Home Geography for Primary Grades · Lesson XXV · Unit 6: Maps and forms of land and water
25. Lakes, ponds, inlets, outlets and islands
Goal: Your child knows a lake, a pond, an inlet, an outlet, a shore and an island, and builds them in sand and water.
You'll need
- The sand tray, with a small pitcher of water
- A few pebbles or a small stone for an island
- A visit to a pond or lake if possible
- A geography notebook (any notebook kept just for these lessons) and a pencil
What's in the book
The lesson asks about a nearby pond, explains that a hollow in the land filled with water is a lake (or a small one, a pond), shows a picture of a lake in a valley with its inlet and outlet, describes an island and Robinson Crusoe finding he was on one, and asks the child to make a lake and island in sand and copy three sentences.
The lesson, step by step
A pond near us
Ask the book's questions: Is there a pond near where you live? Did you ever fish in it or walk round it? If you can, visit one with an adult.
What is a lake?
Read:
A hollow in the land filled with water is called a lake, or, if it be quite small, a pond.
Ask: If someone had never seen a lake, how would you explain it to them?
Inlet and outlet
Look at the picture of the lake in the valley. Find the river flowing in (the inlet) and the river flowing out (the outlet).
Build it
Follow the book:
Make a lake on your molding-board, or in the sand near your home. Represent its inlet and outlet.
In the sand tray, scoop a hollow, cut a channel in from the top and one out at the bottom, and slowly pour water into the inlet. Watch the lake fill and spill out of the outlet.
An island
Read about the island, and about Robinson Crusoe climbing the hill. Put a stone or a mound of sand in your lake.
Ask: How did Robinson Crusoe know he was on an island? (He saw water on every side.)
Map it
The book asks the child to draw a map of the river and lake in its picture. Your child draws the lake, noticing how the shore bends in and out, with inlet, outlet and island.
Write
Your child copies the book's sentences:
A lake is water surrounded by land.
An island is a little piece of land surrounded by water.
Afterwards
After the next rain, look for puddle "lakes" with stone "islands" outside.
Tip
Near ponds and lakes, an adult stays close at all times. Even shallow water can be dangerous for children.
Answers to the book's problems
A lake is a hollow in the land filled with water; a small one is a pond. Land is all round it, and the land near the water is its shore. A river that brings water into a lake is its inlet; the one that lets water out is its outlet. An island is a piece of land with water on every side. Robinson Crusoe knew he was on an island because from the hilltop he saw water all round. To make an island in a brook or lake, pile up stones or sand until they stick up above the water.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.