lti-stage process, it would be best to find an explanation that is very familiar with the students and still involves water behaving as it does--or nearly so--within the hydrological cycle. The most familiar place where most people deal with water is in their own homes; in the bathroom, to be precise.
             Precipitation is almost certainly the most noticeable and recognizable facet of the hydrological system. Any student of almost any age will be familiar with rain, and probably snow (even if they haven't ever personally experienced a snowstorm). For this reason, precipitation might be the best place to start an explanation of the hydrological cycle. It provides an entrance to the material that students will find familiar and engaging, as well as being easily equated to certain common goings-on in the bathroom (no, not those! Although....no, no definitely not).
             Precipitation, at its simplest, is water falling from the sky due to the force of gravity. The same can be seen when you turn on the faucet in your sink--the water falls straight down, in a torrent when you turn the faucet on full blast, and in a tiny trickle or even a slow drip when you can&apos
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