Ask students to name bodies of water. Show them pictures of streams, rivers, springs, lakes, ponds and oceans. Ask them which they have seen or touched. Discuss the land that surrounds the bodies of water. Talk about beaches and the process of high and low tide. Show them some shells and talk about where they came from. Pass the shells around to give the students a chance to get some hands-on experience.
Ask the students if they think there is more land or water on the planet. Have them stand in a circle and toss an inflated globe back and forth. Each time they catch the ball, ask them to count how many of their fingers are touching land and how many are touching water. After the globe has been tossed around for several minutes, ask them again if there is more land or water on the Earth. Tell them that about 70 percent of the Earth is covered in water.
Ask the kids how many songs they know that make reference to land or water. Some examples may be "Over the River and Through the Woods," "America the Beautiful" and "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean." Talk about why people would write songs about land and water. Why is it important? Discuss why water is important to people and their way of life.
Ask students to name as many forms of transportation as they can. Write each on a piece of paper and give one to each student. Ask the students to form groups based on where their mode of transportation works. Have one group that is strictly land, one that is strictly water and one that is a combination. It's likely the land group will be larger than the other two. Ask the children why they think this is. Encourage critical thinking by asking them why there are fewer water-based modes when the Earth is mostly water.