Earth Science - Water - Rivers and Lakes

Rivers by Andy Owen and Miranda Ashwell
Lakes by Andy Owen and Miranda Ashwell

Discussion:
Origin of rivers
River flow patterns
Formation and types of lakes

Activity:
Create a river and lake in the sandbox.

Earth Science - Water - Floods

Floods 101

Rising Waters: A Book About Floods by Rick Thomas and Denise Shea

Discussion:
Types of floods
Causes of floods
Effects of floods

Activity:
Make a little town in the sand box.  Show what happens when snows melt quickly and rains falls heavily.

Earth Science - Water - Ice Ages

The Ice Ages by Don Nardo

Discussion:
Description of an ice age - how many, how often they occur
Possible causes of ice ages
Plant and animal adaptations in ice ages

Activity:
Draw a schematic of how ice ages happen, listing possible causes

Earth Science - Water - Glaciers

Glaciers by Sally M. Walker

Discussion:
Formation and types of glaciers
Glacier movement
Melting glaciers - causes, effects

Activity:
Glacier science experiment

Earth Science - Water - Snow

The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson
Flakes and Flurries by Josepha Sherman and Jeff Yesh

Discussion:
Formation of snow
Types of snow crystals
Types of snowfalls

Activity:
If there's snow, see if you can catch a flake on a slide and look at it under the microscope.
Draw the different kinds of snow crystals.

Earth Science - Water - Oceans - Climate and Weather

The Illustrated Atlas of the Sea by Stephen Hutchinson et al.

Discussion:
Ocean weather patterns
El Niño and La Niña
Wind
Production of hurricanes

Activity:
Choose an El Niño project

Earth Science - Water - Oceans - Waves and Tides

The Illustrated Atlas of the Sea by Stephen Hutchinson et al.

Discussion:
Tide cycles and effects on sea coasts
Five kinds of waves (capillary, plunging, deepwater, spilling, forced)
Using waves as energy

Activity:
Waves change the shape of the beach

Earth Science - Water - Oceans - Currents and Circulation

The Illustrated Atlas of the Sea by Stephen Hutchinson et al.

Vocabulary added: 

thermohaline: flow of ocean water based on changes in water density and temperature

Discussion: 

Movement of ocean waters

Composition of currents

The six largest currents and their direction of movement

Activity: 

Science Buddies - Ocean Currents Modeling

Earth Science - Water - Oceans - Composition

The Illustrated Atlas of the Sea by Stephen Hutchinson et al.

Vocabulary added:
salinity: how much salt is in the water

Discussion:
Salinity - how seas became salty
Variations in salinity
Density, depth, and light

Activity:
Make salt water of varying amounts.  Recreate ocean environments with plant life, mud, sand, and other available ingredients.

Earth Science - Water - Oceans - Geography

The Illustrated Atlas of the Sea by Stephen Hutchinson et al.

Discussion:
Geography of ocean regions (major seas, and rivers that feed oceans)
Sea floor (review) - major points of interest (Mariana Trench, Mid-Atlantic Ridge), continental shelf locations

Activity:
World map for ocean geography study

Earth Science - Water - The Water Cycle

The Magic School Bus: Wet All Over
One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss and Rosemary Woods

Vocabulary Added:
condensation: water vapor turning into liquid water

Discussion:
The water cycle
Water pollution and its effect on the water cycle

Activity:
Create a water cycle experiment
Draw the water cycle on a poster

Earth Science - Water - Properties of Water as Ice

A Drop of Water by Walter Wick
Glaciers by Sally M. Walker
Science Experiments: Water by John Farndon
The Science Book of Water by Neil Ardley

Discussion:
How ice forms
Volume differences between ice and water
Glaciers

Activity:
Various water experiments (see books; student picks activities and there are plenty of interesting ones)

Earth Science - Water - Properties of Water as Vapor

A Drop of Water by Walter Wick

Vocabulary Added:
evaporation: liquid water turning into water vapor

Discussion:
How water becomes vapor
Barometers
Steam power in engineering

Activity:
Various water experiments (see books; student picks activities and there are plenty of interesting ones)

Earth Science - Water - States of Water - Properties of Water as a Liquid

A Drop of Water by Walter Wick
Science Experiments: Water by John Farndon
The Science Book of Water by Neil Ardley

Discussion:
What water is
How it behaves
Surface tension, density

Activity:
Various water experiments (see books; student picks activities and there are plenty of interesting ones)