Sandpaper Globe (Land and Water)

Presentation

1
Invite one child. Carry the globe with both hands, one on the base and one on the arm, and set it on the table.
2
Say: 'This is a globe. It is a model of the earth, our home.' Slowly turn it so the child sees it is round.
3
Warm your fingertips by rubbing them together (as with the sensorial tablets). With two fingers, lightly trace a large land area and say 'rough'.
4
Trace an ocean area with two fingers and say 'smooth'.
5
Name them: 'The rough part is land. The smooth part is water.' Invite the child to feel both.
6
Give a three-period lesson: 'Show me land. Show me water.' Then point: 'What is this?'
7
Point out that there is more water than land by turning the globe slowly and feeling the smooth areas.
8
Show the child how to carry the globe back to the shelf with two hands.

Feel the jar of sand and the jar of water, then find 'land' and 'water' on the globe again
Sort picture cards of land scenes and water scenes onto two mats
Play 'I am on land' and 'I am on water' while touching the globe with eyes closed
Make a land-and-water collage: sandpaper or brown paper for land, blue paper for water

The textures themselves: land is always rough and water is always smooth, so the child can check by touch.

Keep the globe at child height on the shelf. If a child picks at the sandpaper, redirect to two-finger tracing and model it again.

Sandpaper globe (land covered with sandpaper, water painted smooth blue)
Small mat or table
Tray with a small jar of sand and a small jar of water (optional first comparison)

globeearthlandwaterroughsmoothround

Nothing — this can be a first presentation.

Your state’s standards for this work show here for school accounts.