This free 2nd grade science worksheet explains the water cycle — evaporation, condensation, and precipitation — with a reading passage and questions.
Water moves in a cycle. The sun heats water in oceans and lakes. The water turns into vapor and rises into the air. This is called evaporation. High in the sky, the vapor cools and turns into clouds. This is called condensation. When the clouds get heavy, water falls as rain or snow. This is called precipitation. Then the cycle starts again.
The water cycle is one of the most important concepts in earth science. This worksheet introduces the three key stages — evaporation, condensation, and precipitation — at a 2nd grade reading level.