How Much of Earth's Water Is Fresh? Read the Graph

Fill a jug with 100 spoons of water, then pull out 3 to show the fresh water and 2 of those to show the frozen part. Ask your child to point to the bar that matches each amount.

Read a bar graph of Earth's water, 97 parts ocean, 2 ice and 1 liquid fresh, and tell how to save it. Fresh water is water that is not salty. The directions on the page read: Read the passage and the bar chart. Then, turn the page and answer the questions. On page 2: Circle the letter of the best answer for questions 1 to 3, and write the answers to questions 4 to 6 on the lines. The answer key covers the questions on page 2.

Yes, both. We made it for 5th Grade Earth systems, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with water on Earth. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Very little. If all of Earth's water were split into 100 parts, about 97 would be salty ocean water, about 2 would be frozen in ice sheets and glaciers, and only about 1 would be liquid fresh water.

Most of it is hidden underground, in the spaces between rocks and soil. Only a tiny bit is in lakes, rivers and swamps. Tap water usually comes from a river, a lake or a well.

It is too salty to drink or to water most crops. That is why fresh water is an important resource, and fixing leaks and taking shorter showers help save it.

Yes. Both water on Earth sheets have an answer key, with sample answers for the questions children answer in their own words.

2 printable worksheets, all free to preview. Downloads are included with a ClassWeekly free trial, and every page prints on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

These are written for 5th Grade students, roughly ages 10-11. Many teachers also use them a grade up for review or a grade down as an extension, so use the preview to judge the fit for a particular child.

Yes. Each one shows the NGSS code it covers on its own page, so you can check the alignment yourself rather than taking our word for it.