STAGING

If you floated down a river, where would you end up?

Mapping: Mountains & Rivers
4.8 (25188 reviews)
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
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DISCUSS:

Why do you think a river flows?

Come up with some ideas!

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DISCUSS: Here’s a map showing real rivers in North America. Do the starting points of the rivers have anything in common? What about where they end?

River Map

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Slide Image
Slide Image

forest


1 of 16

a place with lots of trees
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pond


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an area of still water, larger than a puddle, but smaller than a lake
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lake


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a large area of water with land all around it
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ocean


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a large area of salt water that covers the Earth
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river


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a long, thin area of water that flows

flow


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to move along
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float


7 of 16

to rest on top of water without sinking
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stream


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a small river
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map


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a picture that shows the features of a place and where those features are
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pattern


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something that happens again and again and again in a way that can be predicted
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plains


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large areas of flat land with few trees
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hill


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a high area of land that isn't as tall as a mountain
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mountain


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a high area of land with steep sides
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rain


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water drops that fall from clouds
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model


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a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with
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experiment


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a test used to discover new information about a question

Image & Video Credits

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Exploration
forest by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Aleksey Stemmer
baby owl by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Watthano
deer by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Pierre Watson
frog by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Jay Connors
tadpoles by Aquarium and Terrarium Life
stream by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Maksym Darakchi
kid holding bottle by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: spwidoff
bottle floating by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Fotohunt
bottle floating down a river by LittleBigVoice
water bottle by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: janonkas
ocean by iknowcaleb
tubing on American River by Beyond Limits Adventures
barge by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Lacokozyna
wind in tree by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Meryll
flowing river by Doug Von Gausig
clear stream by Don Bendickson
kid floating in water by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: MaszaS
plains by Richard Webb
hills by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: chaivit chana
mountains by Jon Sullivan
Activity
mountain - aerial view by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: gagarych
spray bottle by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Africa Studio
Credits
If you floated down a river, where would you end up?
Mapping: Mountains & Rivers
4.8 (25188 reviews)
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students develop a model of the earth’s surface and use it to discover an important principle about how rivers work. In the activity, Paper Mountains, students take turns using a spray bottle to make rain fall on paper models of mountains to observe patterns of how water and rivers flow.
Preview activity

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Student slideshow: English | Spanish

Teacher printout: English & Spanish
What you’ll need for student
Crumple Mountain Base printout 1 per pair
Blank Paper (8.5 x 11")
Recycled is fine as long as one side is blank.
2 sheets per pair
Markers
Ideally dark blue or dark green. Choose a color that looks like water.
1 marker per pair
Table Covering (eg. Trash Bags)
2 bags per group
Dot Stickers
We prefer stickers because they are easier to distribute in a classroom. Tape also works.
4 stickers per pair
Spray Bottles
1 bottle per group
Prep Instructions

We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work alone.

Students will need to cover their workspaces with plastic trash bags or table covers. Alternatively, students can work outside when they are spraying their paper mountains with water.

If students want to keep their models, be sure to give the models time to dry.

Standards

Jump to

Exploration

16 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Wrap-Up

4 mins

Extend this lesson

Unit Reading

Unit Reading

Bodies of Water

In this reading, students learn about different bodies of water, including puddles, ponds, rivers, and oceans.

Online resource

Online resource

Exploring Rivers

Streamer, a website created by the US Geological Survey, lets you explore rivers all over the United States.

  • Click on Go To Map, then type your location in the search box on the upper right.
  • Find a nearby river. To see where that river starts, choose Trace Upstream (at the top of the screen), then click on the river.
  • To see where the river ends, choose Trace Downstream (at the top of the screen), then click on the river.
  • For a surprise, search for the Mississippi River and trace it upstream and downstream. The Mississippi is the biggest river in the United States!

Activities

Activities

  • See Investigating Water from the Florida Museum of Natural History for activities and resources on the properties of water

  • Things to notice: Where does water flow?
    Next time it rains, look for puddles. Why are puddles in some places, but not in others? What do you think is different about the places where there are puddles?

    Look at this hillside. Can you see anything that tells you where water has flowed? riversonbernal

Transcripts

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline:
Credits
 
Water Lesson 2: If you floated down a river, where would you end up?

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