Lesson Plan: God's Wonderful Water Journey

Materials Needed:

• A clear glass or mug
• Hot water (Note: Adult supervision is required for this step)
• A small ceramic or glass plate that can cover the top of the cup
• 3-4 ice cubes

Lesson Details (15 Minutes)

1. Introduction: The Great Water Adventure (2 minutes)

Teacher says: "Have you ever wondered where rain comes from? Does the sky just make new water all the time? It's actually much more exciting! The water we have on Earth has been here for a very, very long time—it's the same water the dinosaurs drank! It just goes on a big journey, over and over again. God designed this amazing journey, called the water cycle, as a wonderful way to clean our water and give every plant, animal, and person a drink. Let's see how He did it!"

2. Activity: Making Rain in a Cup! (8 minutes)

This simple experiment will show the main parts of the water cycle.

Step 1: Evaporation (The Sun's Job)

• Action: The adult carefully pours about two inches of hot water into the clear cup.
• Teacher says: "Let's pretend this hot water is a big lake or an ocean, and our hands are the warm sun. The sun shines on the water and warms it up. See the steam rising? That's called evaporation. It's when the water turns into a gas, called water vapor, and floats up, up, up into the sky. It's too light to see, just like the steam is disappearing into the air."

Step 2: Condensation (Making Clouds)

• Action: Quickly cover the top of the cup with the plate. Place the ice cubes on top of the plate.
• Teacher says: "Now, this cold plate is like the cold air high up in the sky. When all that invisible water vapor gets high enough, it gets cold. Let's watch what happens inside our cup. The water vapor is hitting the cold bottom of the plate and turning back into tiny water drops! This is called condensation. When billions of these tiny drops get together in the sky, they form a cloud. Isn't that a wise plan to gather all the water together?"

Step 3: Precipitation (Rain!)

• Action: Watch the bottom of the plate inside the cup. After a minute or two, the small droplets will combine, get bigger and heavier, and then fall back into the water.
• Teacher says: "Look closely! The little drops are getting bigger. When they get too heavy for the 'cloud' to hold them, they fall down. What does that look like? Rain! This is called precipitation. God lovingly designed this so the water comes back down to water the trees, fill our rivers, and give us water to drink. Then, the whole journey starts all over again!"

3. Review & Wrap-Up: The Water Cycle Dance (5 minutes)

Teacher says: "Let's remember the three big words from our water journey with a little dance!"

1. "For EVAPORATION, let's wiggle our fingers and move them up, up, up like the water vapor rising to the sky!" (Student copies the action.)
2. "For CONDENSATION, let's clasp our hands together high above our heads to make a big, puffy cloud!" (Student copies the action.)
3. "For PRECIPITATION, let's wiggle our fingers and move them down, down, down like the falling rain!" (Student copies the action.)

Teacher says: "You just showed me the whole water cycle! God's plan for water is so perfect. It keeps our world alive and beautiful. Every time you see a cloud or feel the rain, you can remember the amazing journey the water is on."