--- title: Lessons for The Role of Water in Earth Surface Processes | K-8 Grade description: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes Disciplinary Core Ideas image: https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Right%20Image.png --- [![Teacher Login](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/347944/f56bee57-133e-4975-8055-799f1f23588b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/347944/f56bee57-133e-4975-8055-799f1f23588b) [Teacher Login](https://app.knowatom.com/signin) [![KnowAtom Logo](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/KnowAtom%20Logo.svg "KnowAtom Logo")](https://www.knowatom.com/) # The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes Disciplinary Core Ideas [![Download a Sample Unit](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/347944/20eee377-e175-48fe-a039-ae723137a2a6.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/347944/20eee377-e175-48fe-a039-ae723137a2a6) Science & Engineering Practices - [Asking questions and defining problems](https://www.knowatom.com/asking-questions-and-defining-problems) - [Developing and using models](https://www.knowatom.com/developing-and-using-models) - [Planning and carrying out investigations](https://www.knowatom.com/planning-and-carrying-out-investigations) - [Analyzing and interpreting data](https://www.knowatom.com/analyzing-and-interpreting-data) - [Constructing explanations and designing solutions](https://www.knowatom.com/constructing-explanations-and-designing-solutions) - [Engaging in argument from evidence](https://www.knowatom.com/engaging-in-argument-from-evidence) - [Obtaining evaluating and communicating information](https://www.knowatom.com/obtaining-evaluating-and-communicating-information) Disciplinary Core Ideas - [The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes](https://www.knowatom.com/the-roles-of-water-in-earth-surface-processes) - [Chemical Reactions](https://www.knowatom.com/chemical-reactions) Crosscutting Concepts - [Patterns](https://www.knowatom.com/patterns) - [Cause and Effect](https://www.knowatom.com/cause-and-effect) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/347944/b5a1446e-d782-4a5f-a019-0b3b98c8304f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/347944/b5a1446e-d782-4a5f-a019-0b3b98c8304f) ## Lessons for The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes Grade Ranges All K-2 3-5 6-8 [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image3-Oct-07-2023-10-32-25-3571-AM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/2nd-grade-science/water-flow) ## [Water Flow In this unit, students explore the phenomena of Earth landforms and the water cycle. Once students have modeled landforms and created maps showing the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water, students analyze how water moves over the land as it flows downhill because of gravity and cycles between solid and liquid depending on the amount of heat present. ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/2nd-grade-science/water-flow) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/2nd-grade-science/water-flow) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image4-Oct-07-2023-03-00-08-0564-PM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/4th-grade-science/earth-materials-and-water-flow) ## [Earth Materials and Water Flow In this unit, students focus on the science phenomena of Earth’s interacting systems, evaluating how the hydrosphere and geosphere are shaped by one another. In the first lesson of the unit, students conduct an experiment to determine how the particle size of an Earth material affects its permeability to water. This page highlights key excerpts from the components of this lesson. ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/4th-grade-science/earth-materials-and-water-flow) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/4th-grade-science/earth-materials-and-water-flow) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image1-Oct-07-2023-11-51-41-5726-AM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/3rd-grade-science/heat-and-evaporation) ## [Heat and Evaporation In the last unit, students learned about matter as they explored Earth’s position in the solar system. In this unit, students discuss how the sun provides light and heat to Earth, powering the water cycle, which in turn influences weather and climate. Students analyze the science phenomena of weather patterns in specific regions during a particular season. ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/3rd-grade-science/heat-and-evaporation) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/3rd-grade-science/heat-and-evaporation) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image1-Oct-09-2023-06-50-12-9288-AM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/8th-grade-science/sun-angle-and-temperature) ## [Sun Angle and Temperature In this unit, students analyze the phenomenon of our sun as the primary source of energy on Earth. In this lesson, students explore how the sun’s uneven heating of the planet drives weather phenomena and climate phenomena, which result from complex interactions within Earth’s systems. This page is an extract from parts of this lesson. ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/8th-grade-science/sun-angle-and-temperature) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/8th-grade-science/sun-angle-and-temperature) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image4-Oct-09-2023-06-50-09-1556-AM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/8th-grade-science/convection-and-weather) ## [Convection and Weather In this unit, students explore the phenomena of convection by discovering how heat is transferred from warmer locations to cooler locations, which is a major cause of weather and climate. This page is a high-level extract of a lesson. ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/8th-grade-science/convection-and-weather) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/8th-grade-science/convection-and-weather) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Grade/Screenshot%20(37).png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/glacier-motion) ## [Glacier Motion In this unit, students analyze the phenomena that have shaped Earth’s surface, analyzing how gravitational energy moves glaciers, which have sculpted the land over time. This page showcases elements of the first lesson which focuses on glacier motion.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/glacier-motion) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/glacier-motion) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Grade/Screenshot%20(38).png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/climate-analysis) ## [Climate Analysis In this unit, students focus on the phenomena of Earth’s ice as they model how glaciers shape Earth’s surface. In this lesson, they investigate how scientists use ice cores to reconstruct Earth’s past climates and environments. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/climate-analysis) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/climate-analysis) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Grade/Screenshot%20(59).png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/groundwater-flow) ## [Groundwater Flow In this unit, students explore the science phenomena of Earth systems as they interact. Students do this by discovering the importance of water for life on Earth. In this lesson, students figure out groundwater flow by exploring the porosity and permeability of different Earth materials. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/groundwater-flow) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/groundwater-flow) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Grade/Screenshot%20(58).png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/groundwater-contamination) ## [Groundwater Contamination In this unit, This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/groundwater-contamination) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/groundwater-contamination) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image4-Oct-08-2023-11-09-12-9810-AM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/5th-grade-science/earths-water) ## [Earth's Water In this unit, students analyze the phenomena of Earth’s interacting systems, focusing on how the hydrosphere interacts with and is influenced by the other systems. In this lesson, students graph and model the distribution of fresh water and salt water on Earth and use a physical model to analyze how fresh water moves and becomes salty. This page showcases each section of this lesson.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/5th-grade-science/earths-water) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/5th-grade-science/earths-water) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image1-Oct-08-2023-08-20-18-3788-PM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/the-water-cycle-and-earths-systems) ## [The Water Cycle and Earth's Systems In this unit, students explore the science phenomena of matter, energy, and heat transfer to explore weather and climate. In this lesson they investigate how the sun powers the global water cycle, which in turn has very local impacts that affect regional climates around the world. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/the-water-cycle-and-earths-systems) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/the-water-cycle-and-earths-systems) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image4-Oct-08-2023-08-20-13-1100-PM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/ocean-salinity-and-density) ## [Ocean Salinity and Density In this unit, students investigate the relationship between the water cycle, ocean salinity, weather, and climate. In this lesson, students explore ocean salinity and analyze how ocean density is related to its molecular structure. This page highlights key components of this lesson.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/ocean-salinity-and-density) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/ocean-salinity-and-density) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image3-Oct-08-2023-08-20-15-5924-PM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/earths-climate) ## [Earth’s Climate In this unit, students build on their scientific knowledge about matter, energy, and heat transfer to explore science phenomena related to weather and climate. They investigate how the sun powers the global water cycle, which in turn has very local impacts that affect the phenomena of regional climates around the world. This page showcases all the parts of this lesson. ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/earths-climate) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/earths-climate) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/image1-Oct-08-2023-08-40-05-8079-PM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/weathering-and-erosion) ## [Weathering and Erosion In this unit, students focus on the science phenomena of processes that change Earth’s surface over time. This lesson has students modeling how Earth’s landforms can be created and then broken down by weathering and erosion. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson. ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/weathering-and-erosion) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/6th-grade-science/weathering-and-erosion) [![](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Grade/image1-Nov-01-2023-08-25-18-2473-AM.png) ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/glacier-motion-ma) ## [Glacier Motion (MA) In this unit, students analyze the phenomena that have shaped Earth’s surface, analyzing how gravitational energy moves glaciers, which have sculpted the land over time. This page showcases elements of the first lesson which focuses on glacier motion.](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/glacier-motion-ma) [ VIEW LESSON ](https://www.knowatom.com/science-phenomena-videos/7th-grade-science/glacier-motion-ma) Standards citation: NGSS Lead States. 2013. *Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By State*s. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 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