This one-page 4th grade science check, plus an answer page, covers the four stages of the water cycle. Students label four numbered parts on a small diagram (evaporation arrows, a cloud, rain and a lake) from a word bank, number four stages in order starting with evaporation, answer two multiple-choice questions about the sun and snow, and explain why grass is wet with dew in the morning. Page 2 is the answer key.
“Label and order the four stages of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection.”
Questions 1 and 2 ask for the four labels on the diagram and the order of the stages.
“Name the energy source for evaporation and recognize snow as precipitation.”
Questions 3 and 4 are multiple choice.
“Explain dew as water vapor condensing on a cool surface.”
Question 5 asks why grass is wet with dew.
A small picture of a hill, a lake, a cloud, rain and a sun, with numbers 1 to 4 on the evaporation arrows, the cloud, the rain and the lake. Students write a word-bank word on each numbered line.
Four short descriptions in mixed order, each with a blank. Students number them 1 to 4, with 1 for evaporation.
One asks what gives the energy for evaporation, and one asks what snow is an example of.
Three answer lines for why grass is often wet with dew in the morning, even when it did not rain at night.
The four labels, the stage order, both choices, and a sample answer about water vapor condensing on cool grass.
Exit ticket
Print it for the last ten minutes of a water cycle lesson. The diagram and two choice questions take about half the time.
Dew question
Question 5 shows who understands condensation. A good answer mentions cool grass and water vapor in the air, so use it to pick a group for a short reteach.
Mark in pairs
Swap papers and mark with the key. Students often see their own ordering mistake in question 2 once the key is in front of them.
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