Hi fellow teachers! Do you need a fun way into your Grade 2 classes on the water cycle? “Where Did the Water Go?” can be used to kick off your unit or complement your lessons about properties of water, sources of water, the states of water, or terms such as evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection, and vapour.
See the teaching ideas below for ways you can use the poem in your classroom with minimal preparation.
You have full permission to use the poem for teaching purposes within any educational setting, including online learning and homeschool.
Let me know if you use the poem – I’d love to hear how it goes.
Watch a video of the “Where Did the Water Go?” poem below.
Where did the water go?
Splish, splash, no!
Where did the water go?
The puddle was here before
But it’s not here anymore!
Hey snail, did you slurp it all up
Like soda from a giant cup?
Hey worm, did you hide it underground
Deep down, never to be found?
Hey bird, did you throw it in the sky
Past the roof and the tree and the butterfly?
Hey sun, did you zap it with your rays
Like a robot with a scary gaze?
Splish, splash, yay!
Cloud is back and wants to play.
Hey cloud, will you make me more rain?
I’d love to play in a puddle again!
Original poem by Kim T. Harrison. Video created in Canva.
Download a PDF, black & white, printable version of the poem:
Download a PPT slide version of the poem:
Teaching Ideas
- Use the poem as a time filler or bell ringer
- Pre-teaching to introduce your unit on the water cycle: read or play the poem to see what your students already know about sources and states of water. Ask students where they think the water went.
- Complement water cycle classes: connect parts of the poem to your learning goals. For example, ask students if animals like snails can make water disappear and, if so, how they use water. How might a worm hide water underground? How could a bird throw water into the sky? How can the sun zap water with its rays? How does a cloud make rain? Students can connect key terms such as precipitation, evaporation, or condensation to parts of the poem.
- Cross-curricula learning: use the poem to combine Science with Visual Arts or Performing Arts. For Visual Arts, ask students to draw a scene or scenes from the poem. For Performing Arts, students can read the poem out loud or act out a scene or scenes.
Happy Teaching! Kim x
