Name: Amy Chandler
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Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2002
Time: 11:40:36 PM

Earth vs. Erosion

Earth and Space Science-Erosion

No matter where you look, the land you see is a battleground. On one side of the battle are the forces beneath the surface. These forces cause the crust to be faulted, folded, tilted, and lifted. On the other side of the battle are the natural processes of weathering and erosion. Once rock has been broken up by weathering, the small pieces can be moved by water, ice, wind, or gravity. Everything that happens to cause rocks to be carried away is called erosion.

The following activities will demonstrate to students various types of erosion. The purpose of these activities is to increase students’ awareness to the point where they can make intelligent decisions on proper land use.

1-4

National Science Content Standards: -Science as Inquiry-Content Standard A As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop -Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry -Understanding about scientific inquiry -Earth and Space Science-Content Standard D As a result of their activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of -Properties of earth materials -Objects in the sky -Changes in earth and sky Alabama Course of Study: -Science Process and Application K-4 1. Identify questions that can e answered through scientific investigations 2. Use appropriate tools and technology resources to gather, analyze, and interpret data. 3. Demonstrate the ability to perform safe and appropriate manipulator of materials, living organisms, scientific equipment, and technology. 4. Use appropriate skills to design and conduct a scientific investigation -Acquiring, processing, and interpreting data -Discussing cause and effect (dependent and independent variables) in experiments. -Experimenting -Analyzing Investigations -Formulating models -Observing -Communicating -Collaborating 5. Thinking critically and logically to make inferences and describe relationships between evidence and explanations -Earth and Space Science: Grade 1 20. Identify components of the Earth’s features in local community 21. Relate events in daily life to aspects of weather patterns -Earth and Space Science: Grade 2 26. Differentiate among the properties of soil 30. Describe features of the Earth 33. Recognize the impact of weather -Drought -Flood -Structural damage -Earth and Space Science: Grade 3 34. Recognize positive and negative aspects of weather 35. Recognize effects of weather -Erosion -Changes to man-made objects -Natural disasters -Earth and Space Science: Grade 4 31. Identify processes that require time for changes to be noticeable 33. Identify geologic features of the Earth 34. Describe change to the Earth’s surface caused by natural and man-made forces. -Natural -Man-made

Objectives: Students will be able to: 1. Identify the different types of erosion. 2. Identify the effect of ice on land. 3. Identify the effect of wind on land. 4. Identify the effect if water on landforms.

Primary Question: What effect does erosion have on the Earth’s surface? Secondary Questions: How do sand dunes form? How does the weight of water affect the earth? How does the movement of glaciers cause erosion? Why do hills and mountains that seem very solid in dry weather develop major landslides after prolonged rains?

Erosion

Math: estimation, measuring, time

1. Before class set up materials needed for the activity that day. 2. Discuss and define erosion and how it affects the Earth’s surface. 3. Tell the students that they are going to be scientist and examine first hand the affects of erosion on the Earth’s surface. 4. Divide the class into groups and have each group go to a different station/activity area. 5. Instruct each group to complete the activity and rotate to other center/activity areas.

Activities:

1. Sand Dunes: How do sand dunes form? Place sad in a pile and blow gently from one side. Observe what happens. What happens when you blow on the sand? Could you make the whole pile move if you blew it long enough? 2. Windblown Deposits: Collect the following: newspapers, dry sand in jar with lid, box lid, spoon, water, paper, and pencil. Place the box lid on the center of the paper. Remove the lid from the sand and place it inside the box lid near the center. Blow gently on the sand; increase the strength of your breath until sand is being thrown from the lid. Continue blowing for 5 to 10 seconds at this rate. Examine the material in the paper by rubbing your finger over it. Do the same to the material trapped in the box lid. Which is finer? Why? 3. Water Weight Erosion: How does the weight of water affect the earth? Find a spot of bare dry earth. Pour a cupful of water on it. Repeat on the same spot, but this time hold the cup from as high a distance as possible. Observe, how did the earth change when you poured your first cupful of water? How did it change when you poured the second cupful from a greater height? Can you relate this to changes caused by the weight of water in various places around the earth?

4. Glaciers and Erosion: How does the movement of glaciers cause erosion? Take a 12 inch square pieces of aluminum foil and form it into a box shape with edges about 2 inches high. Fill with water to form a large ice block. Put it in a freezer overnight. Remove the block. Rub over some clay. What did the block of ice feel like? What happened when you rubbed the block of ice with clay? How can you relate this to glaciers?

5. Glacial Erosion: Collect the following materials: ice cube, sand (about 1 spoonful), modeling clay, paper towel, pencil, and paper. Press the ice cube lightly on the flat surface of the modeling clay. Move it back and forth several times. Does anything happen to the clay? To the ice? Place a small pile on the surface of the clay. Place the ice cube over the sand on the clay. Let it sit for about one minute. Pick up the ice cube and look at the surface that had been on the sand. Describe what you see. Place the ice cube back in the same position and move the ice back and forth on the sandy surface of the clay a few times. Remove the ice cube and gently wipe the excess sand off the clay when it was rubbed by the sand and ice. How would this compare with the surface of the land when rock and other materials are dragged over it by a glacier?

6. Landslides: Why do hills and mountains that seem very solid in dry weather develop major landslides after prolonged rains? Build a sand castle. After you have it shaped firmly, pour some water on it. Pour the water slowly and gently. Keep pouring until the sand can absorb no more water. What happened at first? What happened finally? How can you compare this to rainfall and mountains?

Sand, newspaper, dry sand in jar with lid, box lid, spoon, water paper, pencil, cup, 12 inch square of aluminum-foil, clay, ice cube, paper towel

Ask students to write down observations. Evaluate participation.

Modified after Dorothy Stetsko’s lesson plan on Erosion http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/aci/cecsci/cecsci003.html

-Go to Dr. Risner’s homepage: <http:www2.una.edu/GRisner> Click on “Dr. Risner’s Favorite Links” scroll down to web sites featuring . . . Lesson plans and Teacher Resources, click on http://sitesfor teachers.com/ click on “LessonPlanz.comlessonplanssearch”, click on “Science”, click on “OFCN’s (Organization For Community Networks) Academy Curricular Exchange” Click on “The Academy of Science Curriculum Exchange K-5” and then click on “mini-lesson on soil erosion” -Or from AOL.com type in “OFCN”, and Scroll down and click on “OFCN-Academy Curricular Exchange” and click on “The Academy of Science Curriculum Exchange-Elementary K-5” and then click on “mini-lesson on soil erosion”

Encyclopedia subject related reference 1. Wildernet; Great Sand Dunes National Park http://www.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?area name=Great%20sandsand %Dunes20National%20monument

2. How do the Sand Dunes Move? http://www.nps.gov/whsa/dunes.htm

3. Erosion http://encyclopedia.com/articles/04201.html

4. Glaciers http://encyclopedia.com/article/05126.html

Have students wear safety goggles to avoid getting sand in their eyes. Also instruct students to stand behind the person blowing the sand, to ensure eye protection. Other safety considerations,include norrmal expected classroom behavior: no "horse-play" especially during the activies.

I like these activities because they allow students simulate the effects of erosion in a very realistic way. The students are dealing with real materials that they are familiar with and have seen naturally in the environment. However, because the activities are so involved, I would limit one activity per day for retention purposes. Some of the activities also require advanced preparation and arrangements. For example, activity four requires a large ice cube. The teacher needs to make sure that he or she has made accommodations at school to keep the ice frozen until the science lesson that day. Other activities require the students to go outside; therefore, the teacher will have to work around the weather or either bring the dry dirt into the classroom, perhaps in a plastic child’s swimming pool.