Unit Overview

Students discover Earth consists of four interconnected spheres constantly interacting in complex ways. Through investigating volcanic eruptions affecting all spheres or examining environmental disasters, exploring how geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere connect through hands-on models, and engineering monitoring systems tracking sphere interactions during natural events, students learn when one sphere changes, ripple effects cascade through all others creating environmental relationships.

• Next Generation Science Standards

  5-ESS2-1

  Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact. [Clarification Statement: Examples could include the influence of the ocean on ecosystems, landform shape, and climate; the influence of the atmosphere on landforms and ecosystems through weather and climate; and the influence of mountain ranges on winds and clouds in the atmosphere. The geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere are each a system.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to the interactions of two systems at a time.]

  5-ESS2-2

  Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, ground water, and polar ice caps, and does not include the atmosphere.]

  5-ESS3-1

  Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.

• Inquiry Scale
  • Each lesson in the unit has an Inquiry Scale that provides directions on how to implement the lesson at the level that works best for you and your students.
  • “Level 1” is the most teacher-driven, and recommended for students in 4th-5th grades. “Level 4” is the most student-driven, and recommended for students in 7th-8th grades.
  • For differentiation within the same grade or class, use different inquiry levels for different groups of students who may require additional support or an extra challenge.
• Common Misconceptions
  • Students associate freshwater with water on land found in streams, lakes, aquifers, ponds, rivers, snow and ice. Remind students that glaciers and icebergs also contain large volumes of freshwater on the planet.
  • Learners initially think that events on Earth are not interconnected. Emphasize to students that Earth’s spheres are interconnected and events that occur in one sphere will ultimately impact other spheres on the planet.
  • Student tend to believe that the hydrosphere consists of only the liquid water on the planet. Remind students that the hydrosphere also includes the frozen water (ice and snow) as well as the water vapor in the atmosphere.
  • Students tend to limit their identification of the biosphere to humans, plants, and animals. Emphasize to students that anything living is part of the biosphere, including microbes (bacteria and some fungi species) that are microscopic.
• Vocabulary
  • • Atmosphere
    • Hydrosphere
    • Geosphere
    • Biosphere
    • Interact
• Content Expert
  • Joanna Pelc
    NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Global Modeling and Assimilation Office Expertise: Earth Science, Applied Mathematics