Eleven questions across four sections build a picture of where Earth's water sits, matched to NGSS 5-ESS2-2. Students start with the 3% fresh and 97% salt split and read a bar graph of glaciers, groundwater, and lakes and rivers. A table then shows lakes at 87%, swamps at 11%, and rivers at 2% of surface fresh water. The last section fills 100 imaginary buckets. This 5-page 5th grade worksheet ends with an answer key and a model answer on why usable fresh water is scarce.
5-ESS2-2
“Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.”
Questions 4 to 8 read and describe graph and table data on the reservoirs, and question 10 turns the amounts into 100 buckets of salt and fresh water.
Three questions on the fresh and salt water split, including a multiple-choice item on how many of 100 gallons would be salt water.
Students read a bar graph to find where most fresh water is, compare groundwater with lakes and rivers, and rank the three reservoirs by size. Question 7 asks why glacier water is hard to drink.
A table of usable surface water lists lakes at 87%, swamps at 11%, and rivers at 2%. Students pick the tallest bar and answer a true-or-false item on rivers and lakes.
Question 10 sorts 100 buckets into salt water, frozen fresh water, and liquid fresh water. Question 11 asks for evidence from the page on why usable fresh water is so scarce on the Blue Planet.
Hands-on model
Before Section 4, lay out 100 paper squares and move 97 to one side as salt water. Question 10 makes more sense once students have seen how little is left.
Graphing practice
Have students draw the bar graph that question 8 only describes, using the lakes, swamps, and rivers table. The 2% bar for rivers starts a good talk about scale.
Short written answer
Question 11 works as an evidence paragraph. The model answer in the key steps from 97% salt water to the small share in lakes and rivers, so it can act as your rubric.
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