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Humans continue to explore the composition and structure of the surface of the Earth. External sources of energy have continuously altered the features of Earth by means of both constructive and destructive forces. All life, including human civilization, is dependent on Earth's water and natural resources.
Big Idea 6 : Earth Structures
Cluster Standards

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Visit the specific benchmark webpage to find related instructional resources.

  • SC.1.E.6.1 : Recognize that water, rocks, soil, and living organisms are found on Earth's surface.
  • SC.1.E.6.2 : Describe the need for water and how to be safe around water.
  • SC.1.E.6.3 : Recognize that some things in the world around us happen fast and some happen slowly.
Cluster Information
Number:
SC.1.E.6
Title:
Earth Structures
Type:
Big Idea
Subject:
Science
Grade:
1
Body of Knowledge
Earth and Space Science
Cluster Access Points

This cluster includes the following Access Points.

  • SC.1.E.6.In.1 : Identify rocks, water, and living things in the environment.
  • SC.1.E.6.In.2 : Identify reasons people need water and safe practices around water.
  • SC.1.E.6.In.3 : Distinguish between events that happen slowly and those that happen fast.
Cluster Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Original Student Tutorials
  • Earth: Slow Changes: Learn about various slow changes affecting Earth's landscape including weathering and erosion, drought and mountain formation in this interactive science tutorial.

    This tutorial is included in a two-part series. Click  to open Earth: Fast Changes.  

  • Earth: Fast Changes: Learn about various fast changes affecting Earth's landscape including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, flooding and human impact in this interactive science tutorial. 

    This tutorial is included in a two-part series. Click  to open Earth: Slow Changes. 

  • What on Earth?: Let's explore the features of Earth surface in this interactive tutorial.

  • Water, Water Everywhere!: Explore water and its uses in this interactive tutorial.

Lesson Plans
  • Water Safety in the Community: Students will explore how to be safe around water and the purpose of rules at home, school, and in the community in this integrated lesson plan. Students will learn about ways to be safe around different types of water by reading a passage and posted rules for different bodies of water. They will decide between examples and wrong examples of water safety and then write their own rule for water safety.

  • Gr. 1 Lesson 3-Water For Us All: Students will look at the different places water comes from and the different ways humans use water. They will label different water bodies and match pictures of human and animal uses of water.

  • Tree Cookies: One way to learn about tree growth is to look at annual rings. Tree rings show patterns of change in the tree's life as well as changes in the area where it grows. In this activity, students will trace environmental and historical changes using a cross section of a tree, or "tree cookie."

  • Water Park Fun!: In this Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will read and identify common water safety practices. Students will then review and analyze a data for a family who wishes to attend a water park with their children. After reading the passage and identifying the needs of the client as per the client letter, students will rank the water parks from best to worst and explain the procedure used.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

  • Why We Need Water and Water Safety: This lesson uses pictures and a story to illustrate why we need water and the difference between safe and unsafe practices around water.

  • Some Things Happen Fast and Some Things Happen Slow: In this lesson, teachers show their students pictures of different events happening on Earth and asks if these events happen quickly or slowly, how students generated that judgment, and what happens on Earth after each event occurred. Students can explore a location around the school and record observations in their notebook about what events may be occurring in that location and if they are occurring slowly or quickly.

  • Tree Observations: In this project, each class "adopts" a tree and collects data about it over the entire year. Teachers maintain a class tree notebook that includes a picture of the tree and a description of the environmental characteristics on each observation day as students draw a picture of the tree that day in their personal science notebooks. Emphasis should be placed on the importance of water, sunlight, and food as essential to the tree's survival.

  • Water: Emergency Preparedness Necessity: Students will identify ways that people need clean water and apply this knowledge to storing water for emergency preparedness. Students will order numbers from greatest to least, in an application and comparison of storing gallons of water and distributing bottles of water.

  • Water Safety Lesson: Through role-playing and teacher presentation, students learn how to be safe around water. Students learn the three most important safety rules, ways to rescue someone from the water, boat safety, and ocean safety considerations.
  • Your Own Backyard: Each of Earth's different environments has its own natural features; this lesson uses multimedia resources to introduce a variety of environments to students. First, students will discuss local environmental features, then take a field trip to explore them. Next, they'll watch videos of different environment types, then compare and contrast their features. Finally, they will discuss the geologic features of interesting places they've visited.
Teaching Idea
  • Water Has Many Uses: This resource could be used to introduce students to the need and importance of water.

    Activities include:

    1. "Water has Many Uses Family Questionnaire" - Students and their family list uses for water, examine whether water use varies in summer and winter, rank the family's top seven uses, examine whether people in developing countries use water differently, and determine how the family would get water in a scenario where running water is no longer available.
    2. Create a collage or collection of pictures depicting the ways people use water or of things that need water to live.
    3. Identify and draw students' favorite uses of water.
    4. Complete a simple writing activity about the importance of water.
    5. Learn about global water facts.
Unit/Lesson Sequences
  • What on Earth is That?: This is a project-based learning unit about what is found on the Earth's surface. This unit can be used as an introduction to learning about what is on the Earth's surface or as a follow up activity to previous introduction. Students will use their five senses to identify and describe things on the Earth's surface. Students will create a group presentation and individual publication.  

  • As the Earth Changes: This unit opens with a visit from a local meteorologist/geologist. In this PBL experience, students will explore the ways the world changes around us and describe the conditions of fast and slow land changes. As teams, students will create various models to represent fast and slow land changes. Individually, students will create a flap book with two fast changes and two slow changes.

  • Learning About Mealworms: In this unit, students learn about metamorphosis and how animals change from birth to the adult stage through observing and collecting data as mealworm larvae progress through their life cycle to the adult stage (beetles).

Virtual Manipulative
Worksheet
  • Water Safety Fun Book: The Water Safety page, available from the LaCoast web site, is part of a coloring book to teach children about water safety. The page features water safety such as, buddies, staying in the swimming area, and swimming with adult supervision.