A one-page Year 4 water cycle check, with the answer key on page 2. Pupils label four numbered pointers on a small diagram from a word bank of evaporation, cloud, rain and sea. They number four stages in order, sort a mirror steaming up and a puddle drying into evaporation or condensation, and say whether a puddle dries faster on a hot day or a cold day. It follows England National Curriculum Year 4 science, states of matter.
States of matter
“identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature”
Questions 1 to 3 cover the stages and the two processes, and question 4 links the rate of evaporation to a hot or cold day.
A small diagram with a sun, rising arrows, a cloud, raindrops, hills and the sea. Pupils choose evaporation, cloud, rain or sea for each of the numbers 1 to 4.
Four statements, from water flowing back into the sea to vapour cooling to make a cloud. Pupils number them 1 to 4, and number 1 is given.
A two-column table headed Evaporation and Condensation, for a mirror steams up and a puddle dries.
Question 4 asks whether a puddle dries faster on a hot day or a cold day, with four lines to give a reason.
The four labels, the order, the sorted table and a model reason: heat makes the water evaporate more quickly.
End of unit
Hand it out after the water cycle lessons and mark with the key. Question 3 shows quickly who still muddles evaporation and condensation.
Mirror demonstration
Breathe on a mirror or a cold window before question 3 so pupils see condensation, then link it to the cloud stage in question 2.
Puddle talk
Ask for evidence before pupils write question 4, such as a wet playground drying faster on a sunny day.
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