Water Cycle Lesson and Game (Adapted from
http://wiki.islandwood.org/index.php?title=Water_cycle_game)
Lesson summary: Through a brainstorm about water's distribution and an interactive game
simulating the journey of a water molecule in the water cycle, students gain an
understanding of the water cycle and a greater appreciation of its complexity.
Lesson logistics:
Age: 8th grade
Venue: Classroom
Materials: map of the world, white board, water cycle game station labels: ocean, river, lake,
groundwater, glaciers, plants, animals, clouds, soil; 9 six-sided dice, 9 student information
sheets (each specific to a station)
Time: 45 minutes
Set up: set up nine water cycle stations with appropriate cards
Learning goals:
 Water is a precious resource that is recycled by movement through the water cycle.
 Identify stages of the water cycle and the process by which water moves from one stage to
another.
Objectives: Students will be able to
 Correctly identify places in which water is found on earth
 Describe the process by which water moves through the water cycle
Introduction:
Hook the students by asking them if they know how much of the earth is covered in water. Give
the students some help by showing them a globe and / or a map of the world. After taking
answers, inform the students that 71% of earth is covered in water. Explain to the students that
they will be exploring the water cycle and get the chance to be a water droplet moving around
the earth.
The core lesson:
Where do we find water? Ask the students, “If the surface of the earth is 71% water, where do
we find all this water?” Have the students brainstorm answers as a large group. Write student
answers on a large white board so that everyone can see. Give the students hints if they are
having trouble coming up with all nine categories (oceans, rivers, lakes, groundwater, glaciers,
plants, animals, clouds, soil).
After the students have identified all of the places that water is found on the earth, ask the
students where they think, of all these places, the most water is found. Once the students have
correctly identified the oceans, have everyone stand up. Inform the students that they will now
try to guess just how much water is found in the oceans. Tell them that you will be listing off
percentages in increasing order, such as 50%, 55%, 60%, etc. The students should sit down once
you have listed a percentage that is larger than what they believe to be the amount of water
found in the oceans. For example, if a student thinks that of all the water on earth, 70% is found
in the oceans, they will sit down once you call out a number higher than 70%.
When only a few students are left standing, ask the students to share their predictions and
inform the group that about 97% of all water on earth is found in the oceans. This can be
illustrated with a graduated cylinder or a bucket of water by removing 3% of the water.
Referring back to the list of water locations, ask the students where this remaining 4% of water
is found. Incredibly, almost all of that water is located either in ice as glaciers (2%) or
underground (1%). That leaves only 0.06% of all the water on earth for all of the rivers, lakes,
animals, plants, and clouds! Be sure to review these incredible numbers a few times and answer
any student questions before moving on.
The Water Cycle Game:
http://www.arcticclimatemodeling.org/lessons/acmp/acmp_k4_WaterCycle_WaterCycleGame.p
df  Here you will find all necessary documents that must be translated for the game
Now that the students have identified all the places that water is found on the earth, inform them
that they will have a chance to be water molecules traveling through the water cycle. If the
students have not yet studied the water cycle, it would be helpful to introduce the three states of
water (solid, liquid, gas) and water transportation methods (precipitation, transpiration,
evaporation, percolation, sublimation).
Split the group evenly between the nine water cycle stations (these should be set-up ahead of
time). Before handing each group their specific information sheet and die, have the students
brainstorm where and how water might travel from their station. For example, the students at
the ocean station should be thinking of all the ways that water is able to leave the ocean, such as
evaporation into the atmosphere to form clouds.
Give each group a few minutes to brainstorm, and then have each group share their answers.
Allow other groups to add their thoughts so that all the possibilities are explored for each
station.
Explain the rules for the game:
 Students should begin by recording their starting station in their journal.
 One at a time, students will roll the die at their station. Students should move to the station
that corresponds with the number they rolled (example: 1=ocean).
 If the number indicates that the student should stay at their present station, the student
should move to the end of the line before rolling again.
 Students should record each station they move to in their journals. For example, if a student
started in the clouds and then moved to the ocean where they stayed for three rolls before
returning to the clouds, their journal should look like this: cloud, ocean, ocean, ocean,
cloud.
 Students should walk between stations.
Once the students understand all of the game rules, hand each station their information sheet
and die and allow the students to play for 5-10 minutes. After the game, gather the students to
discuss their journeys.
Ask for a few student volunteers to share their water cycle journeys. Encourage the students to
explain how they got to and from each station, why they might have stayed at a station for a
number of turns, and what state of matter (solid, liquid or gas) they were in at different parts of
their journey. Conclude by asking the students the following questions:
 Why was everyone’s journey different?
 What are the similarities and differences between the game and the real water cycle?
Story of a water droplet (optional extension):
Have the students write a story about their life as a water molecule. Have the students rename
each part of their journey as a specific place or thing in their area (example: glacier=Cotopaxi,
groundwater=under the school), then have them write a story that follows the journey of their
specific water droplet.
Teacher Information Sheet: Translate teacher information sheet and following
student information sheets from attached document.
Location
Soil Surface
Plant
River
Clouds
Ocean
Lake
Animal
Ground water
Glacier
Moves to
Process of movement
Student Information Sheet: Soil Surface
Student Information Sheet: Plant
Student Information Sheet: River
Student Information Sheet: Clouds
Student Information Sheet: Ocean
Student Information Sheet: Lake
Student Information Sheet: Animal
Student Information Sheet: Ground Water
Student Information Sheet: Glacier