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Free Homeschool Unit Study: THE WATER CYCLE
In this FREE HOMESCOOL UNIT STUDY: The Water Cycle, you will find several suggestions of books to READ, ideas to WRITE, crafts to CREATE, more to EXPLORE, snacks to ENJOY and other ways to LEARN about this important science concept. To read more about several concepts behind my UNIT STUDIES, read this.
If you find it handy to have a simplified printable version of these suggestions, you can find one, along with several free printables, in this FREE Water Cycle Unit Study Printable Pack.
Otherwise, read on for a more detailed version with links embedded!
{Note: All links are pink! Just think, “pink link” if you are wanting to follow a link to something.}
Free Homeschool Unit Study: THE WATER CYCLE The water cycle is a continuous process that supplies fresh water to all living things. It is an important part of our earth’s natural system and should be a part of every homeschooler’s science education and this free Unit Study makes that simple to do!
READ
Magic School Bus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole is a must-have to include in your water cycle collection. As a matter of fact, any MSB book on any subject is one I would suggest. And, this one happens to be a re-release as a celebration of twenty years in print and includes updated information and additional graphics.
Hop on the Water Cycle by Nadia Higgins is not just a fun book for many ages, it also includes a CD that not only reads the text but also sings it! It t is simple enough for young learners but also includes great vocabulary words such as condensation, evaporation and more which makes it great for older kids too. And, if you get this FREE Water Cycle Unit Study Printable Pack, you’ll find a vocabulary page you can print and use with this book. My library had this on the shelf; yours might too.
Water Cycle at Work by Rebecca Jean Olien is an easy-to-read non-fiction book that includes bright, informative images along with clear, concise facts. It would make a perfect choice if you wanted access to only one book.
Water Goes Round: The Water Cycle is another great option if you need to limit the number of books you buy and/or check out from your library. This book is unique in that it covers the water cycle in a graphic-novel style.
A Drop Around the World by Barbara Shaw McKinney This fiction option tells a story about a water drop that travels across the globe via the water cycle. It’s not only educational, it’s fun and clearly shows the vast process that is the water cycle.
Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis is a gorgeous fiction book with simple, yet profound language. It shows all the different ways, places and forms we can encounter water in our everyday world. It touches on the water cycle but in a less direct, more artistic way.
A Dinosaur Made Me Spill: A Water Cycle Adventure by Carla Mae Jansen will be released later this year but if it’s anything like her amazing rock cycle book, A Dinosaur Made Me Sneeze: A Rock Cycle Adventure, it’s sure to be filled with well-founded facts presented in a sweet and funny story-style that is jam-packed with real science.
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Clean Water by Roger Canavan is part of a series of historical books that offers a different perspective on life if history had turned out differently. In this book, kids get a look at life without clean water which should lead them to understand the important value of having access to clean water. While it is much more a book about clean water, it does make a clear, direct connection between the water cycle and the need for conservation. And, with a comprehension page found in this FREE Water Cycle Unit Study Printable Pack, all facts will surely be cemented in your kids’ noggins.
Water Cycles by DK is a lovely book in a classic style that is always DK. Its entire premise is “the source of life from start to finish” and this book not only shows the water cycle in action, it also shows how it impacts literally everything and everyone on earth.
Water Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas is by far my favorite fiction book about water. It consists of one simple sentence opener, “Water can be…,” followed by more than a dozen clever examples including “garden soaker,” “salmon highway” and “tadpole hatcher.”
WRITE
As mentioned above, Water Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas is a most lovely book and lends itself perfectly to a simple, yet creative writing prompt. And if you want a ready-to-print page, you can find one in my FREE Water Cycle Unit Study Printable Pack.
CREATE
This little craft is not only cute, it’s also clever! And, it takes only one printed page, some colored pencils, scissors and a glue stick!
In my opinion, this Lego water cycle creation is a perfect way to use what you probably have on hand to show how the water cycle works…and then it can be taken apart and put away. No waste. No fuss. No muss!
This very simple water cycle in a baggie experiment takes nothing more than a baggie, a strip of tape, a permanent marker, some optional food coloring and a sunny window.
Another hands-on way to experience the water cycle is making a water cycle in a bottle. It’s not as quick or simple as the baggie option but it is by no means complicated or time-consuming.
ENJOY
Popsicles, hot tea and cups of water may not sound like very exciting snacks but it would at least offer an experience of the three states of matter that water can take. And if you have decent-sized group of kids, after they are all filled up with water, they can play this fun water cycle game. It takes no materials whatsoever!
LEARN
For a quick and easy printable pack that teaches the basics of The Water Cycle, grab this Mini Fact Pack. It’s literally just print and go and will serve as a great base for this very important science topic.
EXPLORE
Water Cycle with 25 Science Experiments by Anita Yasuda is a great collection of easy to implement science experiments all designed around the concept of better understanding water. My library had it so yours might too. Or you can grab it on Amazon and use it for years to come because it is filled with enough ideas and activities to be well worth the purchase price. Some of my favorite ideas include Bell Jar Terrarium, Transpiration Experiment and Water Cycle Wrist Band.
If you don’t want to weed through 25 different experiments, here is one water cycle experiment that will totally get the job don!
And, if you can get your hands on a copy of Magic School Bus Wet All Over from Season Two of the original series, it would be a perfect way to spend thirty minutes of screen-time. Amazon has it available to stream for $1.99 but my library also has the entire series on DVD for free. Maybe yours does too? There is also an episode in the new series, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, that might be a good one to watch too. Three-in-One highlights the three states of matters that water can take. It is available on Netflix.
NASA offers a fun online lesson for kids here which offers a quick and concrete opportunity for all ages to learn all about the Water Cycle.
And if you head over here, you’ll find an entire series of FREE printables, activities and experiments!
Free Homeschool Unit Study: THE WATER CYCLE
Free Homeschool Unit Study: THE WATER CYCLE
