NASA Satellites Improve Agriculture and Water Usage
Lesson Plans
Grades3, 4, 5Science, Career Skills
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Provided by NASA
What it is
- In this fifth-grade lesson, students will explore water scarcity, how water is used to grow crops, and green careers related to water.
- Students will use a model to demonstrate the amount of water on Earth, work in expert groups to learn about growing wheat and climates in wheat-growing areas, explore NASA's precipitation data, and research a few careers where scientists and others are working to reduce the impacts of water scarcity.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The globe activity is a uniquely hands-on way to demonstrate the percentage of water that makes up Earth's surface.
- Having students in expert groups gives them a sense of purpose in their reading and note-taking.
Prerequisites
- Depending on the presentation software you are using, the videos may not play or take you to their links when you click them. The links to these videos work fine in the lesson plan.
- Students should be familiar with the water cycle and know the terms biosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere.
- Many of the links under Resources in the Expert Group readings, the link to Argumentation Strategies, and the link to the Spanish version of "NASA Satellites Help Farmers in Central America's Dry Corridor" are broken.
- Teachers should use the link in the Materials section for the Freshwater Resources in Pakistan reading. Other links lead to the Kansas climate reading.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To make math connections, students can use their data from the globe activity and convert it into a percentage or a pie chart.
- As students answer questions based on reading the article "Precious Freshness," teachers can ask them to use evidence from the reading to support their answers.
- After calculating their water usage, students can brainstorm ways to reduce their water footprint.
- After completing the lesson, students can explore how climate change and human activity continue to impact water scarcity.
From the scientist review
Satellites are vital tools for tracking changes to the planet. The information within this lesson is of the highest quality, as are the external links provided. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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