How to teach Earth's spheres

Why this matters

A student who watches a volcano erupt can name the lava and stop there, without noticing that the same eruption filled the air with ash, clouded the river and buried the plants. On a worksheet, an answer that lists only the rocks looks finished, and the teacher has to wait for quiz day to find out.

The four spheres of Earth

• The geosphere is the rocks and minerals on Earth, from the molten rock deep inside the planet to the sand on beaches.
• The hydrosphere is all the water on Earth's surface, including the ocean and fresh water.
• The atmosphere is the mixture of gases that surrounds the planet.
• The biosphere is all life on Earth.

Scientists study the spheres as one system with interlocking parts, so a change in one sphere causes changes in the others. Some sources also count Earth's ice as a fifth sphere, the cryosphere (UCAR Center for Science Education).

In the Flint activity, students run a volcano, a wildfire or a big storm in a simulator that plays each event in four stages and shows a meter for each sphere. Students tell Sparky which spheres the event changed. When a student names only the rocks, Sparky points them to something in the simulator, like the sky above the volcano, without naming the missing sphere. Once a student finds all four, Sparky asks how a change in one sphere caused a change in another.

Diego's volcano and storm

Diego is an elementary student who loves dinosaurs. He knows volcanoes make lava, but he has never heard the words geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere or biosphere.

Every student in the class gets the same simulator and the same questions: which spheres did the event change, how could one change cause another, and what happens in a second event. The simulator has three events (a volcano, a wildfire and a big storm), plays each one in four stages and shows a meter for each sphere. Sparky's next message depends on what that student just answered.

Sparky uses Diego's interestSparky answers what Diego just said

D

Diego

Interest: DinosaursStarting point: Knows volcanoes make lava

Sparky

Hi! Today you'll set off a big event on Earth and watch what it changes. Which one do you want to try first: a volcano, a wildfire or a big storm?

Diego

volcano!! i love dinosaurs so i want to see a volcano like when the dinosaurs were alive

Sparky

Dinosaurs definitely knew some epic volcanoes. Go ahead and press Play on the volcano in the simulator, then tell me what you see happening!

Diego

the lava came out and covered the ground so the rocks changed. thats it i think

Sparky

Good start, the ground definitely changed! That's the geosphere (all the land and rock on Earth). But look up at the sky in the simulator when the volcano erupts. What do you notice happening above the volcano?

Diego

a big gray cloud came out and the sun got dark. so the air changed too

Sparky

Exactly right! That ash cloud changed the atmosphere, all the air around Earth. Now look at the land around the volcano. Do you see any water? What's happening to it?

Diego

the river turned gray from the ash. and the plants got covered up and the deer and bunny were in danger

Sparky

The river changing is the hydrosphere (all of Earth's water), and the plants and animals are the biosphere (all living things). You found all four spheres! Now here's a harder question: how could ash that fell from the sky end up helping plants grow years later?

Diego

maybe the ash blocks the sun so the plants dont get too hot?

Sparky

Interesting idea! But think about what ash actually is: tiny bits of rock and minerals from deep inside the Earth. What happens to ash after it falls and sits on the ground for a long time?

Diego

it mixes into the dirt? so the dirt has more minerals and the plants can eat them. in years after the plants grew back

Sparky

Yes, that's it! Ash breaks down into the soil and adds nutrients. Now try a second event in the simulator. Which sphere changed the most in the volcano, and which changed the most in your new event?

Diego

i did the big storm. the river got way bigger and flooded. so water changed the most in the storm. in the volcano the air changed the most because of the ash cloud

Sparky

Really solid thinking!

Understanding check

Can you describe one way a change in one sphere caused a change in another, using something you actually saw in the simulator?

Diego

the rain came from the clouds in the air and it made the river flood. so the atmosphere changed the hydrosphere. and then the bunny had less land

Sparky

That's a great connection: atmosphere to hydrosphere to biosphere, all in one chain!

Named only the rocks, found all four spheres after one hint, then compared a storm

Diego is an example student, and his chat is shortened.

What Flint did for Diego

• Sparky built the simulator when the activity was set up, so every student opens the same volcano, wildfire and storm, with a meter for each sphere.
• When Diego said only the rocks changed, Sparky asked what happened above the volcano and didn't name the missing spheres.
• Sparky explained each sphere in words Diego knew the first time it came up, like "the geosphere (all the land and rock on Earth)".
• Once Diego found all four spheres, Sparky asked how ash from the sky could help plants grow years later, and gave a hint when his first guess missed.
• Sparky had Diego run a storm and compare it with the volcano, then ended on a check question.

A teacher can't do this by hand for 30 students at once. Sparky does it in every student's chat.

The activity page shows who stopped at one sphere

Needs attention tells the teacher which student is stuck while the class is still working, with the message that showed it. Diego fixed his answer after one hint, so he isn't on it. After three students submit, activity analytics lists what the class got and what to practice next.

Set up the activity for free

The volcano activity is in Flint's public library, with the simulator, Sparky's guidelines, the greeting and a grading rubric already written. Open it, select Use activity to copy it into a free Flint account, and assign it to a class. Select Try session myself to run a session yourself before you assign it.

For more science activities, see Flint for science.