Year 4 Science | States of Matter | Lesson 6: How Does Water Change State During the Water Cycle?
Where does water go when it disappears? In this final lesson of the Year 4 States of Matter unit, pupils explore the full journey of water through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. This lesson brings together scientific knowledge from previous sessions to help children understand how water changes state within the natural world.
Part of our Scintillating Science programme, this lesson connects classroom science to real-life processes, reinforcing key concepts while encouraging deeper thinking. Pupils will revisit the terms solid, liquid and gas as they examine how water behaves in the atmosphere and on Earth’s surface.
This lesson supports the aims of the Ofsted science subject report by ensuring clear progression, vocabulary development, and meaningful application of scientific ideas.
In this lesson, pupils will:
- 💧 Explore how water evaporates, condenses and falls as precipitation
- 💧 Build a simple model or diagram of the water cycle
- 💧 Use scientific vocabulary to describe changes of state
- 💧 Apply previous knowledge to a wider environmental context
Included in this lesson:
- ✔️ Engaging teaching slides with visuals and guided questioning
- ✔️ A detailed lesson plan with key vocabulary, misconceptions and assessment points
- ✔️ Differentiated activities for a range of ability levels
- ✔️ Optional cross-curricular links to geography and art
This is a great opportunity to revisit and consolidate learning, while helping pupils understand how science explains everyday natural phenomena. A strong and purposeful end to the unit.
