Building the Water Cycle Diagram Lesson Plan

Lesson plan based on the USGS Water Cycle Diagram. 

Even before they have had any instruction about the water cycle, students have likely had real life experiences with where water is stored (generally called “pools”) and how it moves through the environment (generally called “fluxes”). This lesson uses an unlabeled version of the 2022 USGS Water Cycle Diagram to activate and assess prior knowledge about the water cycle. As the lesson progresses, key vocabulary is added to the diagram and the diagram is revisited periodically so students can continually build their knowledge of the water cycle. Once students are familiar with the different pools and fluxes of water, they will explore an online interactive displaying the various sizes of pools and fluxes.