitation Water that falls from the sky as rain, sleet, snow or hail. Water coming together to form lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater. Collection Transpiration When heat from the sun pulls water vapor from plants into the air.

This happens when water vapor from evaporation bonds together to form clouds. condensation

Water collects in streams, rivers, oceans and even in pockets underground. collection

When enough water condenses together, the weight causes it to fall as rain, sleet, snow or hail. precipitation

It is when the heat of the sun pulls water vapor out of plants into the air. transpiration

It is when the heat of the sun pulls water vapor out of lakes, rivers and even puddles into the air. evaporation

What did you learn during today’s lesson? Record your responses on your KWL chart. What questions do you still have about the water cycle? Thank you for being such a great audience!