A short animation explaining the water cycle - including evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
Over two thirds of the Earth is covered in water.
Water is vital to support all life on the planet.
Water never leaves the Earth and its atmosphere.
It simply moves around in what is called the water cycle.
The water cycle is the continuous journey of water from oceans and lakes, to clouds, to rain, to streams, to rivers and back into the ocean again.
When the sun shines, it causes water to warm up, turning it into a gas - water vapour.
This process is called evaporation.
The water vapour rises and collects in the sky as clouds.
When the water vapour cools down, it condenses, turning back into liquid, and falls back to earth as precipitation: rain, snow, hail or sleet.
This water then moves across land as run-off, and ends up in rivers and streams.
It then flows back to the sea or lakes and the cycle starts again.
Water moves continuously around this cycle.
The water we use today has been around for as long as the Earth.
So next time you take a drink of water, remember, it's the same water the dinosaurs drank!
Video summary
A short animation for KS2 pupils explaining the water cycle - including evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
It follows the journey of water and how it starts in rivers, lakes and oceans, evaporates and condenses, then falls as precipitation and runs back into rivers, lakes and oceans.
The film illustrates the journey and will help pupils to visualise the continuous water cycle that is essential to life on Earth.
Teacher Notes
This short film can be used to introduce pupils to the water cycle - including evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
You could mediate the playback of the film to pause and develop discussion points around each step of the water cycle.
Pupils could take notes on an illustration of the water cycle - showing what happens at each stage - and then discuss what they think would happen if one phase of the cycle did not take place.
Points for discussion:
- What is condensation?
- What is evaporation?
- What is precipitation?
- What is run-off?
- Can you describe the water cycle?
- How does the water cycle affect you?
- How might climate change affect the water cycle?
- Can you find out how salt water becomes fresh water?
Suggested activities:
After watching the film, you could do a practical demonstration of the water cycle. Can pupils re-create a mini water cycle in the classroom to show the key points of the process?
Pupils could investigate the water cycle and how it works in different parts of the world.
Can pupils use their knowledge of the water cycle to explain why some parts of the world are wetter than others, while other parts are drier than others?
Using their knowledge of the water cycle, can pupils develop an enquiry into how climate change might impact on the water cycle, and how this could affect their lives?
Suitable for teaching geography at KS1 and KS2 in England and Wales, Early and 1st and 2nd level in Scotland and Foundation and KS1 in Northern Ireland.
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