Globe Toss
Overview
In this activity, students begin their discovery of aquatic environments, and start to notice that water is all around them, in their neighborhoods, backyards, oceans, rivers, ponds, and creeks. They take a first look at “Our Big Blue Planet” with a globe game.
Focus Question
- Where is the water around us?
Enduring Understandings
- Living and nonliving things in Alaska waters come in a great assortment of colors, shapes, and sizes.
- Living things move, grow, and change.
Engagement
5 minutes
Show the class an inflatable globe. Ask students: What is this big ball? What do you know about our Big Blue Planet? Discuss the different shapes and colors seen, so that students understand what land and water look like on the globe. Note: Avoid using globes that are clear in the water areas. It may be useful to discuss the use of color on the globe.
Exploration
10 minutes
Introduce the activity. Have students stand in a circle, and begin by tossing the globe to a student across the circle. The student catches the inflatable globe with two hands and looks where their hands are touching. He or she describes the location as “mostly water” or “mostly land.” Practice this a few times.
Explanation
30 minutes + time for reading aloud
Ask students what they notice about the tally marks.
Which had more tallies: water or land? Why do you think (water or land) had more tallies?
Have the students look at the inflatable globe again, and ask:
Do you notice anything you hadn’t noticed before?
Encourage them to share what they notice, first with a partner, and then with the whole group. Record students’ comments.
Elaboration
10 minutes
Encourage students to notice water around them on their trips to and from school. Where is the water they see? In what other places have they seen water?Evaluation: Notice students’ abilities to observe, estimate, and share what they know.
Teacher Needs
Teacher Prep
About 1 hour to assemble materials, determine location for walk, collect water samples, and set up science notebooks.
Materials List
- Inflatable globe
- Chart paper and markers
- 2-10 glass jars with lids
- Water from a local outdoor source such as a tidepool or pond.
- Soil, dirt, and/or rocks
- Science notebooks
- Pencils
- Book: Water by Frank Asch
- Clipboard
- Camera
- Magnifying glasses
Student Needs
Prior Knowledge
Children will have used their senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing to explore the properties of water.
It is helpful if students have had prior experiences in their science notebooks. If not, students will need an introduction to science notebooks.
Students need to be able to listen to other children as well as to speak and participate in a large group.
Experience using a magnifying lens. They tend to put the lens next to their eye and lean close to the object being observed.
Vocabulary
Words for local water, such as: creek, harbor, lagoon, pond, river, sea, slough
Standards
Science GLEs Addressed
- K-12 Standards A1, A2, B1, C3, G3
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