The Sun Powers the Water Cycle

The water cycle is a continouous cycle in which water changes states and moves from the earth, into clouds, and back to the earth again.  This process is what creates rain, snow, sleet, humidity, and other things you can't always see.  The sun is also an essential part of this cycle.  Without the heat of the sun, water would not evaporate and would not return to the earth in many forms of precipitation.

Use the lesson provided here to teach your students about the water cycle and also how to think critically about different web resources available.  BEWARE, not all website are created equally!

This lesson has been adapted from a lesson developed by the Howard County Public School System.  It has been designed for 5th grade science students in order to explore and learn about the water cycle and the sun's role in the changes of matter.  The lesson was adapted in order to have students think critically about the webapges they use for information collection.