Waters Impact
Teacher: Ms. Roxanne Evans
Date: June 2013
4th Grade Science: Natural Resource Water Unit Plan
Duration: 1 – 2 weeks
SD State Standards:
4.E.1.1. Students are able to describe the basic stages of the water cycle.
4.L.2.2. Students are able to explain how a size of a population is dependent upon the available resources within its
community.
Common Core State Standards:
4.RI.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what
happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
4.RI.5 Describe the overall structure (cause/effect) of events, ideas, concept, or information in a text or part of a text.
4.RI.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines,
animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of
the text in which it appears.
4.MD.2 Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of
objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing
measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such
as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.
(NOTE: Other Common Core standards may apply depending on how you modify/use the unit lessons.)
Next Generation Science Standards:
4-ESS3-1.
Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural
resources and their uses affect the environment. [Clarification Statement: Examples of
renewable energy resources could include wind energy, water behind dams, and sunlight;
non-renewable energy resources are fossil fuels and fissile materials. Examples of
environmental effects could include loss of habitat due to dams, loss of habitat due to
surface mining, and air pollution from burning of fossil fuels.]
Lesson objective(s): Students will be able to explain how the natural resource water impacts populations and the
environment.
INTRODUCTION

Tell students that a construction truck hit the town’s main water line and there will be no water in the school until
further notice. Ask students “How would this make you feel? What would we need to do? How might we survive
1
Waters Impact

or get water until the water line can be fixed?”
Allow students to discuss or debate different ideas. Now ask them “What if this was real? What if our town was
being threatened with running out of water? What would we do?”
UNIT LESSON PLANS

Day 1 – “What is the water cycle?”
Teach the students about the Water Cycle through Scholastics lesson plan and StudyJams videos:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/studyjams-water-cycle-teachers-guide
Scholastic website with recommended books for learning about the water cycle:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/books-learning-about-water-cycle
Additional water cycle websites:
USGS: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html
Planet H2O: http://www.thirteen.org/h2o/educators_lesson2b.html?gclid=CLapqaGh7gCFZNj7AodKFgAPg

Day 2 – “How Much Water is There on Earth?”
Explore how much water is on Earth through the USGS: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html
Do students notice any patterns? Ask students “Is water located in one area more than another?
Why might this be the case?”
Bring in math by having students create graphs and posters showing the different areas where
water is located.

Day 3 – “Where is the Earth’s Water?”
Explore where Earth’s water is located through the USGS:
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html
Have students located the geographical locations on maps and compare the sizes. Have students
discuss how they think the size of Earth’s water impacts what vegetation and animals might live in
those areas.

Day 4 – “How Do Water Bodies Change Over Time?”
Mission Geography website lesson: http://www.missiongeography.org/I-2-4.pdf
Students explore how water bodies change in response to changes in weather and climate. They do
experiments to demonstrate the effect of rising sea level on coastlines. They also use NASA images to examine
dramatic changes in water levels in a river system in the United States and a lake in Africa.

Day 5 – “What is Happening in the Aral Sea?”
Mission Geography website lesson: http://www.missiongeography.org/III-1-2.pdf
2
Waters Impact
Students work as teams of NASA geographers using satellite images to measure the diminishing size of the
Aral Sea. They analyze and interpret graphic and tabular data about the causes of the shrinking sea and its
effects on habitat, resources, and people in order to report their recommendations for improving this resource
for future use.
EVALUATION
 Students will develop a multimedia presentation showing how water has been impacting (good or bad) a
particular area. They will research and present facts to show how this natural resource has impacted (good or
bad) the local environment.
 Different multimedia formats can be used to assess, such as, brochures, Prezi or PowerPoint presentations,
Animoto, creating a website, etc.
3