Fraction Earth -- Water & Land

Environmental science, math, and art team up! Find out how much of the Earth is water and how much is land. Make a globe to show what you know!

• 1.

  Did you know Earth is a very wet place? Look at maps to see where water is located in your community, country, and on your planet. Look at a globe to find the world’s largest bodies of water. From where does that water come? Identify the continents. What if all continents were pushed together? How much of the planet would be water? What fraction would be land? Estimate, then research to find out what other scientists have calculated.

• 2.

  Create a new globe to show what fraction of the planet is water. Smooth Crayola Model Magic® over a crumpled foil ball to create a sphere. Air-dry your Earth overnight. To keep your globe from rolling, balance it on a paper cup.

• 3.

  Cover your painting area with newspaper. Use blue Crayola Premier™ Tempera Paint to cover the fraction of Earth that is water. Paint the remaining fraction green or brown to stand for land. Air-dry the paint.

• 4.

  Add Crayola Tempera Mixing Mediums to create textured effects on your globe. Paint Pearl It! over blue areas to create the effect of shimmering water. Mix Texture It! into green or brown paint. Dab textured paint onto land areas to make peaks and bumps. Air-dry your globe.

• 5.

  You’ll be able to feel how much of our planet is water and how much is land just as easily as you can see it!

Benefits

• Students research the amount and sources of water on Earth.
• Students interpret data to create a physical representation of water and land mass on the planet.
• Students use art materials to create a visual and tactile representation of fraction parts of a sphere representing Earth.

Adaptations

• Fraction Earth Toss: Use Fraction Earth globes and inflatable traditional globes to make predictions and collect data about the Earth’s surface. Toss each globe back and forth for 25 tosses. Record what part of the globe is touched by the catcher’s thumb
• Participate in a water sampling project. Invite a scientist to help your class test a local body of fresh or salt water.
• Build a model of the global water system. What a great science fair project!
• Assessment: Invite children to present globes, detailing the information researched and where and how they determined the fractions of water and land on the Earth’s surface. What fraction of the globe is water (three-quarters)? What fraction is land (one-quarter)? Does the globe match the findings?