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Good evening,  I am currently a student teacher in a 5th grade class. I was wondering if anybody can help me by sharing their ideas about the water cycle. How can I begin the lesson to get the students engaged? I think that is very important in a lesson because in order to teach the students, they need to feel welcomed and interested. Thank you, I will greatly appreciate it!

There are two things I can think of right off. One thing you could do is a vocabulary check. One way to do this is to create title cards: Stranger, Friend, and Acquaintance. Explain that strangers are people you don’t know, friends you know very well and Acquaintance are those people you sort of know but don’t know really well. Then give students vocabulary cards that pertain to the water cycle. Have the kids sort the word under each of the categories. This will allow you to see what they know, don’t know, or don’t know well. Another idea is to have a room temp soda and a cold soda. Have them next to each other and have students explain what is happening to the cold soda versus the room temperature soda. This has them talking about science and showing their vocabulary knowledge has well.

First you can begin the lesson by reviewing what they have already learned about water itself, and the different states it can assume which is (solid, liquid, or gas) in our ever-changing environment. Then you can show the class three items a half-filled glass of water, a dish with an ice cube, and a dish with a wet paper towel.
And then ask them questions such as :

For fifth grade, I highly recommend the old Project WET activity - the Incredible Journey. https://www.projectwet.org/resources/materials/discover-incredible-journey-water-through-water-cycle It is the best thing I have found to break up the misconception of a 3 stage circle water cycle, and instead show the diversity of ways water interacts with our world.