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Science lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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: iron in rock rusting? (physical weathering / chemical weathering / biological weathering) → chemical weatheringPrompt: Is it caused by temperature and ice, by a chemical reaction, or by living things?
  2. Which can carry rock fragments away (erosion)? (rivers, wind and glaciers / nothing moves rocks / only sunlight / only plants) → rivers, wind and glaciersPrompt: What moves sand and stones from place to place?
  3. Which happens quickly rather than over a long time? (a river valley widening / a landslide / a mountain wearing down / a canyon forming) → a landslidePrompt: Some changes to Earth take seconds; others take millions of years.

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 12 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: pebbles settling at the bottom of a lake? (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 weathering. Which one is NOT? (a boulder cracking after many hot days and cold nights / a glacier scraping rocks along / acid rain dissolving a limestone statue / tree roots growing into a rock) → a glacier scraping rocks alongPrompt: Is the rock being broken, carried, or dropped?

You do: independent practice · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 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. Which order shows how a beach can form from a cliff? (weathering → erosion → deposition / deposition → erosion → weathering / deposition → weathering → erosion / erosion → deposition → weathering) → weathering → erosion → depositionPrompt: First the rock must break, then move, then settle.

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?

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  1. Question 1

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

    • A. pebbles settling at the bottom of a lake
    • B. sand piling up into a dune
    • C. a river dropping mud at its mouth to make a delta
    • D. acid rain dissolving a limestone statue

  2. Question 2

    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. Cold makes the road melt.
    • D. Snow eats the road.

  3. Question 3

    Which process is this: a river carrying sand downstream?

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

  4. Question 4

    A river is fast in the mountains and slow near the sea. Where will it drop most of its mud?

    • A. near the sea, where it slows down
    • B. it never drops mud
    • C. in the clouds
    • D. in the mountains, where it is fast

  5. Question 5

    Which process is this: a boulder cracking after many hot days and cold nights?

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

  6. Question 6

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

    • A. tree roots growing into a rock
    • B. a boulder cracking after many hot days and cold nights
    • C. a glacier scraping rocks along
    • D. water freezing in a crack and splitting a rock

  7. Question 7

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

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

  8. Question 8

    Which process is this: acid rain dissolving a limestone statue?

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

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Answer key: Weathering, erosion or deposition?

  1. 1. D. acid rain dissolving a limestone statue

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

  3. 3. B. erosion (pieces are carried away)

  4. 4. A. near the sea, where it slows down

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

  6. 6. C. a glacier scraping rocks along

  7. 7. B. weathering

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