The document outlines lessons from a 5th grade Earth's Water unit. In Lesson 1, students learned that clean fresh water is essential for human survival. In Lesson 2, students did a taste test of different water samples and learned that most of Earth's water is salt water located in oceans. Lesson 3 discussed freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems and how water moves between them. Students examined animals and plants in estuaries. Lesson 4 discussed how human water management practices can influence water quantity, distribution, and chemistry in different ecosystems.

1. Earth’s Water
5th Grade

2. Lesson 1: Water for
Life
Learning Objective: Identify that humans are living things and clean
fresh water is essential to their survival

3. Students brainstormed both living and nonliving
things humans need to survive. They also read an
article titled “Water to Grow a City.” They learned
about water helped the city of Los Angeles grow.

4. Lesson 2: Earth’s Water Sources
Learning Objective: Describe freshwater, coastal, and marine
ecosystems and compare the chemical characteristics in these systems.
Learning Objective: Recognize that because most of Earth’s water is
salt water located in the oceans, the vast majority of water is not
available for human consumption.

5. Taste Test
Students taste-tested
three water samples that
were available to the
people of Los Angeles as
the city grew. Students
tasted each type of water
and recorded their own
description of the taste.

6. Taste Test:
Cup A - Freshwater
Cup B - Brackish
Cup C - Saline

7. After the test taste, we looked at different
sources of water on earth and looked at the
distribution of earth’s water.

8. Lesson 3: From Fresh to Salt Water
Learning Objective: Describe freshwater, coastal, and marine
ecosystems and compare the chemical characteristics in these systems
Learning Objective: Provide examples of the ecosystem goods that are
produced by freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems

9. Students looked how water moves on Earth.
They looked at animals and plants specific to
estuaries. Students also brainstormed why each
type of ecosystem is important to people and
our communities.

10. Lesson 4: Human Communities and
Water Management Practices
Learning Objective: Explain how humans and human communities can
influence the quantity, distribution, and chemical characteristics of the
water in freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems.

11. Students looked at the various ways California
manages its water and how these things can affect
the land and ecosystems around them.