Water Cycle Journey Dice Game

Each student is a water drop traveling among seven water cycle stations: roll the die, read where you go, and travel using the movement for that process. At the end, students compare their routes. Students practice locomotor skills while learning the water cycle.

How to play

1. Set up 7 stations with a cone and sign: ocean, cloud, river, glacier, soil, plant, and animal. Each has a large foam die and a destination card, such as at the ocean: 1-3 cloud, 4-6 stay (4 min).
2. Explain the movements: evaporate to a cloud by tiptoeing and spinning, precipitate from a cloud by jumping, flow down a river by running, soak into the soil by bear crawling, and stay put by doing 10 squats.
3. Give each student a passport card and a pencil, and start 3 or 4 students at each station.
4. Each turn, the drop rolls the die, writes the station on the passport, and travels with the matching movement. If there is a line, wait by doing the movement in place (10 min, about 8 rolls).
5. At the final whistle, each drop tells a partner about its journey: where it went, how many times it stayed, and which station it never visited (2 min).
6. Class discussion: which station came up most, and why does water spend so long in the ocean? (4 min).

Rules

• Roll the die with two hands toward the floor, not across the gym.
• Wait your turn in line at each station.
• Fill in your passport before you go, not while running.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students with limited mobility: place stations closer together and use arm movements.
• Students who struggle with reading or students with autism: destination cards with pictures and colors instead of words.
• Fitness level: students who need more challenge take an extra lap before arriving.

Learning goals

• Describe the stages and places water passes through in the water cycle.
• Perform different locomotor skills linked to each process.
• Record and explain their own journey in order.

Equipment for a class of 25

• large foam dice: 7
• signs (cardstock): 14
• passport cards: 25
• pencils: 25
• cones: 7

Teacher tip

You can swap foam dice for regular dice in a plastic jar so they do not roll away.

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