University of Georgia
Heating and Cooling of Land Forms
Compare heating and cooling rates of different land forms. A lab activity has groups collect data on the rate of heating and cooling of soil, grass, saltwater, fresh water, and sand. An analysis of the rates shows how the different land...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Aquatic Ecosystems
Mia's friends are fish-sitting while she is away on vacation. Zoe divulges to Sam that different animals need different habitats, and that there are both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. Examples of the kinds of organisms found in...
Curated OER
Water Ecosystems
Freshwater and Saltwater ecosystems are the focus of this Earth Science PowerPoint. Presentation is full of interesting facts, photographs, and maps. A slide with review questions appears at the end of the presentation. Very nice!
Biology Junction
Water Biomes
Water covers more than 70 percent of Earth's surface. Scholars learn about both freshwater and saltwater biomes in a simple presentation. They compare and contrast the differences in oxygen levels, food sources, and sunlight to better...
Curated OER
So Much Water, So Little to Drink
Learners explore salt and fresh water. In this water lesson, students investigate the amount of Earth covered by water. Learners compare the amounts of salt water to fresh water. Students create a visual representation to aid comprehension.
Curated OER
Exploring Density with Salt and Fresh Water: Part 5
This particular instructional activity was written by the National Earth Science Teachers Association, but density is a concept that you can teach at the beginning of the school year in your life, physical, or earth science classes. It...
Curated OER
Investigating the Effect of Salinity on the Density and Stability of Water
Water with varying amounts of dissolved salt are dyed and then used to compare densities. The objective is to discover the effect of salinity, and therefore density, on ocean water on the stability of the ocean. Many branches of science...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Animals and Habitats Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology explores various habitats and the animals that inhabit them, from the Artic to the desert, the forest, and bodies of water. First graders listen to and discuss texts and complete word work. Each lesson offers...
American Chemical Society
Density: Sink and Float for Liquids
We don't think of liquids as floating typically, but a quick look at any oil spill tells a different story. Lesson explores various densities of liquids and why this fact is important. After observing the density variation, scholars...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 7
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...
Curated OER
Osmosis and Dialysis
How do you engage pupils in a discussion about osmosis without leaving them overwhelmed? By providing them with the tools to perform an exciting experiment, and they will see osmosis in action! Young chemists and biologists use...
Curated OER
environment: Fresh and Saltwater Habitats
Learners compare and contrast fresh and salt water coastal environments. After describing how sea animals adapt to their habitats, they design a variety of sea creatures and explain how the adaptations aid in the animals' survival. ...
Curated OER
Floating on Salt Water
Mixing substances together causes their properties to change. This resource illustrates that concept for fifth graders by having them consider four questions that have to do with buoyancy and boiling point. Learners begin to understand...
Curated OER
Tracking the Salt Front
Using the Hudson River as the focus, learners discuss the difference between salt water and fresh water environments, analyze maps and graphs, and complete addition and subtraction problems. This lesson comes with a wealth of...
Curated OER
Boat Safety and Water Sports - Lesson 4 - Dangerous Sea Creatures
Lesson 4 is part of a 22 lesson unit on boat safety and water sports. This lesson is about dangerous sea creatures, mainly in the ocean. There is a link to find pictures of the creatures discussed. It is suggested to click on the...
Curated OER
Oceans of Fun
Here is a great hands-on activity that should lead to a greater understanding of salt water, why the ocean is salty, and how ocean waves are formed. This terrific, old-school lesson has clearly described activities, and all of the...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Desalination: Turning Salt Water into Fresh Water
How does San Francisco supply its citizens with enough water, even during a drought? Learn about reservoirs and why desalination could be a good solution with a reading passage about water conservation. After kids finish the...
Curated OER
Environment: Water & Air
The introduction to the lesson mentions a sailor's limited capacity to store drinking water on his ship. Pupils then set up an overnight experiment to remove freshwater from salt water by distillation. There is a math and map activity to...
American Chemical Society
Changing the Density of a Liquid - Adding Salt
Fourth in a set of several little lessons on density, this one compares the density of fresh and salt water. First by demonstration, and then by a hands-on activity, learners find that adding salt increases the density, as is evidenced...
Curated OER
Salinity Lab
In this salinity worksheet, learners simulate conditions of salt and fresh water mixing and observe the various densities of these solutions based on their salinity.
NOAA
Please Pass the Salt
Salinity is the focus of two experimenters that work to answer the question, How does salt change the physical properties of water? Super scientists compare the freezing rate of salt and fresh water, combine the two waters to...
Curated OER
Comparing Fresh and Salt Water: Venn Diagram
In this Venn diagram worksheet, students compare and contrast fresh water and salt water. Worksheet includes a link to additional activities.
Curated OER
Water Layering and Circulation
Students examine relationships and interactions between different types of water. They experiment with colored water of different temperature and salinity and discuss how the results relate to real ocean currents.