This medium worksheet asks first graders to recall water cycle vocabulary without tracing prompts. Nine fill-in-the-blank sentences walk through the loop: the sun warms a pond into vapor, vapor forms a cloud, heavy clouds release rain, and water collects in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Children also write evaporation and precipitation in context. A four-pair matching activity then links each cycle stage — evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection — to its plain-language meaning, such as "vapor turns to drops" and "water gathers in lakes."

Use this sheet to check whether students can name each stage before moving on to diagram labeling.