Written for NGSS 5-ESS2-1, this 3-page 5th grade worksheet sets out the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere with a one-line definition for each. Students name the main sphere in four pictures. They then read three scenarios and name the two spheres at work in each: a volcano spewing ash into the air, a river carving a canyon through rock, and an oak tree taking in carbon dioxide.
5-ESS2-1
“Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.”
The three Sphere Interactions scenarios: geosphere and atmosphere in the volcano, hydrosphere and geosphere in the canyon, and biosphere and atmosphere in the oak tree.
Short definitions describe each sphere, from all the solid rock, soil, and minerals to all living things. In Activity 1, students write the main sphere under each of four pictures.
Students write which two spheres interact when a volcano erupts, when a fast river carves a canyon over millions of years, and when an oak tree absorbs carbon dioxide to make its food.
First day of the unit
Use Meet the Four Spheres as the opening page. The definitions are short enough to read aloud and paste into science notebooks.
Think-pair-share
Give each pair one scenario and have them sketch an arrow between the two spheres. The canyon takes longest, since the change happens over millions of years.
Extension
After question 3, ask students to write a fourth scenario for a pair the page leaves out, such as the hydrosphere and the biosphere.
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