🔬 ScienceGrade 2Lesson 11
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Understand Rain Cycle

Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).

Learning Objectives

  • 1Name the four steps of the water cycle in order
  • 2Explain what happens during evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection
  • 3Describe why the sun is essential to the water cycle
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Mini Lesson

Have you ever wondered where rain comes from — and where it goes afterward? The same water travels around and around our planet in a never-ending loop called the water cycle. It has four main steps.

Step 1 — Evaporation

  • The sun heats water in oceans, lakes, and rivers.
  • The water turns into invisible water vapor (a gas) and rises up into the air.
  • This is called evaporation — liquid water becomes a gas.

Step 2 — Condensation

  • High up in the sky, the air is cold.
  • The water vapor cools down and turns back into tiny water droplets, forming clouds.
  • This is called condensation — gas turns back into liquid.

Step 3 — Precipitation

  • Water droplets in clouds join together and get heavy.
  • When they are too heavy to float, they fall back to Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
  • This is called precipitation.

Step 4 — Collection

  • Rainwater collects in rivers, lakes, and oceans.
  • Some soaks into the ground; some flows downhill.
  • The water is now ready to be evaporated again — and the cycle starts over!
The water cycleA diagram showing the four steps of the water cycle: evaporation from a lake, condensation into a cloud, precipitation as rain, and collection back into the lake.The Water CycleSunLake / OceanCloud1. Evaporationliquid to gas, rising2. Condensationgas to droplets3. Precipitationrain / snow falling4. Collectionfills lakes & rivers
The four steps of the water cycle — evaporate, condense, precipitate, collect.
Water cycle steps close-upFour labeled cards summarizing each water cycle step: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection with a key phrase each.The Water Cycle — 4 Steps1. EvaporationSun heats water.Liquid turns to gas.Vapor rises up.2. CondensationVapor cools high up.Gas turns to droplets.Droplets form clouds.3. PrecipitationDrops grow heavy.Fall as rain or snow.4. CollectionWater fills rivers,lakes & oceans.
Close-up summary cards for each of the four water cycle steps.
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Ask yourself: "Can I name all four steps? Evaporate — Condense — Precipitate — Collect."

Vocabulary
Water cycle
The never-ending journey of water between Earth and the skye.g. evaporate, condense, precipitate, collect
Evaporation
Liquid water turns into invisible water vapor (gas) and risese.g. puddles drying in the sun
Condensation
Water vapor cools and turns back into tiny liquid dropletse.g. clouds forming in the sky
Precipitation
Water falling from clouds to Earthe.g. rain, snow, sleet, hail
Collection
Water gathering in oceans, lakes, rivers, or the grounde.g. rain filling a pond
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← Lesson 10: Observe Weather and SeasonsLesson 12: How Wind and Clouds Form →