Unit Plan 21 (Grade 5 Science): Properties of Water

Focus: Explore water’s unique properties and how they help shape landforms and support life in Earth’s systems. Students investigate water as a liquid, solid, and gas, its role in weathering/erosion, and how water availability and distribution affect living things.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Science (Earth & Space Science — Earth’s Systems)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students zoom in on water as a special substance that connects Earth’s geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. Through simple hands-on investigations and models, they observe how water can wear down rocks, move sediments, carve landforms, and provide habitats for living things. Students also connect back to previous learning about where Earth’s water is stored and why its distribution matters for ecosystems and people. By the end, they can explain how water’s properties make it a powerful force in shaping land and supporting life.

Essential Questions

• How do the properties of water (as a liquid, solid, and gas) help it shape Earth’s surface over time?
• In what ways does water connect the geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere?
• How does the distribution of water on Earth affect where plants, animals, and people can live and thrive?
• Why is water such an important resource for supporting life and Earth’s systems?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Describe key properties of water (liquid flow, freezing/expanding as ice, dissolving and carrying materials) and how these affect land and living things.
2. Develop or use a model to show how water moves between spheres (e.g., rain falling on land, rivers carrying sediment, water used by plants and animals).
3. Conduct simple investigations showing how water can weather rocks, erode soil, and deposit sediments, changing landforms over time.
4. Connect observations about water’s distribution (oceans, fresh water reservoirs) to where life is found and why access to water is important.
5. Create a Water Properties & Earth Systems Poster/Model that explains at least two ways water shapes land and two ways water supports life, using accurate vocabulary.

Standards Alignment — 5th Grade (NGSS-Aligned)

• 5-ESS2-1 — Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
• 5-ESS2-2 — Describe and graph the amounts and percentages of water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth. (Connection back to where water is stored and why that matters for life and land.)

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can describe at least two properties of water and explain how they help water change land (e.g., weathering, erosion).
• I can show with a model how water connects land, air, water, and living things (geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere).
• I can connect where water is stored on Earth to where plants and animals can live.
• I can create a poster or model that clearly explains how water shapes land and supports life, using key science words.