Objective:
The students will identify the different phases of the water cycle.  (This lesson is similar to the Snow Day Science Lesson.)

Materials

• Ice

• A metal pan

• A source of steam (such as a pan of boiling water.)  If this is not possible, use very hot tap water in a glass container that has been run under the hot water.

• Links to one of the following sites: BrainPop, The Water Cycle at Work, or Water Science for Schools.  Or books which contain information on the water cycle, such as Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn M. Branley.

• It's Raining in My Classroom! Worksheet

Procedure

1. Share information with the students about the water cycle.  Use one of the aforementioned web sites or read the book.  Be sure to touch on the three main points of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

2. Explain to the students that you are going to create "rain" in the classroom.  Set up the experiment by putting ice in the metal pan and holding it over the source of steam (either the boiling water or the hot tap water.)  If you are using hot tap water, set the pan directly on top of the glass container.  The steam will condense on the bottom of the pan, and when the condensation becomes heavy enough, it will fall from the pan.  

3. Discuss with the students how each part of the experiment represents a phase of the water cycle in nature.  The steam is the evaporation of water from lakes, streams, the ground, etc.  The pan with the ice represents the cold atmosphere where water droplets condense and form clouds.  The water falling from the bottom of the pan is the precipitation.

4. Pass out the It's Raining in My Classroom! Worksheet and have the students complete the sheet for reinforcement.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. Have a lesson on how rain affects other things in nature.  Brainstorm how plants, animals, and humans all need water in order to survive.  What effects are there from draughts as well as floods?

2. Discuss different types of rainstorms.  What causes thunder and lightning?  Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll by Franklyn M. Branley is a good book to use for information.

3. Have a meteorologist come in to the classroom and discuss his/her job.  How does he/she predict rain?

4. Compare the scenery, plants, and animals found in a rainforest with those found in a desert. 

5. Have a lesson on evaporation.  Place a small container of water in a sunny place in the classroom and have the students observe the level of water over a period of time.