Where water is found on Earth

Activities to try

1. 1

   Survey the cutaway Earth: tap-to-reveal water stores

   Why it works: Water is found in many different places — seen and unseen, solid and liquid — and the oceans hold far more than everything else combined.

   1. Look at a globe or world map and describe how much of Earth's surface is blue (ocean).
   2. Explore a cutaway Earth scene — globe above, ground cross-section below — with water stores to discover: ocean, river, lake, mountain glacier, snowfield, and hidden groundwater below the surface.
   3. For each store, reveal a short fact and name the store aloud: e.g. ocean → 'oceans hold most of Earth's water, and it is salty'; glacier/snowfield → 'frozen water — the same water, just solid'; below ground → 'groundwater — hidden liquid water you can't see from the surface'.
   4. For each store, answer a lift-the-flap 'solid or liquid?' prompt before the answer is shown.
   5. Point to or name a store you would never have guessed held water (e.g. underground).
2. 2

   Generate and sort your own water examples

   Why it works: Every example of water belongs both to a place (store) and to a state (solid or liquid), and learners can classify their own examples, not just supplied ones.

   1. Answer 'Where have YOU seen water?' and list as many places as you can (e.g. sea, puddle, tap, snow, pond, ice lolly, river).
   2. Sort each example onto a solid-vs-liquid mat: glacier/snow/ice → solid; ocean/river/lake/puddle → liquid.
   3. Group examples under named stores: ocean, river, lake, glacier/ice, underground, (atmosphere/clouds for readier children).
   4. Match a store name to a photograph of that store (e.g. 'glacier' → photo of ice sheet; 'spring/well' → photo of groundwater source).
3. 3

   The jar demonstration: how much water is where

   Why it works: Most of Earth's water is in the oceans by a large margin; rivers and lakes are a small share; and ice is water too (solid), as is underground water.

   1. Use a hands-on model where a big jar of water = the oceans, an ice cube = glaciers/ice, a spoonful = underground water, and just a drop or two = rivers and lakes.
   2. Compare the amounts by eye and say which store holds the most.
   3. State in your own words: 'Most of Earth's water is in the oceans; rivers and lakes are only a tiny part.'
   4. Answer the diagnostic: 'If you gathered up ALL the water on Earth, where is most of it? And does ice count as water too?'