1. Landforms and Bodies of Water
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This PP goes with the GPM lesson plan entitled “Landforms and Bodies of Water” which you can find at (insert url when online)

2. Today we will work on these guiding questions:
What are the names and descriptions of landforms that are found on Earth’s surface?
What are the names and descriptions of bodies of water that are found on Earth’s surface?
This image is referred to as “The Blue Marble” - You can learn more about this image at

3. What are some landforms and bodies of water that you can think of?
Engage
What are some landforms and bodies of water that you can think of?
Ask the students to participate in a pre-assessment activity. Don’t give them answers for this part, and ask them to just say what they know so they can compare and contrast what they know now with what they learn today.

4. Let’s go for a walk… and look for landforms and bodies of water
Engage
Let’s go for a walk…
and look for landforms and bodies of water
around our school-
Take the students around your school yard looking for examples of landforms. This will not be time where you are asking your students to provide specific labels to landforms but to observe their environment and describe its features.

5. Let’s go for a virtual walk…
Engage
Let’s go for a virtual walk…
and look for landforms and bodies of water:
Downtown Library (some hills), Life Sciences Building (more hills), Roof of Brooks Hall (hills, river). Also GoogleEarth is a great option if you have access to it. Use the street view and you can go on a virtual walk.

6. What do you see? What do you notice? Explore
Now you will take a look at a larger area. Show the students a world map. Be sure to help students understand that a map is a type of model.
Ask:
What do you see?
What do you notice?
During this conversation it is important that you discuss:
the map shows land and water
there is more water then land covering the earth  
Your students may begin to notice some specific landforms that they recognize from previous experiences such as: mountains, plains, islands, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Help them to take note of these familiar features by drawing attention to them in the map.
What do you see?
What do you notice?

7. Let’s gather some information about landforms and bodies of water!
Explore
Let’s gather some information about landforms and bodies of water!
First read the articles
found at
Then view the slide show
found at
Class Notes
Tell the students that they will be taking a closer look at different landforms and bodies of water. Share with the students that you will be taking notes about what you read to help you identify and describe different bodies of water and landforms.
First read the articles found on:
Then read the slide show found on:
As you chart the notes from the information you have read be sure to name each landform and body of water and a short description of each item. Then reread the chart to the class after you have collected all the information.

8. Let’s play a game! Explain
Next you will have your students practice using the information they learned by playing a game. Give each student a picture of a landform or body of water or a clue that describes a landform or body of water. Tell the students they will walk around the room looking to find their match. Once they have found their match they will sit together. Then you will come to check their work. Once everyone has found their match they will go around the room and share our each landform and their corresponding description.

9. I see a _________. I know because __________.
Evaluate
Tell the students that they will take some time to think about what they learned today. Show the students this painting. Ask the students to take a few moments to look carefully at that painting and identify as many landforms as they can. They will write a list of each landform they can identify. Then look for the person who was able to identify the most landforms to share out. We will compare the landforms we identified and discuss how we were able to identify that landform based on its characteristic. Provide the students with the sentence stem. “I see a _________. I know because __________.”
Art print from
I see a _________. I know because __________.

10. I see a _________. I know because __________.
Evaluate
Tell the students that they will take some time to think about what they learned today. Show the students this painting. Ask the students to take a few moments to look carefully at that painting and identify as many landforms as they can. They will write a list of each landform they can identify. Then look for the person who was able to identify the most landforms to share out. We will compare the landforms we identified and discuss how we were able to identify that landform based on its characteristic. Provide the students with the sentence stem. “I see a _________. I know because __________.”
Art print from
I see a _________. I know because __________.

11. Evaluate
Here is the student capture sheet. You may want to let some students share in and write their responses on this slide, if time permits.

12. Extend
One way students could further explore the idea of landforms and bodies of water would be to conduct research on common landforms and bodies of water in their neighborhood, county, state or region.
One way to involve families in this experience would be to ask the students to go home and interview their families about major landforms or bodies of water they have visited and why. For example, maybe a family has visited on of the islands of Hawaii or gone hiking on the Rocky Mountains  .
Additionally, students could create an art project depicting one of the landforms or bodies of water studied. For example, a college of a river or a pastel of a mountain range.