Water Cycle Activity

Have your students experienced the water cycle in action? Perhaps they have seen a puddle drying up on a hot summer day or the window fogging after a hot shower. If you are looking for a science activity that you can do right in your classroom, you have come to the right place! Teach Starter has created a simple water cycle activity that will help students understand the different stages of the water cycle.

To complete this activity, students will set up a water cycle in a bag by drawing a sun, ocean, clouds, and mountains on the front of a resealable plastic bag with a permanent marker. Next, fill the bag no more than 1/4 of the way full with water and add blue food colouring (optional). Tape the bag to a window that receives light from the sun and observe what happens over the next few days.

Through this activity, students will observe the continuous movement of water above and on the surface of Earth through the water cycle and explain the sun’s role as a major energy source in this process.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your science lessons. 

In addition to individual student work time, use this investigation activity to enhance learning through guided science groups, whole class lessons, or remote learning assignments. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

For extra support, allow students to brainstorm in small groups when answering the discussion questions.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

After a few days have passed and some condensation has formed inside the bag, have students make a short video explaining what has happened.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or editable Google Slides version of this resource. 

This resource was created by Madison Evans, a teacher in North Carolina and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time: 

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The Water Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet

Sequence the steps in the water cycle with a cut-and-sort worksheet.

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The Water Cycle – Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Enhance your students’ comprehension and science vocabulary skills with this water cycle worksheet.

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Water Cycle in a Bag – Investigation Activity

Create a water cycle in a bag, make observations, and answer discussion questions with this printable science activity.