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OUR HYDROSPHERE
Howdoesthehydrosphereconnecthumanstoallotherecosystems
onlandandintheocean?
OVERVIEW
StudentsinvestigatetheinterconnectednessofEarth'swaterreservoirsby
learningaboutthehydrosphere.Theythendiscusswaysinwhichhumansare
connectedtoandalterthosereservoirs,especiallytheocean.
Forthecompleteactivitywithmediaresources,visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/our-hydrosphere/
DIRECTIO NS
1.Buildbackgroundontheconceptofthehydrosphere.
DisplaytheWaterPlanetMegaMap,fromtheWorldPhysicalMapMakerKit,on
thewall.Ask:Whatisthehydrosphere?Elicitfromstudentsthatspheremeans
“rangeofsomething”andhydromeans“water.”UsingtheMegaMapto
demonstrate,havesmallgroupsofstudentsusetheirWorldPhysicalTabletop
Maps,alsofromtheWorldPhysicalMapMakerKit,tolocateandlabelthe
hydrosphere.Studentswilllikelyonlylabelthesurfacewaterofoceans,lakes,
andrivers.Explainthattheseareaswherewateristemporarilystoredarecalled
reservoirs.Ask:OtherthanonthesurfaceofEarth,whereareotherwater
reservoirs?Explaintostudentsthatthehydrospherealsoincludesreservoirsof
waterbelowgroundandintheatmosphere.Ask:Eventhoughthemapshows
one,isthereanactualboundarybetweentheoceanandland?Elicitexplanations
fromstudentsandconcludethatwaterconnectstheland,ocean,and
atmosphere.Explainthatinthisactivitytheywillbeexploringthisconceptof
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“interconnectedness”bylearningaboutthehydrosphere.
2.IntroduceEarthasthe“blueplanet”andidentifythemajoroceanbasins.
HavestudentsanalyzetheirTabletopMaps.Ask:WhyisEarthreferredtoasthe
“blueplanet?”Explainthatthe“blue”oceanisthedominantfeatureonEarth—
covering70percentoftheplanet’ssurfaceandholding97percentofthe
Earth’swater.OntheirTabletopMaps,havestudentslabelandoutlinethesix
majoroceanbasins:NorthandSouthPacific,NorthandSouthAtlantic,Indian,
andArctic.Whencombinedwithsurfacefreshwater,nearly80percentofthe
planetiscoveredinwater.Havestudentslocateandlabelfivelargefreshwater
lakes,twoglaciers,andthreerivers.
3.Discusstheinterconnectednessofthehydrosphere.
Statethatwatermoleculesconstantlymoveandchangeform.Ask:Whatare
somedifferentformsofwater?Howdoeswater“move?”Elicitfromstudentsthat
formsofwaterincludeice,gas(vapor),andliquid.Tellstudentstothinkabout
howliquidwatermovesacrossland.Havethemimaginealarge,flowingriver.
Defineariverasasystemthattransportslargeamountsofwaterinauniform
direction.Ask:Whatdetermineshoworwhereariverflows?Elicitfromstudents
thatultimatelygravity—whichisimpactedbyelevation,topography,and
geology—determineswhereariverflows,andsincetheareasoflowest
elevationarewherethelandmeetstheocean,that’swheretheriversflow.
UsingtheirTabletopMaps,havestudentsselectanearbyriverandtraceits
pathtotheocean.Ask:Otherthanwatermolecules,whatelsedoriverscarryto
theocean?Elicitfromstudentsthatothersubstancescanbedissolvedor
suspendedinthewaterandcarriedalongwithit—includingpollution,chemicals,
solidwaste,salts,andsediment.Tellstudentsthatinadditiontoland-based
rivers,thereare“rivers”intheocean,atmosphere,andevenintheground.
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These“rivers”transportwaterandsubstancesthroughouttheglobe.Showthe
RiversintheAtmosphereanimationandusetheMapMakerInteractive’ssurface
currentslayertoillustratetheseprocesses.
4.Havestudentsreflectonhowhumansareinterconnectedwiththe
hydrosphere,especiallytheocean.
Intheirsmallgroups,havestudentsidentifywaystheyareconnectedtothe
hydrosphere,andtheoceaninparticular.Generateideasbyasking:Whatare
waysthathumansusewater(andtheocean)?Whatarewaysthathumanschange
thedistributionofwaterorhowitflows?Whatarethingsthathumansputinto
water(andtheocean)?RemindstudentsthatinStep3theytracedthepathofa
nearbyrivertotheocean.Ask:Aretherehumanactivitiesorproductsthatcould
negativelyaffectyourlocalsourcesoffreshwater?Whataboutnegativehuman
impactsontheocean?Facilitateclassdiscussionandconcludethatthe
hydrosphere(water)connectsallhumanstoallotherecosystemsand
organismsonEarth.
InformalAssessment
Asgroupsdiscusstheirinterconnectednesswiththeocean,checkstudent
comprehensionandfacilitatediscussion.
O BJECTIVES
Subjects&Disciplines
Geography
PhysicalGeography
Science
Earthscience
Oceanography
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LearningObjectives
Studentswill:
explainhowtheoceanisthedominantphysicalfeatureonEarth
identifywaterreservoirs,includingmajoroceanbasinsandfreshwaterrivers
andlakes
describehowthehydrosphereconnectstheocean,land,andatmosphere
TeachingApproach
Learning-for-use
TeachingMethods
Cooperativelearning
Discussions
Hands-onlearning
Informationorganization
SkillsSummary
Thisactivitytargetsthefollowingskills:
21stCenturyThemes
GlobalAwareness
CriticalThinkingSkills
Analyzing
Understanding
GeographicSkills
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AcquiringGeographicInformation
AnalyzingGeographicInformation
NationalStandards,Principles,and
Practices
N AT I O N A L G E O G RA P H Y S TA N DA RDS
•Standard1:
Howtousemapsandothergeographicrepresentations,geospatial
technologies,andspatialthinkingtounderstandandcommunicateinformation
•Standard7:
ThephysicalprocessesthatshapethepatternsofEarth'ssurface
N AT I O N A L S C I E N C E E DU C AT I O N S TA N DA RDS
•(9-12)StandardB-2:
Structureandpropertiesofmatter
•(9-12)StandardB-4:
Motionsandforces
O C E A N LI T E RA C Y E SS E N T I A L P RI N C I P LE S A N D
F U N DA M E N TA L C O N C E P T S
•Principle1a:
TheoceanisthedominantphysicalfeatureonourplanetEarth—covering
approximately70%oftheplanet’ssurface.Thereisoneoceanwithmanyocean
basins,suchastheNorthPacific,SouthPacific,NorthAtlantic,SouthAtlantic,
IndianandArctic.
•Principle6a:
Theoceanaffectseveryhumanlife.Itsuppliesfreshwater(mostraincomes
fromtheocean)andnearlyallEarth’soxygen.ItmoderatestheEarth’sclimate,
influencesourweather,andaffectshumanhealth.
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PREPARATIO N
WhatYou’llNeed
M AT E RI A LS YO U P RO V I DE
Coloredmarkers
Pencils
RE Q U I RE D T E C H N O LO G Y
InternetAccess:Required
TechSetup:1computerperclassroom,Projector,Speakers
Plug-Ins:Flash
P H Y S I C A L S PA C E
Classroom
G RO U P I N G
Large-groupinstruction
O T H E R N O T E S
UsingtheMapMakerKitAssemblyvideoasaguide,print,laminate,and
assembletheWaterPlanetMegaMapandWorldPhysicalTabletopMapsbefore
startingthisactivity.
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: W E BS I T E S
NationalGeographicEducation:WorldPhysicalMapMakerKit
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: U N DE F I N E D
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MapMakerKits101
RiversintheAtmosphere
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: M A P S
NGMapMakerInteractive:OceanSurfaceCurrents—World
BACKGRO U ND & VO CABU L ARY
BackgroundInformation
Thereservoirsandprocessescomprisingthehydrologic,orwater,cycleare
responsibleforthemovementofwaterandsubstancesthroughoutand
betweentheland,ocean,andatmosphere,knowncollectivelyasthe
hydrosphere.TheoceanisthedominantfeatureonEarth,covering70percent
oftheplanet'ssurfaceandholding97percentoftheEarth'swater.The
hydrosphereconnectshumanstotheocean,land,andatmosphere,makinglife
onEarthpossible.
PriorKnowledge
[]
RecommendedPriorActivities
None
Vocabulary
Term
Partof
Definition
Speech
atmosphere noun
layersofgasessurroundingaplanetorothercelestial
body.
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Term
Partof
Definition
Speech
alltheEarth'swaterintheground,onthesurface,and
hydrosphere noun
oceanbasin noun
ocean
circulation
reservoir
intheair.
depressionintheEarth'ssurfacelocatedentirely
beneaththeocean.
noun
worldwidemovementofwater(currents)intheocean.
noun
naturalorman-madelake.
ForFurtherExploration
Websites
NationalGeographicEducation:NationalTeacherLeadershipAcademy
(NTLA)
FU NDER
©1996–2017NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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