Lesson 4: The Water Cycle on the Golf Course
Water moves in a circle. Rain falls from clouds onto the course. Some soaks into the ground. Some flows into ponds. The sun warms the water and some evaporates back into the air.
Water in plants also evaporates — this is called transpiration. When you see steam rising from wet grass in the morning sun, that is transpiration happening right in front of you.
The water vapor rises, forms clouds, and the cycle begins again.
A golf course is a small version of the larger water cycle that operates across the whole planet. Understanding it here — in this specific place — is a way of understanding something much bigger.
Draw the water cycle using the golf course as the setting. Show rain falling on the fairway, water flowing to the pond, the sun causing evaporation, and clouds forming above. Label each step in your own words. You can make it as colorful and detailed as you like.
The water cycle drawing activity often reveals gaps in understanding that conversation alone does not. If your student struggles to connect one step to the next, work through it together using questions rather than explanations: ‘After the rain soaks into the ground, what do you think happens to it next?’ Let them discover the answer rather than telling them.