A Water Story

The educational and earth-friendly book, This Planet is Mine, was written by two teachers. Their intent was to explore the wonders of the planet through various environmentally-focused and literature-based curriculum activities. Their book is a compilation of their classroom experiences. The following sample activities taken from This Planet is Mine may inspire you to take your own students on a journey. The following suggestions can be used in collaboration with the book, I Am Water by Jean Marzollo.

We then decided it would be great fun to learn more about one of the most amazing elements of our planet: water! We were to embark on an adventure that would be filled with great stories and experiments and endless opportunities for observing and learning.

• We "dove" into great books. We read fact books about water and fun stories about water.
• We saw great videos about water that helped us understand the properties of water and the different states of water.
• We conducted water experiments and created some of our own experiments.
• We tried to imagine life without water and thought it would be very hard. In fact, we learned there would be no life on earth without water!
• We had a guest visit from the water department who helped us understand the importance of keeping our water clean.
• We started recycling pop cans for a secret water project. I told the children we needed 100 cans to help do something important for a creature of the earth's waters. We started charting by tens on a graph. When we had accomplished the goal of 1000 we would learn what the secret project was. (Later the children learned we were protecting a great whale, the largest creature ever to live on the earth or swim in its waters!)
• We wrote a class poem about water.
• We wrote about "My Favorite Thing to Do with Water" and posted our stories at the water center.
• Another guest came in with a huge globe of the planet and helped us understand why the earth is called the water planet. It is 3/4 water! Water is so important. When we are thirsty, she said, that is our body calling out for its favorite drink—the drink of life—wonderful water.
• We created a water center where we had books and information to help us wonder about water.
• We recognized that water is home to many of the earth's creatures and it is important for all of us to keep it safe and clean.
• We promised always to be curious about water and remember to appreciate it more!
• At the end of our study we watched a beautiful video, Water: The Gift of Life, and we drank cool refreshing glasses of—you guessed it—water!