Earth to Blorb: Water!

What Is This Video?

Tune in as Plum tells her friends on Blorb all about water. It might surprise you to learn how old all the water on Earth is–and where it's been!

Conversation Starters

Ask:
  • Why is water so important to us?Every living thing on Earth needs water to stay alive. We need to drink it to keep our bodies healthy. We also use it in many ways, such as cooking, cleaning, and even generating electricity.
  • If we can't make new water, where does all the water we use come from?It comes from rain and snow that falls to the Earth. This water lands in the oceans, lakes, and rivers, and it seeps underground into water supplies called groundwater. When water on the Earth's surface evaporates, it forms clouds, and eventually, rain and snow again.
  • Much of the Earth is covered by oceans. Can we drink that water?No, ocean water is far too salty for us to drink. The salt can be removed from ocean water, but this is a very expensive process.
  • How much of Earth's water can we use for drinking?Less than one percent. In other words, if you had one hundred cups of water on a table, you would be able to drink less than one cup.
  • What happens to water when it goes down the drain?In most places, the water that goes down the drain enters a series of pipes that bring it to a water treatment center. There the water is cleaned and filtered, and sent back out into oceans, lakes, and rivers.

Explore Some More

Water around the World

People live around sources of water. We use it to drink, bathe, water crops, and carry cargo on ships. Some of our food, such as fish and shrimp, live in lakes, rivers, and oceans. Manufacturing plants and some energy utilities use water as well. What water resources exist near you? What are some of the world's major sources of freshwater?

Using maps or Google Earth, have kids find:

  • the largest lakes and rivers in your state.
  • the largest lakes and rivers in the United States.
  • the largest lakes and rivers around the world.

Then have kids find the largest cities in your state, in the United States, and around the world. Are there any patterns in terms of where people settle? Where are cities located relative to bodies of water such as oceans, lakes, and rivers? After identifying these population centers, have students predict where the people living in each place might get their drinking water.

Earth to Blorb: Water in My Neighborhood!

Create a message to Plum telling her all about water in your world. Write, draw, use photographs, or build props with craft supplies to show Plum where you can find water in your neighborhood and the kinds of plants and animals that live in or near these water resources. Then tell Plum about how the people in your community use water–for instance, for fountains, swimming pools, or ice skating rinks. Be sure to tell Plum about how water helps make your world awesome!