Lesson Plan: The Hydrosphere
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to describe what makes up Earth’s hydrosphere and explain how it interacts with the geosphere and atmosphere.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- identify the hydrosphere as one of the four major systems making up Earth,
- define the hydrosphere,
- describe the proportion of the hydrosphere that is made up of freshwater and saltwater,
- identify and describe ways that the hydrosphere and atmosphere interact, including influencing precipitation and hurricane formation,
- identify and describe ways that the hydrosphere can cause changes to Earth’s surface including weathering, erosion, deposition, floods, and glaciers,
- define the terms floodplain and alluvial fan.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- weathering, erosion, and deposition,
- landforms,
- states of matter,
- types of weather.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- the water cycle,
- details of the geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere.
