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Science lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 30 minutes

Weathering, erosion or deposition?

Earth and rocks

CCSS NGSS.4-ESS2-1England: KS2 Y3 RocksEngland: KS3 Chemistry: Earth and atmosphere (rock cycle)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Weathering, erosion or deposition?.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Weathering and erosion

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Rock samples, Hand lenses, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Weathering and erosion). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which type of weathering is this: rabbits burrowing into soft rock? (physical weathering / chemical weathering / biological weathering) → biological weatheringPrompt: Is it caused by temperature and ice, by a chemical reaction, or by living things?
  2. Which can carry rock fragments away (erosion)? (only sunlight / rivers, wind and glaciers / nothing moves rocks / only plants) → rivers, wind and glaciersPrompt: What moves sand and stones from place to place?
  3. Which type of weathering is this: tree roots growing into cracks? (physical weathering / chemical weathering / biological weathering) → biological weatheringPrompt: Is it caused by temperature and ice, by a chemical reaction, or by living things?

Hook · 3 min

  • Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
  • Share the objective: Weathering, erosion or deposition?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which process is this: tree roots growing into a rock?
  • Step 1: Weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces where it is.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: weathering (rock breaks down in place)
  • Answer: weathering (rock breaks down in place)
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which process is this: sand piling up into a dune? (weathering (rock breaks down in place) / erosion (pieces are carried away) / deposition (pieces are dropped)) → deposition (pieces are dropped)Prompt: Breaking, moving or dropping?
  2. Three of these are examples of erosion. Which one is NOT? (waves dragging pebbles off a beach / a glacier scraping rocks along / a river carrying sand downstream / acid rain dissolving a limestone statue) → acid rain dissolving a limestone statuePrompt: Is the rock being broken, carried, or dropped?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which process is this: sand piling up into a dune? (weathering (rock breaks down in place) / erosion (pieces are carried away) / deposition (pieces are dropped)) → deposition (pieces are dropped)Prompt: Breaking, moving or dropping?
  2. Lichen and moss growing on a gravestone slowly roughen its surface. Which process is this? (melting / deposition / erosion / weathering) → weatheringPrompt: Is the rock being carried away, or broken where it is?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Weathering and erosion.
  • Use concrete materials: rock samples.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Weathering, erosion or deposition?

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Which process is this: tree roots growing into a rock?

    • A. weathering (rock breaks down in place)
    • B. erosion (pieces are carried away)
    • C. deposition (pieces are dropped)

  2. Question 2

    Three of these are examples of erosion. Which one is NOT?

    • A. acid rain dissolving a limestone statue
    • B. a river carrying sand downstream
    • C. a glacier scraping rocks along
    • D. waves dragging pebbles off a beach

  3. Question 3

    Why do roads get more potholes after a cold winter?

    • A. Cars are heavier in winter.
    • B. Water seeps into cracks, freezes, expands and breaks the surface.
    • C. Snow eats the road.
    • D. Cold makes the road melt.

  4. Question 4

    Which process is this: water freezing in a crack and splitting a rock?

    • A. weathering (rock breaks down in place)
    • B. erosion (pieces are carried away)
    • C. deposition (pieces are dropped)

  5. Question 5

    Lichen and moss growing on a gravestone slowly roughen its surface. Which process is this?

    • A. deposition
    • B. melting
    • C. erosion
    • D. weathering

  6. Question 6

    Three of these are examples of deposition. Which one is NOT?

    • A. sand piling up into a dune
    • B. a river dropping mud at its mouth to make a delta
    • C. a glacier scraping rocks along
    • D. pebbles settling at the bottom of a lake

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Answer key: Weathering, erosion or deposition?

  1. 1. A. weathering (rock breaks down in place)

  2. 2. A. acid rain dissolving a limestone statue

  3. 3. B. Water seeps into cracks, freezes, expands and breaks the surface.

  4. 4. A. weathering (rock breaks down in place)

  5. 5. D. weathering

  6. 6. C. a glacier scraping rocks along