Our Blue Planet

We are learning about the distribution of water on earth.

The % of saltwater, land, ice, and freshwater.

Although earth is primarily water, very little of it is available for use by humans!

Approximately 72% of earth's surface is covered by water.

Approximately 97.5% of earth's water is saltwater; the remaining 2.5% is freshwater.

Of this small percentage of freshwater, approximately 2/3 (the majority) of it is frozen.

Less that 1% of earth's water is accessible freshwater for human use.

Approximately 10% of earth's surface is covered in ice.

Inflatable Earth ball - Here's a link to purchase one

dry erase marker and board

or Poster Paper and Marker

Using an inflatable globe or earth ball, begin by familiarizing students with earth's surface - this can be as extensive and detailed as is appropriate for your needs.  

For the tossing game, students need to know these 4 categories: saltwater, freshwater, land & ice.

After your introduction, form a large circle that includes everyone.  If space is limited in a classroom, students can stand up at their desks.

Prepare your chart for data collection (example above) - this can be a white board or smart board, or large paper grid to make tally marks to record results during the game (either an adult or a chosen student can do this task). 

If age appropriate, have students make a guess/prediction/hypothesis before playing - What do they expect will happen when they catch the ball?  When the whole group has a turn?  This can be discussed, or be a quiet prediction students make on their own.

Begin the tossing game by moving around the room to each students, or tossing the ball around the circle.  With younger children, it may be best to have an adult toss the ball each time; with older students, they may pass the ball to one another.

After each student catches the ball, look precisely where their right thumb lands on the earth's surface, and then marked it on the data sheet.  The finger and hand can always be changed and if participants are older the pinky tends to be more accurate.  

If playing in a small group, it may be best to play a few rounds in order to accumulate a larger number of tally marks for more accurate/representative data.

In the end, it should be clear: most of earth's surface is covered by oceans; most of earth's water is saltwater; there is very little freshwater on earth; etc.

The game can be followed up by discussing and presenting the data in various ways: making pie graphs; moving the students around to stand with their "group" for a visual representation of the ratios; exploring more detailed information on water distribution and the important implications for humans and life on earth.

A fun, active tossing game to familiarize students with our planet's surface features and water distribution on Earth!

Participants will learn basics of ratios/percentages of water vs land; saltwater vs freshwater.

This activity can be extended for more in-depth graphing and scientific exploration of water distribution and its implications for humans and the planet.

Printable PDF card deck:  prints 8 card templates (print 1 copy pages 1-4 & 8 copies of page 5); makes a deck of 8 double-sided cards for the activity.

Each word/photo combo to be cut out & glued onto the back of the Earth satellite image and trimmed into a circle (print in color on card stock for best results; can be laminated for durability).

Deck can be used as a "find it" prompt to get students to explore the Earth ball and find all the important environmental parts as you set the stage for studying the planet, water distribution, and hydrologic cycle:  fresh water, salt water, soil, land, plants, ice, clouds, sun.

Easy-to-read text paired with image helps learning readers.

Card deck can be spread out face down (Earth up) on the carpet in the middle of a class circle, and students take turns flipping a card and then identifying it on the Earth ball as it's passed around the circle.

Other questions, ideas, and observations can be shared about the Earth, it's colors and textures and other visible features.