Primary General Studies | States of Water and the Water Cycle (for tutors)

Primary General Studies | States of Water and the Water Cycle (for tutors) | Three states, four steps, 2,400 mm

2026-11-04

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary General Studies

Every pupil can say water freezes and boils, yet ask whether fog is water or air and the room goes quiet. This lesson pins the three states to three temperatures and the water cycle to four ordered steps.

Objectives — Pupils can: (1) name the three states and the direction of each change (0 C freezing, 100 C boiling); (2) explain a rain shower through the four steps of evaporation, condensation, precipitation and run-off; (3) use the 975 / 25 / 8 litre picture to explain why usable fresh water is scarce.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Three states	What are the three states of water?	Solid ice, liquid water, gas vapour
Thermometer	What do 0 C and 100 C mark?	Freezing point and boiling point
Weather	Where does rain come from?	Clouds made of tiny droplets

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Hook	One glass of icy water, one of hot water; ask what the white mist is	One sentence each
8-20 min	State cards	Six cards (ice, water, vapour, 0 C, 100 C, heat) to pair up	Pairs match cards
20-32 min	Four steps	Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, run-off drawn in order	Take one step each
32-44 min	Water picture	1000 litres: 975 sea, 25 fresh, 8 usable	Draw the tank
44-56 min	A number to use	Rainfall 2400 mm over one square metre	Compute once
56-60 min	Exit check	Three questions collected and marked	Work alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Pin the states to temperatures, not to feelings

Pupils say hot water is steam, which blurs liquid and gas. Start with three points on the thermometer (0 C, room temperature, 100 C) and ask what water is at each.
The line that fixes it: vapour is invisible; the white mist above a kettle is already condensed droplets, so it is liquid.

Pupils do: place the mist in a freezer and the mist above a kettle into a state, with a reason.

Scene 2: The water cycle needs order, not a slogan

No step may be skipped: evaporation (liquid to gas), condensation (gas to liquid, needs a surface), precipitation, then run-off back to the sea.
Teach it with hands: palms up for evaporation, fingers closing for condensation, press down for rain, slide along the desk for run-off. Movement makes the order stick better than words.

Pupils say: why rain is rare without dust particles (condensation needs a surface).

Scene 3: Scarcity is a ratio, not an adjective

Scale all water to 1000 litres: 975 litres of sea water, 25 litres fresh, 17 litres locked in ice, so just 8 litres are easy to reach. That usable share is 8 of 1000, about 0.8 percent.
Add one local number: with about 2400 mm of rain a year, one square metre collects 2400 litres, yet most of it runs away before anyone stores it.

Pupils do: ring the tiny usable slice and finish the sentence so we must.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Classify	Six examples into three states	Ask the temperature, then the state	Mist and steam-like white mist are liquid
Order	Sequence the four steps	Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, run-off	A wrong order loses all marks
Data	2400 mm over one square metre	Millimetres times area gives litres	1 mm on 1 m2 is 1 litre
Explain	Why hills are mistier	Cooling plus condensation	Must mention droplets or surfaces

Sanity check (teach this): Check the arithmetic: 975 plus 25 is 1000 litres; of the 25 fresh litres only 8 are usable, about 0.8 percent of all water; 2400 mm over one square metre is 2400 litres, not 2400 millilitres; water boils at 100 C, not 110 C.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Sort the cards	Six everyday examples	Watch for mist being called a gas
Order the steps	Shuffle four pictures	Each step needs its energy change
Water tank	Mark 8 litres on the 1000-litre tank	Ratio and position both matter
Rain sum	2400 mm over two square metres	Answer 4,800 litres

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Mist called vapour	That white cloud is steam	Vapour is invisible; the white part has condensed into droplets, so it is liquid.
Three steps only	Jumping from rain back to evaporation	Where does the rain go? Without run-off, rivers and groundwater have no source.
Fresh water assumed plentiful	The planet has so much water	Out of 1,000 litres, only 8 are easy to reach; ask how many people that serves.
Millimetres read as millilitres	2,400 mm means 2,400 ml	One millimetre over one square metre is one litre, which is 1,000 millilitres.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Water cycle exercises — Questions 1 to 4: states and ordering
Prep guide index — Compare similar chapters
Redo this chapter — Redraw the tank and list three ways to save water

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Can you see vapour?	No, it is invisible	Answer yes means repeat act one
Name the four steps	Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, run-off	A missing step means act two again
Usable share of all water	8 of 1000, about 0.8 percent	Answer half means act three again

09 Tutor FAQ

Must pupils memorise percentages?

No, but the feel of 8 out of 1000 should stick: almost none of the water is drinkable.

What separates fog from cloud?

The same process at a different height: fog touches the ground, cloud sits higher.

Why mention condensation surfaces?

It explains why dust matters for rain, which is the usual two-mark explanation question.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.