Living with the Earth, Scientifically: Teaching and Learning with Water

Alaskan Glaciers Collage

The Geosciences
Are you a rock hound, who collects different rocks and minerals?
Do you wonder about tsunamis and hurricanes and other risks?
Do you worry about climate and how it might change?
Are you curious about where our water and sources of energy come from?
 
If the answer is yes, then you are interested in the “Geosciences,” the Earth sciences that deal with minerals, soils, energy resources, fossils, oceans and freshwater, the atmosphere, weather, natural hazards and more, according to the United States Geological Survey. Current news about the human consequences of hurricanes, earthquakes, drought, and climate change make the study of Earth sciences critical to our life on the planet.


The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is dedicated to serving the geoscience community and addressing the needs of society. It is a federation of scientific and professional associations operating as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, based in Alexandria, Virginia. They live up to their logo annually during Earth Science Week—“connecting earth, science, and people.”

Water Today and for the Future
Since October 1998, the American Geosciences Institute has organized a national and international event to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth. This year’s theme promotes the understanding, conservation, and protection of water resources, perhaps Earth's most vital resource. Water is a critical component in energy production, climate change, the environment, natural hazard identification, technology, industry, agriculture, recreation, and the economy. You can probably add to this list of impacts with even more examples.
 
Teaching and Learning
Although the official Earth Science Week just concluded (October 10-16, 2021), the teaching resources are too good to miss! All of them are designed to meet the objectives of Earth Science Week--

• To engage students in discovering the Earth sciences.
• To remind people that Earth science is all around us.
• To encourage Earth stewardship through understanding.
• To motivate geoscientists to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about the Earth.

Classroom activities are provided at this website:
https://www.earthsciweek.org/classroom-activities
Most are categorized based on the Next Generation Science Standards, and the earlier National Science Education Standards (links provided at the end of the article). Arranged as a searchable database, activities are marked with an appropriate grade level and subject area. Each activity is described with background scientific information, the objective of the exercise, materials needed, the procedure to follow, and observations and questions for the teacher. Credit is given to the organizations and authors that provided the activity and sources are provided for more information.


Three examples of water activities are given below with a link to the full description.
Model a Well (Grades K-4)
https://www.earthsciweek.org/classroom-activities/model-well
This activity was provided by Marianne Bonnemier of the
Nebraska Earth Systems Education Network, School of Natural Resources.
It demonstrates the relationship of groundwater to wells.


Groundwater is contained in the zone of saturation below the land surface. The top of this zone is known as the water table. People can tap into this source of water by drilling wells, which many people depend on for their water.


A fine screen cylinder, about 1 cm in diameter, surrounded by sand in a drinking glass simulates the action of water moving between the sand and the “well.” When water is poured into the sand, the sand will take up water, but the water will also go into the cylinder (the well). If you remove water from the well with the medicine dropper, the well will be lower at first but will eventually fill up again. Questions can be asked about removing and adding water to the groundwater, and how the well responds.

Demonstrate Liquefaction (Grades 5-10)
https://www.earthsciweek.org/classroom-activities/liquefaction
This activity is adapted with permission by the Soil Science Society of America. (SSSA thanks sixth-grader Joshua Miller, who shared this experiment from his 2015 entry in the Colorado State Science Fair.)


During an event like an earthquake, liquefaction is the process by which saturated soil behaves like a liquid. As a result, buildings can sink, foundations can crack, and soil can slide down slopes all at once. This activity demonstrates how the type of soil affects how much a house will sink or shift during an earthquake.


Fill three small plastic containers (shoebox-size) about 2/3 full – one with sand, one with topsoil, one with peat. Add 1 liter of water to each container. After using Legos™ to build a “house” about 8cm x 10cmm, place the model house on top of the first type of soil. On a flat surface, measure the house’s height –from the soil surface to the top of the house. Place the soil container in the middle of a larger container that is big enough to allow the smaller container to slide around. With a partner, roughly shake the outside container for 40 seconds. While shaking, observe the soil. Re-measure the house’s height. How far did the house sink after the shaking? Even out the soil surface and repeat the shaking and measuring two more times to see if the results are similar. Repeat the three trials and measurements with the other two soil types. What patterns did you observe? Which soil provided the best stability?

Sinking house located in the Montmartre district of Paris, France

Experience the Water Cycle ("What-a-Cycle!" Grades 4-12)
https://www.earthsciweek.org/classroom-activities/what-cycle  This activity is adapted with permission by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  A group of students represent the movement of water from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and then its return to the surface. This process is nearly always depicted in water cycle diagrams by arrows drawn in a circular direction.  In the water cycle, the sun heats the Earth's surface water, causing that surface water to evaporate (gas). This water vapor then rises into the earth’s atmosphere where it cools and condenses into liquid droplets. These droplets combine and grow until they become too heavy and fall to the earth as precipitation (liquid if rain, solid if snow).

The students begin in various points of the water cycle as follows: one-half of students are at the Oceans station, and the remaining students are evenly spread across the other stations: Glaciers & Snows, Aquifers, Rivers & Lakes, Ground, and Atmosphere (with clouds). No one begins at the Plants station. Rolling a die and following directions at each water cycle station determines their path through the water cycle. After 10 turns, most of the students will have traveled to several stations and completed some sort of cycle. Some may have traveled through most of the water cycle, while others have moved very little. Students discover that the actual path water may take in its cycle is far more complicated than indicated in a water cycle diagram.


Check out the full list of activities on the classroom activities link and enjoy the process of scientific discovery with accessible materials and well-documented instructions!
Contributed by:
Mary Deming, MOTAL Board Secretary


Additional References:
Next Generation Science Standards: https://www.nextgenscience.org/
National Science Education Standards: https://www.earthsciweek.org/nses