Land and Water on Earth Models:
Why is caring for our Earth important?
Materials:
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12x18 construction paper for each student
crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Vocabulary:
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inhabitable
uninhabitable
fertile
infertile
Procedures:
1. Discuss different types of models of the earth students are familiar with
(globes, maps, etc.) Most models students are familiar with show locations
2. Introduce a quantitative model of the earth – this model will show how
much – not where – land and water are on earth
3. fold paper into fourths, unfold and lay flat
4. ¾ of the paper is ocean – this can be colored blue.
5. ¼ of the paper is land. Divide this fourth in half giving you two 1/8 sections.
Color one eighth section brown. This section represents uninhabitable land
where it is very hard for people to live (polar areas, deserts, swamps, very
high or rocky, mountainous areas). The other 1/8 section represents the
land where people live on Earth.
6. divide the last eighth section of the paper into four parts, giving you four
1/32 sections. Color one 32nd section with rocks and buildings – this
represents land that is too rocky and dry to grow food, or covered with
cities. Color one 32nd section muddy (brown over blue) this represents land
that is too wet to grow food. Color one 32nd section with mountains and
ice – this represents land that is too cold or steep to grow food. These 332nd pieces are infertile
7. The remaining 1/32nd section of paper represents the land that is fertile
and available to produce the world’s food. When we see the small
amount of land that produces our food, it is easy to understand that
protecting land resources is very important. With a fixed amount of land
resources available, and an ever-increasing number of people who need
to eat, each person’s portion becomes smaller and smaller over time.
8. What about the water? How much of the paper represented water? It
probably seems like a lot of water, and it is. You need to remember two
things, however, about this water. First, Earth’s water is composed of 97%
salt water, 2% ice, and only 1% groundwater and surface water (lakes,
rivers). Only the last two sources (groundwater and surface water) provide
From: http://www.onewater.org/education/curriculum/ch1
our useable water. Second, the water we have on Earth today is all the
water we’ll ever have. Every use of water also pollutes it. We need to
clean up polluted water in order to make it safe for consumption. We will
not get any more, so we need to protect the water we have.
9. in our model, the 2% ice would look like 3-1”x1” squares, 1% water would
look like 1-1.5”x1” rectangle. Have students measure the ice and
ground/surface water rectangles, draw ice cubes in the 3 1”x1” squares,
and a water drop coming out of a faucet in the rectangle.
10. Discuss how we can care for our water
From: http://www.onewater.org/education/curriculum/ch1
Groundwater contamination
from landfills
Materials:
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2 coffee filters for each student
markers
clear plastic cup with 3-5 small (2-3mm)holes in the bottom
water (2-3 cups per student)
basin (clear if possible) for each group of 3-5 students
soil or sand
cup or watering can to pour water into “landfills”
Vocabulary
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recyclable
compost
runoff
Procedures:
1. Read Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout by Shel Silverstein to begin a discussion
about garbage
2. Have students make a list of garbage that they’ve thrown away recently
3. Do a whip around of ideas
4. students draw garbage on a coffee filter
5. place coffee filter with garbage drawn on in the plastic cup
6. place a small scoop of soil or sand on top of the coffee filter - this
represents a landfill
7. Watch a video or look at pictures of landfills 8. pour water on the model landfill to simulate rain
9. collect the runoff water from all team members in the basin
10. collect all runoff water in one basin
11. observe and discuss the runoff water
12. discuss recycling and composting
13. cross off items on the list that can be recycled or composted
14. draw the remaining garbage items on the coffee filter (there should be far
fewer)
15. repeat the rain on the landfill procedure in the basin
16. collect and compare with the non-recycled/composted garbage runoff
17. Help students draw conclusions about the importance of recycling and
reducing the amount of garbage we produce.
From: http://www.onewater.org/education/curriculum/ch1