Simple Water Cycle
A simplistic water cycle over a human landscape.
Why did we make these images?
The water cycle is one of the first science topics young students learn about. This simple image introduces key words while showing water's connection to humans on the landscape. This will emphasize the ties between humans and water from that first introductory lesson.
How is this image different?
Most simple water cycle diagrams show water movement on a landscape with mountains, forests, and rivers, but do not include humans (NASA-GPM, NASA-JPL, NOAA). Our image shows that water moves the same way in the places where humans live.
How do we recommend you use them?
A great first activity is to have students identify the locations of water in the picture. Some are easy, but did they immediately think of the trees, buildings, or ground? All of these contain water too. You can use the black and white image to have students color object that contain water blue.
Resources
We want your feedback!
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the website or resources, please direct them to sophie_hill@byu.edu.
These original images were created by Brenna Kilpatrick, Illustration Student. To see more of her work, visit her Instagram page @pencil_zest.