Land is On the Move!

Land is On the Move! (A study of erosion following the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices, which this lesson will present in CAPS)

Materials: Sand/Clay mixture, plastic stream and flood cups (plastic cups with small and large holes in the bottom, respectively), water, stream tables, wooden rulers, digital cameras, science notebook.

Engagement: Following a study on rock types and the rock cycle, the teacher will present a slideshow of several examples of erosion on land (the Grand Canyon, the La Conchita land slide, etc.)
Students will individually write out analytic (open-ended) QUESTIONS they have about the images they see. Students will discuss questions with groups, then share out to the class.

Teacher will share materials and ask students to DESIGN A MODEL in their groups that may help answer their questions. (If students do not have experience in model design, the teacher may ask leading questions or offer tips to lead the students to designing a plausible erosion experiment. The model should be a landform or flat but tall mass of "land" at one end of the stream table, with video being taken and timed as stream cups pour water onto the land, then flood cups. The landforms will model typical results of water on land masses, i.e. meandering canyons and deltas)

Next, students PLAN AND CARRY OUT the investigation. Since the effects of water happen very quickly, flip cameras provide an opportunity for students to later examine frame by frame with time stamping to ANALYZE THE DATA. (At this grade level, students can notice major changes in their land forms and how long into the video the change took as well as the duration of the change to make assumptions about similar changes on larger scales in the real world. They will use MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL THINKING to record their results.)

Students will compare the results of the stream vs. flood to begin CONSTRUCTING EXPLANATIONS in their groups for the images seen at the beginning of the lesson.

Finally, the class will ENGAGE IN AN ARGUMENT FROM EVIDENCE about what caused the landform changes seen in the images. This may be done in written form, orally in a class discussion, in a web discussion or students may use their video and stills in a technology based presentation (such as Powerpoint or Prezi) to prove their case.

Extensions: Students can create structures to "survive" the floods as they experiment again with Legos or similar toys.
Students can research a particular effect of erosion more extensively and use outside sources to support their own conclusions.