Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

Lesson Plan Outline

Introduction

• Erosion

• Length of Lesson (40 minutes) part 1 of a 2 part lesson

VA Standards of Learning: Earth Patterns, Cycles and Change 5.7 and 5.1

• VA SOL 5.1

• The student will plan and conduct investigations in which data are collected, recorded,

and reported using the appropriate graphical representation (graphs, charts, diagrams);

predictions are made using patterns, and simple graphical data are extrapolated;

manipulated and responding variables are identified; and an understanding of the nature

of science is developed and reinforced.

• VA SOL 5.7

• The student will investigate and understand how the Earth’s surface is constantly

changing through erosion. (e)

Learning Objectives

Students will…

• Define erosion

• Locate forms of erosion around school and home

• Describe how erosion happens

• Identify causes of erosion

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

Teaching and Learning Sequence

Introduction/Anticipatory Set

• Show Ss video of news clip.

• After they watch the video ask them what it was about. It is possible that they will have

difficulty understanding the accent and vocabulary. (this is not a problem as the main

objective in using the video is to show that erosion is impacting people’s lives and is a

current issue.)

• Discuss with Ss the impacts this would have on a community.

• Tell Ss now we will take a closer look at how soil erosion happens.

• Show Ss a potted plant. Ask Ss why we keep plants in a pot. They might say things such

as: the pots are pretty, so you don’t have to put it in the ground, so you can move it

around, to protect the plant, etc.

• Remove the plant from the pot. (Do this carefully so that the soil and roots stay intact.)

• Ask Ss what would happen if I left the plant like this? Give them a few seconds to think

about it before accepting answers.

• Ss will begin giving answers such as: dirt will fall off, it won’t stay together, etc.

• Tell Ss this is called erosion. There are three types of erosion that we will learn about this

week. Today we will discuss one of the three types.

Lesson Development

• Ask 2 Ss to pass out the Lab sheet

• Erosion is the process of the constant change of the Earth’s surface. The Earth’s surface is

being constantly worn away.

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

• Have Ss fill in the definition of erosion on their lab sheet.

• What are some things that cause the Earth’s surface to change? Give Ss time to think

and guide them if they need help. For example: what things in nature cause the

Earth’s surface to change?…

• Water is a type of erosion that we see at work around us each time it rains. Can

someone explain how water breaks down the soil?

• Have several students describe how water can break down the soil causing erosion.

• Water causes the soil to wash away. The water loosens the soil and rocks and as the

water moves it forces the soil and rocks to move with it.

• How does gravity aid in erosion?

• Wind is another form of erosion. Can someone give an example of how wind

changes the surface of the earth? This may be more difficult for Ss to imagine so you

can give them hints if they need it.

• Sand Dunes are formed in part by wind erosion. The wind blows the sand and it

forms dunes.

• Ice Erosion

o Ice can erode rocks by freezing and thawing them which causes them to

breakdown over time.

o Glaciers are HUGE pieces of ice that don’t melt during the year. They are

formed by compacted snow. Glaciers cause erosion by knocking off rocks

from the surfaces of the things it passes.

• In the next lesson we will talk more about wind and ice erosion.

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

• Show Ss pictures from the computer of examples of types of erosion. (Water run off,

sand storms forming dunes, aftermath of flooding, glaciers, erosion caused by water

freezing and thawing, etc) Ask students to make observations and write down some

of the things they see in the pictures. They can make their notes on the back of their

lab sheet.

• Tell Ss that today we are going to explore water erosion.

• Divide students into groups of four or five students per group.

• Group 1

o Given pan with a plant that has been removed from it’s pot but with the soil

and roots still intact. They also will have a small watering can filled with

water.

• Group 2

o Given a pan with a plant that is semi-planted. (the plant should be planted

with soil semi-packed but only taking up half of the pan.) The pan will be

slightly raised on the side that has the soil. Students will be given a filled

watering can.

• Group 3

o Same as group 2 but there will be varying sized stones placed in the soil

• Group 4

o Same as group 2 but with additional plants in the soil.

• Group 5

o Give this group 3 small pans of packed soil and a filled watering can.

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

 Each pan should be positioned at different levels of inclination.

• 1 should be flat, 1 slightly inclined and 1 slightly more of an

incline.

• Group members should work together and form a hypothesis of what will happen

when they pour the water. Teacher should go around making sure their hypotheses

are well developed. Ss should write their final hypothesis on their lab sheet before

continuing with the experiment.

• Once each group as formed their hypothesis and had it “approved” by the teacher

they should carefully begin to pour the water over the plant. (the group without a

plant will pour their water over the inclined portion of the pan)

• Ss need to make observations of what is happening. Where is the water going? They

should make as many observations as they can and write them on their lab sheet.

• After making observations they should re-visit their hypothesis and discuss why they

were correct or incorrect. They should write the reasons on their lab sheet.

• After all groups are finished they should come back together and discuss their

experiments with the class.

• This is a teacher led discussion. Go around and ask groups about their hypothesis,

observations and conclusions. Give other students opportunities to question the group

about their experiment. After a brief discussion and sharing of their hypotheses,

observations, and conclusions Ss can take a few minutes to visit the other stations

and see what happened.

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

• Before sending Ss to look at the other experiments explain their homework

assignment. They should take some notes about the experiment they chose to

compare so it will be easier to write their paragraph.

• Homework: Ss must choose one other demonstration and compare it to their own.

They need to write a paragraph explaining the differences between the 2 examples.

Closure

• Take the last 5 minutes of class to clean up the experiments (don’t throw them out

because the next day they will need to re-visit them as a review-unless there are

several days between lessons in which case you may need to throw them out and use

a discussion based review rather than a visual review)

• Exit activity: Tell students to open their eyes to look around them when they are on

the playground and playing in their neighborhood for signs of erosion. Tell Ss that the

next class we will talk more about erosion, so they should be thinking about how the

Earth’s surface is changing around them, today and tomorrow…

Homework

• Ss will write a paragraph comparing the experiment they performed and an experiment

performed by another group. (This is not meant to be a research paper, just an activity to

get them thinking about how erosion works and how objects quicken or slow the process,

ex: rocks, incline…)

Assessment

Describe and provide examples of how the evaluation of students' learning will be accomplished.

Remember that assessment(s) must be directly related to the lesson objectives.

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

• Formative – Describe how you will monitor student progress and understanding during

the lesson.

o Group participation-I will observe students involvement in answering questions

from the teacher and group interaction.

o Examples provided by students: this will give me the opportunity to evaluate if Ss

understand the basic concept of erosion and the effects it has on the earth

o Ss explanation of their group experiment will enable me to assess their

understanding of how water affects soil. I will also pay close attention to the types

of connections they make between what they thought would happen and what

actually happened.

o Ss will walk around and make observations of the other experiments. Observing

the comments they make and the connections they make between their own

experiment and others will give me further insight into the level of understanding

they have acquired.

Summative –

• Define erosion- During the introduction to the lesson I will find out what their prior

knowledge of erosion is and be able to then build up that knowledge. The homework

assignments will give allow me to assess how well Ss understanding of erosion and I will

be able to assess their working knowledge of the definition of erosion.

• Locate forms of erosion around school and home: This is an ongoing assessment that will

begin during this first lesson and continue into the next lesson.

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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Susie Hilton

Integrated Curriculum Methods

• Describe how erosion happens: I will assess this objective while they are performing the

experiments through listening to their discussion and review their observation notes. This

will also be assessed during the sharing and discussion time.

• Identify causes of erosion: This will be assessed through discussion and their homework

assignment. This is only an initial assessment as this objective will be fully met at the end

of the second lesson after Ss have spent more time exploring each form of erosion.

References:

Cavanaugh, A. Identifying Erosion. Retrieved October 3, 2009 from A to Z Teacher Stuff site:

http://atozteacherstuff.com/pages/298.shtml

Environment News 27. Conservationists give up in battle against coastal erosion. Retrieved

April 4, 2010 from Daily Motion:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6kgjh_environment-news-27_news

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.”
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