We drink water, cook with water, bathe in water, swim in water, clean with water, etc. I’d say water is pretty important and definitely integral to our lives. Come and explore the wonderful world of water with your students by learning about why water is important on Earth and how much water on the Earth is usable. Plus, check out some water activities you can do at home or in the classroom!

How much water is on Earth?

Most of the Earth is covered in water. In fact, 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. But only 3.5% of that water is freshwater and most of this water is frozen!

Why is water important to Earth?

People use water for many reasons, including cleaning, cooking, drinking, and bathing. Water is also essential for growing crops. Many places use water to heat and cool buildings, and it can be used to generate electricity. Plus, drinking water is important for our health. Water is very important!

The EASY Way to Teach Water and the Water Cycle

Learn all about water on earth with this hands-on unit that has everything you need.

Scripted lessons… check!
Vocabulary … check !
Reading passages… check!
Hands-on projects … check!
Engaging? Double check!

check it out

Reading about Water on Earth

When students are learning a new science topic, it’s helpful to have students read about it. Plus, it integrates reading right into our science lesson! These Water on Earth’ reading passages and comprehension booklets are perfect for this. They’re in two levels so you can differentiate them for your class.

With the passages, students will learn about why water is important. They will also be learning where water is found and the different types of water (ie. freshwater and saltwater). Grab them here!

Group Activity - exploring Sources of Water

Group projects are a great way to have students engage with a topic and also practice skills like teamwork, conversation, problem-solving, and task management.

This Sources of Water group activity is perfect for all of this! Assign each group a water source to research. Each group will become the ‘expert’ on their own source of water, and teach the rest of the class about it. Eventually, the whole class will have compiled a booklet of information about all of the water sources!

The activity can be found in my Water Cycle science unit!

Project: Conserving Water

Conserving Water: a flipbook project based on a guided inquiry question.

To teach about water conservation, a guided inquiry project is a great option!   This flipbook (included in the Water Cycle unit) will have students answering the question “How can we conserve water?” Students can pick their own focus and then do some basic research.

While doing this project, students will look for information about why conserving water is important and they will hunt for solutions to the problems they discover. They will present their information in the flipbook.

Alternatively, students could present their findings in another way: website, a model, a book, a TED talk, etc.

This project (teaching guide, flipbook template, assessment) is a part of the complete Water Cycle Unit.

water cycle bag activity

The Water Cycle Ziploc Bag is an old favorite for many. This water activity is a great way to have students observe the water cycle in action. Simply draw the water cycle on a ziplock back, add some water, seal the bag, and tape the ziplock to a window. After a few days, you’ll be able to see the water in action: evaporation and condensation. Take a detailed look at the activity right on the Ziploc website!

become a water detective

Have children brainstorm ways they can conserve water. Here are a few quick and practical things they might come up with:

• Turn the tap off while brushing their teeth

• Put a water saver in the toilet tank

• Limit time in showers

• Instead of dumping undrunk water down the sink, use it to water plants

• Rewear clothes if they aren’t dirty so the washing machine doesn't have to be run as many times

Become drip detectives. Did you know that a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day? And a dripping faucet can waste over 5 gallons of water per day! So teach children to become leak detectives so the problem can be fixed right away!

Water is everywhere! We use water every day and often it goes underappreciated. Children can learn a lot about water when a few fun and engaging water activities are implemented. 

Hooray!  If you’re here, you have successfully planned your first Genius Hour, your Genius Hour time is running smoothly, and you are ready to think about presentations! Your students have answered an essential question and are the proud owners of new knowledge.  Now… what are they going to do with it? One of my favorite stages of Genius Hour is the final presentation. Not every classroom conducting Genius Hour requires a final presentation, but in my room, it’s an important way to share our knowledge with the whole group.  Read all about our Genius Hour presentations, and how I set students up for success. 

Text: Genius Hour: Sharing Projects and Presenting Ideas
Image: Six lightbulbs in a row, the second one is illuminated yellow.

This is part three of a three part series on Genius Hour. Don’t forget to check out Part One: How To Get Started With Genius Hour in Lower Elementary, and Part Two: Classroom Management During Genius Hour.

Why do a formal Genius Hour presentation anyways?

The whole point of Genius Hour is to learn about a topic that each student is passionate about.  However, I like to encourage students that new knowledge should be shared.  This is a great way to share their new knowledge with a wider audience.  These ‘formal presentations’ can take a variety of forms, they don’t necessarily have to be a ‘stand and deliver’ traditional presentation.  A student who learned a new skill (to play the guitar, to paint using a new technique) might demonstrate this to the class, another might press play on a video that they created during Genius Hour time, and a third may choose to do a traditional spoken presentation. The point is giving students a chance to share their learning!

Prepare students ahead of time

Giving students time to prepare their presentations is key.  I include this as a part of our Genius Hour time.  If you’ve read Genius Hour: Class Management with Quick Check-Ins, you’ve seen my 3-stage method for Genius Hour. After students have completed their projects, they move on to preparing and practicing their presentations. This stage is so important because it helps to build confidence so that they are ready to share with a real audience come presentation day. 

I also make sure that the actual presentation day is not a surprise.  Using a large anchor chart paper, I set out possible presentation days well in advance. I  spread presentations out over 3-5 days so that students aren’t overwhelmed listening to so many presentations back-to-back.  Then, I let students choose their own presentation day to give them some ownership over this process. 

Invite a Real Audience

If possible, invite a real audience to come and listen to your class give their Genius Hour presentations.  I like to place the presentations at the very beginning, or very end of the school day to give parents the greatest chance of attending, but I know this isn’t possible for many families.  Having a buddy or peer class attend can also give your presentations a real audience! 

Add a Q&A Session

Before presentations begin, I give each student a small paper where they can write down 2-3 questions about each presentation. (This is included in the Genius Hour pack). After a presentation, the presenter hosts a quick Q&A session with the audience. I find that these Q&A’s are invaluable for a couple of reasons.  First, this task helps to keep my audience of students a little more focused during presentations.  Second, it is helpful for my own assessment.  If the student studied polar bears, they should be able to answer “what does a polar bear eat?” If they learned to play a simple song on the guitar, the question “how do you strum a C chord” shouldn’t trip them up either. 

A Complete Genius Hour Plan is Here!

I’ve taken everything I’ve learned from years of Genius Hour and created a complete digital and printable guide to starting up this engaging project in your second, third, or fourth grade classroom. It has teaching guides, a week-by-week timeline, a sample day plan, project ideas, parent letters, student planning pages, rubrics, and more!

grab the whole planning pack

Have you started Genius Hour in your classroom yet? I’d love to know how it’s going or if there’s anything I can do to help!  Leave a comment below or connect with me on Instagram.