The students will need the following items to create the playdough Earth:
- Blue Playdough
- Green Playdough
- Toothpick
- Newspaper
- Globe- for reference
Use the instructions below to have the students create the Playdough model Earth:
- Lay newspaper on the desks to protect the Playdough from sticking to the desk.
- Open a blue container of playdough. Use the whole container to sculpt the playdough into a sphere. This can be accomplished by rolling the playdough between the palm of the hand and the desk.
- Tell the students that the Earth mostly consists of water. This is the reason for using the blue playdough first, it represents the bodies of water. Ask them to tell what color the land is represented as on the globe. Use the globe as a reference, if necessary.
- Review the seven continents with the students. Ask students to list the names, Australia, Asia, Antarctica, North and South Americas, Africa, and Europe.
- Review the four bodies of water with the students. They are, Arctic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean. Let the students recall them.
- Show the students the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere on the globe.
- Have the students flatten the green playdough and form the shapes of each continent with the help of the toothpick. Next, they gently press each continent in it's proper place in the Western or Eastern Hemisphere.
- Set the globes aside to dry. The drying time for playdough is twenty four hours.
- Last, the students use the toothpick to etch the name of each of the continents and the four oceans onto the playdough in their respective places. If there is not enough room, then the students can abbreviate.
- Decorate the classroom with the playdough globes for about a week or two and then let the students take them home.
