Curated OER
Wonderful Waves - Ocean Waves and Erosion
Students examine how waves are generated by wind, create a model that uses wind to create waves and conduct an experiment that demonstrates the effect that waves have on the coastline.
Curated OER
Best Management Practices for Water Quality
Fourth graders examine best management practices for water quality. In this water quality instructional activity, 4th graders explore unused land to identify areas of runoff, erosion, and effects of water flow. Students discuss logging...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Showing the Difference between Erosion and Weathering
Learners explore the concepts of weathering and erosion. After viewing pictures of both erosion and weathering, students work in pairs to conduct an experiment with sugar cubes, water, sand, and a straw. They write their predictions and...
Curated OER
Beach Erosion Investigation
Students determine the effects of gentle and strong waves on beach erosion. They use a stream table to simulate a beach and sketch the beach profile after simulated waves of different sizes.
Curated OER
Losing Ground
Students examine the Dust Bowl and the effects of farming practices in the early 20th century. They read a handout, and conduct and discuss two experiments simulating soil erosion.
Curated OER
Breaking it Down
High schoolers will identify the factors that contribute to erosion and weathering. They will start by differentiating between chemical and mechanical weathering. They then apply what they learned by playing the online jeopardy game. Key...
Curated OER
Water Pollution Experiments
Fifth graders conduct experiments in simulated water pollution using a box of items to hold "pollutants"and an aquarium, representing a waterway. They observe how "rain" from a watering can poured into the box washes the pollutants into...
Curated OER
Let It Rain
Young scholars study the effects of water erosion on soil by gathering and analyzing data during an experiment. They decide on appropriate units of measurement to apply in problem solving.
Curated OER
Ecological Impact of Wood Extraction
Students explore their local environment by conducting a class experiment. In this deforestation lesson plan, students discuss the effects of wood harvesting on forests around the world and research environment related vocabulary terms....
Curated OER
Structure of the Earth
Sixth graders investigate earthquakes and volcanoes. They demonstrate fault lines with a folded piece of paper, conduct an erosion experiment, and construct a volcano using clay, baking soda and vinegar.
Curated OER
To Protect Your Streams, Protect Your Mountains
Young scholars build and experiment with a watershed to understand the effects of pollution. In this movement of water lesson, students work in groups creating rock formations and change the viscosity of the liquids falling down the...
Curated OER
Erosion
Fifth graders study what erosion is, what causes it, and ways to slow its progress. They complete an experiment that depicts soil moving down a slope as water is poured on it to show how moving water erodes land. Next, they observe...
Center Science Education
Model a Moving Glacier
Glaciologists in your class make models of glaciers to simulate how they move down a valley, and then they use it to test any aspect of glacier movement. Not only is this a vivid visual of how these monsters of ice flow, but it is also...
Curated OER
Forest as a Filter
Students experiment using soil and water. In this forest as a filter lesson, students identify the role of forest cover, vegetation, and foliage impacts erosion and evaporation. Students conduct a simple experiment, form a hypothesis,...
Curated OER
Weathering Rocks
Fourth graders investigate what natural events cause rocks to break apart and differentiate between erosion and weathering. They conduct an experiment with plaster of paris to observe why some rocks are hard and others break, and...
Curated OER
Weathering
Second graders explore weathering and how the water cycle plays a part in weathering. In this weathering instructional activity, 2nd graders put gravel and sugar cubes in a jar and shake, simulating weathering. Students use the...
Curated OER
Junior Engineering Surface Water
Students experience the effects of pollution and erosion on a model of a watershed and explore ways to change the outcome.
Discovery Education
Weathering Cubes
Weathering is not necessarily a result of the weather. Scholars conduct an experiment to explore the effect of surface area and volume on the weathering process. They create their own sugar cube rocks using the same number of cubes—but...
Curated OER
Erosion: Slip Sliding Away
Fourth graders investigate the causes of erosion. Through several demonstrations including one using sugar cubes and warm water, they observe the effects of erosion. In groups, 4th graders conduct similar experiments and record their...
Curated OER
Soils, Water and Erosion
Young scholars participate in a hands-on experiment to compare how water and soil erosion affect soil and grass. They determine how slope affects erosion and how terracing affects erosion. They write a paragraph summarizing their data.
Curated OER
Investigating Erosion in an Outdoor Classroom
First graders observe the effects of erosion. They work in groups to simulate erosion in a streambed, participate in class discussion, read books about fossils and rocks and then go on a fossil hunt.
Curated OER
Environment: Water Flow
Students brainstorm the ways that water flows when it falls to the ground. After discussing three things water can do, they investigate and predict water movement outdoors on school grounds. They experiment ways to alter the water flow...
Curated OER
Soil Erosion Demonstrations
Students conduct experiments demonstrating soil erosion and the benefits of conservation practices. Working in groups, they use topsoil and sand in shallow boxes as models to examine the effects of water on soil and sand with and without...
Curated OER
Acid Attack
Students explore the effect of chemical erosion on statues and monuments. They use chalk to see what happens when limestone is placed in liquids with different pH values. They also discover several things that engineers are doing to...