5-ESS2-2
The standard
Describe and graph the amounts and percentages of water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to compare where Earth’s water is stored, using both amounts and percentages. They should know that most water is in oceans, and only a small part is fresh water. They also need to turn data into graphs and use those graphs as evidence in a short explanation.
Mastery looks like a clear bar graph or pie chart with correct labels, units, and percentages, followed by a claim about water distribution. Students often mix up fresh water with drinkable water, overlook groundwater and ice, or treat rivers and lakes as bigger sources than they are.
Ways to teach it
- Have students use 100 blue beads to model Earth’s water, then separate beads for oceans, ice, groundwater, lakes, and rivers.
- Prompt students to write: Why can Earth have so much water but still have limited fresh water for people?
- Give students a small data table and ask them to choose the best graph type, label it, and write one evidence sentence.
- Connect to a local water bill or town water source map, then trace whether the water comes from groundwater, a lake, or a river.
Plan a lesson for 5-ESS2-2
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- MS-LS2-1
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
- HS-ESS2-5
Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.
- MS-ESS3-1
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of pa...
- 2-ESS2-3
Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.