Laura Czarniecki June 8 2008 Foss Science Lesson from Landforms Lesson Title Erosion Caused by Rivers and Streams Grade Level Fifth Related Standards Science GLE 1 3 4 Know processes that change the surface of Earth Describe how weathering and erosion change the surface of the Earth Background This lesson is day one of a three day investigation of the stream tables On day two the lesson focuses on deposition and day three examines stream flow Learning Objective Given an investigation of a stream table student will be able to identify different landform features created by a model stream and compare and contrast these land features with the Grand Canyon in writing Materials Procedures Total 60 minutes Phase 1 Introduction to Stream Table Model 10 minutes Teacher describes the purpose of creating a stream table Yesterday in science we made models of the schoolyard Scientists use models to help them investigate and understand really large really tiny or really complex systems Today you are going to become earth scientists You will investigate a model of a world famous landform Display the poster of the Grand Canyon provided in the Foss kit Raise your hand if you have been to this spot Do you know the name of it Can you guess how deep the canyon is Up to 2 kilometers in some places Many people are curious about how it was formed Point out the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon This canyon won t fit into our classroom so we will use stream tables as models Creating and analyzing a stream table is a multiple abilities task Who can think of some of the abilities necessary to complete this lab Answer key constructing model following instructions interpreting a 2 D diagram into a 3 D model predicting making a guess about what might happen collecting data observational skills inferring drawing conclusions about the data analytical thinking etc List the abilities that the students mention on the board add any that are not listed by the students but that you think are important to the task Many of you have strengths in more than one of the abilities but none of you are strong in all of these abilities However within your group you will have people with strengths in all of these abilities Do not forget to remind your group of the cooperative norms that we have established around science lab investigations These are posted on the wall Phase 2 Exploration 25 minutes The students will consult a chart to determine which role they will play during the group creation and investigation of the stream table Use rotating roles throughout the science unit to ensure that everyone has a chance to participate in a different capacity For this project they will need a facilitator a timekeeper a materials getter and a recorder These are familiar roles for the students and their duties are posted on the wall for reference You may now move into your science investigation groups and the materials person can come and get all the materials that you need Place all of the materials for each group in separate piles so it is easy for each materials person to retrieve The set up of the stream table is crucial to the success of this project Please refer to the diagram and the model that I have set up in the middle of the classroom to help you set up yours Your whole group needs to agree that everything is set up correctly before moving on to the exploration Use the set up guidelines outlined in detail in the Foss kit to create a hand out for the students and to construction your own model for them to look at Once all of the stream tables have been completed direct them in conducting the experiment Now that everyone is set up for the experiment I would like each group to fill their liter container with water Make a prediction as a group about what might happen as you pour this one liter through the standard hole container that sits at the beginning of your stream table Have the recorder write it down on your group paper You may now remove the duct tape in the holes of the table and retrieve your water Remember that you will only be running one liter of water through the system and that once the water starts flowing do not touch the tray or shake the desks A standard container is balanced at the earth end of the basin on a ruler and the edge of the basin The students allow a liter of water to run through the stream table by pouring water from the one liter container into the standard container They allow the stream to completely run its course and record information about the changes they see in the land Phase 3 Term Introduction 15 minutes Pass out the Landform identification sheet to each group Now that you have recorded all the careful observations about what you see happening to your model as the water runs through it I m going to pass out this diagram that explains some of the changes and you are seeing It also provides the names of the different landforms that geologists use to describe these changes in the surface of the earth Spend some time looking at the diagram and trying to figure out which types of landforms are represented in your stream table Draw a picture of your model and label the different landforms that your group discovered Give students some time to record their ideas Ask them to compare and contrast the landforms they discovered to the large poster of the Grand Canyon by writing the following questions on the board How are your stream tables like the picture of the Grand Canyon What happened to the earth material that once filled the area that is now the canyon I would like each individual student to write the answers to these questions in their science journal I will be collecting these at the end of the lesson After they have had a chance to write introduce the term erosion In each of your stream table models the water cut canyons into the earth material This process where water wears the earth away is called erosion The creation of canyons by streams and rivers is one example of erosion This concept will be further applied in the next two days as concepts around stream flow and deposition are examined Phase 4 Clean up and Debrief 10 minutes Instruct the students in how to clean up and store their stream table materials so that they are ready to be used in additional experiments Ask the students to answer the following metacognitive questions in their science journal What did you learn today How is this connected to the work we did yesterday How could you learn more about what we
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