Wonders of Water

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I attended a professional development workshop over 10 years ago and this apple demonstration has always stuck with me.  The presenter used an apple to represent the earth and then cut one-quarter out.  She explained three-quarters (75%) of our earth is water.  This of course means one-quarter is land.  She went on to cut that quarter slice of apple in half explaining that half of the land on earth is inhabitable.  What types of places and location on earth are inhabitable?  One final step was to take that 1/2 of 1/4 (What fraction is that?) and peel off the skin.  The skin represented the land that was used for farming leaving the rest to represent where all the world’s people live.

This apple demonstration could be used with any grade level to discuss/research a variety of topics.  The 1st graders and I used it as a way to talk about water.  I made them a water droplet notebook where they took notes on lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans.  We talked about the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi and Missouri River, and even learned how to spell Lake Kabetogama.  Have you been to a lake/river/ocean lately?  Leave us a comment.  We’d love to hear about it!

Before our time was over, we talked about the freezing and boiling point of water.  We looked at Omaha’s temperatures for the week and talked about whether water would freeze based on the temperatures listed.  We filled 4 balloons with water and even added a little food coloring.  The students made a hypothesis on what would happen to the water balloons if we placed them outside.  What do you think will happen?  The balloons are currently outside in a secret hiding place.  Check back in a couple days to see what we discovered!

 

5 thoughts on “Wonders of Water

  1. I’ve been to oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. I’ve been to both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean and I’ve been to the Caribbean Sea and Missouri River. Also I have been to Lake Cathryn which runs through the middle of West Caicos. The Pacific Ocean has the best waves ever. The Caribbean Sea is turquoise and has great snorkeling and Lake Cathryn is clear, rocky, and has quick sand. The Missouri River is muddy and if you throw corn fritters in it Catfish will come up and eat them.

    1. I’ve never been snorkeling, but it sounds amazing! I’ve been to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but never to the Caribbean Sea. Do you like to fish? How about any other water sports?

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