Students discover how Earth’s water is distributed — that almost all of it is salty ocean, only a sliver is fresh, and a tiny fraction is easy for people to use — and why that makes clean water so valuable.
Students will be able to…
Earth is called the “blue planet,” covered in water — so why do people ever run short of water to drink?
Project this and have students read the 100-square model. Then reveal how little of Earth’s water is fresh water we can actually use.
Each square = 1% of all the water on Earth.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
Earth looks all blue from space — so why worry about water?
Students investigate.
Teacher explains.
Connect to action.
Three quick checks.
Aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core literacy. State-standard crosswalks available on request.
Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.
Describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact.
Obtain and combine information about ways communities protect Earth’s resources.
Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources to answer a question.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Fill a jar to represent all Earth’s water, then pour out portions to show salt water, frozen water, and the tiny amount of usable fresh water. A printable water-demo guide is in the Science library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.