Instructional Unit: Erosion

April 25, 2005

By Mark Burton, Wendy Bradford, Mary Mauro and Jodi Hulst

  1. Subject/Topic/Grade Level: Science/Erosion/4th & 5th
  • Statement of Topic: This unit will focus on the natural effects of erosion and how it impacts the Earth and human life.
  • General Description of Unit: This unit will begin with an introduction on the topic of erosion. Lessons on glacial, wind, water, sediment movement and conclude with a review over the entire unit.
  • Content: The content of this unit will focus on the three major agents of erosion: glacier, wind and water. This unit will also demonstrate how other factors impact erosion such as sediment, gravity, vegetation and humans.
  • Student Description: This unit is to be presented to 4th and 5th grade students. The class size is approximately 10-15 students. All students are from home school backgrounds.
  • Allotted Time for Unit: 8 thirty minute lessons.
  • Other: Preparation for activities need to be preplanned in advanced.
  1. Rationale/Purpose: This unit is a hands-on approach to teach students about the amazing and ever-changing world they live in through a self-discovery approach of activities. This unit focuses on the natural process of the wearing down of the Earth’s surface known as erosion. This unit introduces the three major agents of erosion: glacial, wind and water. Each lesson is designed to teach students how our world is constantly changing, how different surface feature of the Earth are formed and how we play a major part in this process.
  1. Identification of Goals/Objectives:
  • General Goals:

TLW understand the cause/effects of erosion.

TLW identify the three major agents of erosion.

TLW relate the natural process of erosion to their everyday life.

  • State Standards-

Benchmarks: MCF.I.1ee.1; V.1ee.1, 2 & 3.

  • Major Objectives: (7-15)
  • TLW explain how objects move.
  • TLW analyze and describe in detail a given picture.
  • TLW formulate a definition of erosion.
  • TLW examine the many forces and factors that influence erosion.
  • TLW identify features caused by glacier erosion.
  • TLW create a model of a mountain landscape and demonstrate glacial erosion using an ice cube and identify erosion features.
  • TLW explain what water erosion is.
  • TLW identify terms associated with water and stream erosion.
  • TLW demonstrate how water and stream erosion happens.
  • TLW identify types of waves that come ashore.
  • TLW explain destructive forces of waves and currents.
  • TLW identify words such as unidirectional wind, leeward-side and windward-side through class discussion.
  • TLW explain factors associated with wind erosion and how sand dunes forms.
  • TLW brainstorm ways to prevent wind erosion on farmland and in groups be able to come up with some ideas.
  • TLW be able to answer questions in a crossword about wind erosion.
  • TLW identify variables that influence rates of change.
  • TLW, through group consensus and using the assigned materials, design and build what they believe to be the strongest mountain possible.
  • TLW be able to answer the review questions about the material covered in the erosion unit.
  1. Unit Map/Plan
  • An introduction to the overall concept of erosion is necessary to give an overall view of the upcoming unit that is planned. We will introduce what erosion is first to give students a general knowledge about erosion and then stating the three major agents. The preceding lessons will then go into more specific areas of erosion; glacier, wind, water (this will not have to be taught in any specific order as long as the three agents are explained). Subtopics such as gravity and vegetation need to be introduced first due to their involvement in all areas of erosion. Next, but not necessary in this order, weathering, deposition, displacement, and soil types are aspects that are taught in detail along with the agents of erosion.
  • Outline of Daily Lessons:

Day 1: Introduction of Erosion

Day 2: Glacial Erosion

Day 3: Sand Dunes

Day 4: Wind Erosion/Agricultural

Day 5: Stream Erosion

Day 6: Wave Erosion

Day 7: MountainBuilding

Day 8: Erosion Review/Assessment

  1. Instructional Strategies and Materials: See individual lesson plans.
  2. Assessment Strategies:

UNIT RUBRIC

LEVEL THREE/Mastery / LEVEL TWO/Adequate / LEVEL ONE/Minimal Understanding
1)Detailed pictures
2)Active participation in class discussion and review game. Makes strong connections taught material to their participation.
3)Able to fill in,on their own, 90% of correct answers
4)Detailed model and labeling
5)Able to identify features of erosion with proper terminology
6)Excellent skills in cooperative learning and generating new ideas / 1) Basic drawings of observation
2) Moderate involvement in class discussion and group work. Limited connection to topic
3) Able to fill in, on their own, 70% of correct answers
4) Moderate ability to create model and labels
5) Able to identify features of erosion but lack proper terminology
6) Reasonable participation in cooperative learning with limited ideas / 1) Drawings didn’t indicate any type of erosion
2) Limited to no involvement in class discussion and group work. No connection to topic
3) 69% or below correct answers
4) Inability to create model containing little detail and labels
5) Unable to identify features of erosion and lack of any correct terminology
6) Little or no participation in cooperative learning, irrelevant outbursts with no relevance to topic. Doesn’t give and ideas to group work
  • Formative Assessment
  • Hand-Out of Fill-In-The-Blank Questions (10%)
  • Crossword Puzzle Handout (10%)
  • A Question Test Based on Oral Presentations (20%)
  • Informative Assessment
  1. Lab worksheets: The Before and After Worksheets (10%)
  2. Review Game (20%)
  3. Class Discussion and Charting (5%)
  4. Creating and Labeling Models (20%)
  5. Teacher Observation and Question and Answers (5%)

Wendy Bradford

4-23-05

EDU 450

Introduction to Erosion

  1. Subject/Topic/Grade Level: Science/Observation Skills and Erosion/4th & 5th
  1. Rationale/Purpose: This lesson is an introductory of the concept of erosion. Students should become aware of the significance of how erosion impacts changes in the surface of the Earth. Students need to be aware that the Earth is constantly being altered due to the process of erosion. Students need to recognize that these subtle changes can have major implication on human life.
  1. Objectives: TLW explain how objects move.

TLW analyze and describe in detail a given picture (showing

erosion).

TLW formulate a definition of erosion.

TLW examine the many forces and factors that influence erosion.

  • Benchmarks: MCF.V.1, 2 & 3
  1. Content:
  2. Key Terms-
  3. Sediment- weathered materials
  4. Deposit- put down
  5. Transport- move material
  6. Weathering- materials that are physically altered due to outdoor conditions
  7. Gravity- attraction of bodies towards the center of the Earth
  8. Vegetation- plant life
  • Questions-
  • What is erosion?
  • What are the three agents of erosion?
  • How does erosion affect us?
  • How does erosion affect the Earth?
  • Skills- observation, describing, personal impact of nature and communication.
  1. Strategies and Activities:
  2. Explore- Each group will be given a large picture of outdoor scenery. The children will be told to work in groups to come up with a descriptive paragraph describing their picture. After an allotted time, the students will share their descriptions. As on person from each group reads their description the rest of the class will close their eyes and try to imagine what the picture looks like. Each group will read their description and the class has an image in their mind the group will reveal their picture for comparison. At the end of the activity the teacher will explain that part of being a scientist is to be able to record great detail when investigating things so other can understand their findings. This is a key part of being a good scientist.
  3. Engage- The teacher will call for a volunteer. The teacher will ask the student to pick up a book and move it to a different spot. The teacher will call on another volunteer to pick up another item and move it. The teacher will ask the students what happened; what did they see? The teacher will write student’s observations on the board. The teacher will highlight key terms such as carry, pick up and set down ore move an object. The teacher will explain that this demonstration is similar to how the process of erosion happens in nature.
  4. Explain-The teacher will define erosion as the wearing down of the Earth’s surface by the natural process of sediment being picked up, carried away and being deposited in another place. Erosion is the constant recycling of Earth materials that create surface features on the Earth. The forces that cause erosion are glacier, wind and water. Other important factors contributing to the gravity, soil consistency, weathering, humans and vegetation.
  5. Elaborate- The teacher will explain that it is important to remember that erosion can happen suddenly, which causes major natural disaster like flooding, mudslides and other events that get onto the news. But erosion mainly happens very slowly and very gradually. We usually don’t even recognize the effects of erosion for a long period of time. An example of this slow process includes the Grand Canyon, the wearing down of mountains, making paths in the woods, the shifting and cracking of roads and houses and many other events that take very long periods of time to actually see any difference. Over thousands of years mountains and hills have been worn down and rivers have widened their valleys into broad plains. If you look at a door mat. The sand and stones that have been tracked there demonstrated the process of erosion.
  1. Materials:
  2. Large pictures of outdoor sceneries
  3. Stack of books to use as an example
  4. Paper and pencils
  1. Plan for Individual Differences: To accommodate for many different learning styles the teacher will use visual aids to help teach the subject, give many real life examples so students can relate the information, allow for group discussions and brainstorming, write key concepts on the board in a orderly manner and provide students with numerous resources to further their investigation and understanding on the topic of erosion.
  1. Evaluation: The teacher will lead a discussion in the advantages and disadvantages of erosion. The teacher will create a chart labeled with the above headings and students will give examples for each and the teacher will write them in the appropriate columns. The class will discuss the examples as to why we find them important to each aspect of erosion.
  1. Lesson Critique: After doing this lesson I noticed that students need work on using descriptive words to describe pictures. One possibility that would advance students’ skill could involve writing descriptive stories during a Language Arts activity prior to this lesson.

Wendy Bradford

4-23-05

EDU 450

Glacier Erosion

  1. Subject/Topic/Grade Level: Science/Glacier Erosion/4th & 5th
  1. Rationale/Purpose: This lesson is designed to teach students about the natural process of glacial erosion and how it shapes our Earth. Glacial erosion is not as often recognized due to the limited locations of natural glaciers. Glacial erosion is a gradual process that can have a significant impact on the Earth’s surface and on human lives. This lesson is designed to give students a hands-on activity that actually shows the power of glacial erosion on a much smaller scale.
  1. Objectives: TLW identify feature caused by glacial erosion.

TLW create a model of a mountain landscape and demonstrate

glacial erosion using an ice cube and identify erosion features.

  • Benchmarks: MCF.V.1,2 & 3
  1. Content:
  2. Key Terms-
  3. Drift (moraine)-pile left by melted glacier.
  4. Valleys- U-shaped depressions carved by glaciers
  5. Central Points-
  6. Glaciers are only found in the coldest regions of the earth, such as the north and south poles and very high up in the mountains.
  7. Glaciers are gigantic masses of ice that flow slowly across the land. They can be several miles long and 300 to 10,000 feet thick. The movement of a glacier along its path is very slow, usually less than a foot each day.
  8. Glaciers begin to form when more snow falls in the winter than melts in the summer. Over time, this excess of snow builds up into thick layers. The snow crystals on the very bottom are crushed together to form sheets of ice. The ice becomes so thick that it moves under the pressure of its own weight. Gravity causes glaciers to flow down slope.
  9. Even though the glacier is very rigid, ice crystals on the bottom shift and slide over one another causing the huge mass to move. The friction on the bottom causes the ice to melt and refreeze along with soil under the glacier.
  10. Glacial erosion occurs when moving ice drags rocks along its base, grinds down rock into a smooth surface.
  • Questions-

1. Why are we not so familiar with glacial erosion?

2. What is a glacier?

  1. How does it move?
  2. What features does glacial erosion create?
  • Skills- Observation, using descriptive words, communication, creating models
  1. Strategies and Activities:
  • Engage- The teacher will ask the class to tell them what they know about glaciers and glacial erosion. The teacher will write students’ responses on the board. The teacher will ask why we don’t know a lot about glaciers. Do we have a lot of glaciers around us?
  • Explore- The teacher will hand out paper plates and large pieces of clay to each student. The teacher will instruct students create a model of a landscape of a mountain and a flatter land below. The teacher will show an example. The student will be given time to create a landscape on their plate. The teacher will hand out a before and after worksheet for students to draw what their clay model looks like before glacial erosion and after glacial erosion. The teacher will encourage students to label different features of their models. The teacher will then give each student an ice cube to represent a glacier. The teacher will tell students to move their glacier down the mountain using good amount of pressure because glaciers are very heavy. After they do this the will draw a new picture of what happened on the after erosion section of their worksheets. Students should be encouraged to make their drawings detailed and label them if possible.
  • Explain- The teacher will ask students to share their findings. The teacher will write student’s responses on the board (make a chart of before and after).
  • Elaborate- The teacher will give the scientific names to glacial erosion features and will expound on students’ knowledge to further explain with detail as to how these features are formed.
  1. Materials: (one per student)
  2. Large pieces of clay (handful size)
  3. Paper plates
  4. Ice cubes
  5. Agent Erosion worksheets/ pencil
  1. Plans for Individual Differences: To meet the needs of students’ differing learning styles, this lesson uses hands-on modeling and demonstrations for students that are more kinesthetic or visual learners, recording and drawing for learners who are more logistical and class discussions to help students learn about glacial erosion through communication and critical thinking skills.
  1. Evaluation: Students will be graded on their ability to label different features caused by glacial erosion. Students will make flags out of toothpicks and paper and write major features glacial erosion formed. The teacher will evaluate based on accuracy and explanation.
  1. Lesson Critique: After completing a similar lesson using smaller portions of ice and clay, I realized it may be advantageous to use the larger portions for the students. Larger models may give students a better look at more details and more features caused by glacial erosion.

Mary Mauro

First Lesson Plan

Subject/Topic:

Wind Erosion

Rationale/Purpose:

This lesson’s main purpose is to introduce students to the concept of wind erosion. The students will learn about the formation of sand dunes and with that information they will be able to construct from this lesson a correlation to wind erosion and sand dune formation. They will explore different amounts of wind on sand piles and different directions of the wind and see how this affects our environment.

The MCF benchmarks used for this lesson are;

Strand 1, content standard 1, benchmark 1

Strand 5, content standard 1, benchmark 3

Objectives:

TLW be able to identify the words, unidirectional winds, leeward side and windward side through a class discussion.

TLW be able to explain factors associated with wind that causes the formation of sand dunes.

Content:

KEYWORDS:

Sand DunesErosion

Leeward SideWindward Side

GravityUnidirectional Winds