This 3-page 4th grade science worksheet builds water cycle vocabulary. Page 1 lists eight words (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection, water vapor, runoff, groundwater and transpiration), with lettered meanings A to H in mixed order. Page 2 has four sentences to complete from a word bank of four of them, next to a photo of a mountain lake. Page 3 is the answer key.
“Match water cycle terms to their meanings.”
Part 1 pairs eight terms with eight meanings, including water vapor, groundwater and transpiration.
“Use water cycle terms correctly in sentences.”
Part 2 asks students to choose among evaporation, condensation, precipitation and transpiration in four sentences.
Eight words in a table, each with a box for the letter of its meaning. Meanings run from water given off by plants through their leaves to water stored in tiny spaces between rocks.
Four gapped sentences about a lake turning into gas, clouds forming, rain and snow falling, and plants releasing water. The bank holds evaporation, condensation, precipitation and transpiration, each used once.
The letters G, D, A, H, C, B, F and E for Part 1, and the four words for Part 2.
Easy words first
Tell students to match evaporation, precipitation and water vapor first. The meanings left over narrow the choices for the rest.
Word wall
Copy the finished table onto a word wall. Groundwater and transpiration are often new to 4th graders, so give them a picture.
Sentence 4
Sentence 4 names plants, so it points back to the transpiration meaning. Ask students why that word differs from evaporation.
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