Elementary School Science

Input:
What is the most important content in this lesson?
To reach this lesson’s objective, students need to understand:

• The Earth’s hydrosphere.

• The elements that make up water.

• (Natural) sources on Earth where water can be found.

• The distribution of water on Earth.

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How will the learning of this content be facilitated?

• The teacher will begin the class by writing the word “Hydro” on the board. The teacher should ask the students to define the word “Hydro” (water). The teacher should begin a discussion about sources of water on Earth (rivers, oceans, streams, etc.). Next, the teacher should show the video: “What is Hydrosphere? | Water Distribution | Environmental Science | EVS | LetsTute” by Letstute (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48KuPTBuYmE) The video discusses the Earth’s hydrosphere and is about 2 ½ minutes long. As the students watch the video, they will fill out the accompanying video worksheet. Once the video is over, review the content and the worksheet with the students. Discuss any questions/ comments they have about the video and the hydrosphere.

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• Next, the teacher will hand out the worksheet packet, “Water, Water Everywhere” If it is possible, project each page of the “Water, Water Everywhere” worksheet packet onto the board using a projector or put into a PowerPoint document and project. As the teacher presents, the students will fill in the blank spaces on their worksheets. The worksheets should be presented in this order: “What is Water?”; “Earth’s Water Sources”; “Where is All the Water?”.

**Not all of this information is included on the student worksheets. Use this as a guide when explaining each worksheet to the students**

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“What is Water?” Worksheet

• “Hydro” comes from the Greek word for “water”.

• Hydrology is the study of water.

• A hydrologist is a person who studies the flow of water around Earth.

• Water is made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom—H2O.

• Water is very important for survival. Humans need to drink water everyday to prevent dehydration.

• Water comes in three states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam/ vapor).

• Water has no smell or taste.

• It is very rare to find pure water because it is usually mixed with compounds, ions, or other atoms.

**At the bottom of the page, there is a water molecule. Instruct the students to label the larger atom O (for oxygen) and the two smaller atoms H (for hydrogen). Have the students color the molecule blue.**

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“Earth’s Water Sources” Worksheet

• Earth is sometimes called the “Blue Planet”.

• Hydrosphere: all the waters on the earth's surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth's surface, such as clouds (Dictionary Definition).

• ~75% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water.

• There is a lot of water on Earth, but humans use only 0.03% of it.

• On Earth, water is found in these sources:

• Marine Biome [includes: oceans, estuaries, and coral reefs]

• Freshwater Biome [includes: ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, swamps, and wetlands]

• Ice caps

• Glaciers

• Permanent snow

• Soil moisture

• Ground ice

• Permafrost

• Atmosphere

• Surface water: water that collects on the ground (oceans, rivers, streams, etc.). This type of water is more attainable and makes up 80% of the water that is used daily.

• Rivers and streams are flowing surface waters.

• Glaciers and ice caps store freshwater.

• 10% of the Earth’s land mass is made up of glaciers and ice caps.

• Groundwater is water that is found underground.

• Groundwater travels through pores located in the soil and rocks.

• The amount of pores is known as porosity.

• The ability to travel through the pores of a rock or soil is called permeability.

• 98% of freshwater found on Earth is groundwater.

•  Earth’s atmosphere contains ~12,900 cubic kilometers (~3.04 US liquid gallons) of water.

“Where is All the Water?” Worksheet

**Refer to the teacher’s copy**

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Information Sources:

             http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/water.html

             http://www.geography4kids.com/files/water_intro.html

             http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/aquatic.html

             http://water.usgs.gov/edu/pdf/earthwherewater.pdf

             http://www.ngwa.org/Fundamentals/teachers/Pages/information-on-earth-water.aspx

             http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html

             http://www.watereducation.org/general-information/earths-water-supply

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• After the worksheet is reviewed, the teacher should begin a discussion on water pollution. The teacher should ask the students what they know about water pollution, how water becomes polluted, and why water pollution is harmful. The teacher should show the video: “What Is Water Pollution | Chemistry for All | FuseSchool” by FuseSchool - Global Education (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk1J2EW-nmQ) The video is about 5 minutes long. After the video, the teacher should discuss what the students observed. It is important that the teacher stress that many people around the world, especially people in third world countries, are exposed to contaminated water. Contaminated water can lead to serious illnesses and death.

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• After the video is completed, the students will participate in an activity called “Water Pollution: What Can Be Done?” The students will work in groups of three. Each group will get a poster board and writing/drawing utensils. As a group, the students will create a poster board about water pollution, what causes it, and what can be done to prevent water pollution. Websites are provided under “Materials” as to where the students can get information about water pollution. Feel free to also use books or other sources. Allow the students to work for about 15 minutes. Reconvene and have each group present their poster to the class.

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Closure

• The final assessment will be for the students to answer the question:

Think about what you learned in class today. What is the hydrosphere? What is the difference between surface water and groundwater? What is water pollution and why can it be harmful? Think of an example of water pollution that you have seen in your life and come up with a real world solution.