Water Cycle Complete Lesson Plan - Grades 6-8

Everything you need for an engaging, ready-to-teach unit on the water cycle is included in this resource! Students will investigate how water continually cycles among land, oceans, and the atmosphere, explore the forms it takes, and analyze how the Sun and gravity drive the cycle. With editable presentations, worksheets, student-choice projects, and assessments, this multiday lesson is both comprehensive and low-prep.

Through differentiated, student-led learning, your middle schoolers stay engaged while you focus on student success.

Essential Questions

• How does water continually cycle among land, oceans, and atmosphere?

• What forms does water take throughout the cycle?

• How is the water cycle driven by the Sun and gravity?

Why Teachers Love This Lesson

• Differentiated materials for students who need extra support

• Multimodal activities to keep learners engaged

• Maximum flexibility—printable and digital formats included

• Editable PowerPoints for customization

• Spanish translations of vocabulary, reading passages, and interactive notebook pages

This lesson follows the 5E Instructional Model (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, Evaluation), giving you a research-based framework for meaningful instruction.

What’s Included

Engagement

• Objectives and Word Wall Cards (English & Spanish)

• Teacher guide with prompts, activities, and common misconceptions

Exploration – Student-Led Station Lab
Nine differentiated stations allow students to investigate the water cycle in multiple ways:

Input Stations (absorb content)

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or experiment

• Read It! – Differentiated passages (English & Spanish) with comprehension questions

• Research It! – Website-based activity with guided tasks

• Watch It! – Short video with discussion prompts

Output Stations (show understanding)

• Organize It! – Printable or digital card sorts

• Write It! – Open-ended short-answer responses

• Illustrate It! – Sketches or diagrams of water cycle processes

• Assess It! – Task cards + vocabulary-in-context activity

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
Enrichment tasks like crosswords, games, and mini-projects for early finishers

Explanation

• Editable PowerPoints (standard & interactive)

• Interactive notebook templates (digital & print, English & Spanish)

• Guided note-taking templates

Elaboration

• Student-choice projects on the water cycle to extend learning in class or at home

Evaluation

• STAAR 2.0–style assessments (standard & modified versions)

• Review worksheet for class discussion, practice, or homework

Flexible for Any Classroom

This resource is designed for both in-person and virtual learning. Station labs, interactive notebooks, and presentations are fully compatible with Google Slides and PowerPoint.

This product is included in the Kesler Science Membership!

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.