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Erosion and Deposition

Erosion and Deposition

TEKS Objective

The student is expected to observe and identify slow changes to Earth's surface caused by weathering, erosion, and deposition from water, wind, and ice.


Essential Understanding

The students know that Earth consists of useful resources and its surface is constantly changing.

Science Background

Erosion and Sedimentation: Water Encyclopedia (website) - Learn about the roles of ice, wind and water in the transport and deposition of geological materials.

Erosion and Sedimentation
Water Encyclopedia, www.waterencyclopedia.com

Signature Lesson

Erosion and Deposition: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Education Programs (website) - Students will: 1) observe and identify agents of erosion and deposition by examining the features formed and the processes that influenced their formation; and 2) construct a model that depicts human impact on the environment.

Erosion and Deposition
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Education Programs, education.gsfc.nasa.gov

Supporting Lessons

Washed Away: Alabama Learning Exchange (website) - Students learn about and research types of water erosion, and explore its relationship with deposition.

Washed Away
Alabama Learning Exchange, alex.state.al.us

Soil Erosion: Science Netlinks (webpage) - Explore and verify that soil erosion is affected by the soil’s makeup; use plant roots, rocks and the slope of the land as experimental factors.

Soil Erosion
Science NetLinks, www.sciencenetlinks.com

How Was the Grand Canyon Formed? National Geographic Expeditions (website) - Discover how the Grand Canyon was formed, and how the process of erosion enabled its rock layers to be deposited.

How Was the Grand Canyon Formed?
National Geographic Expeditions, www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions

Elaboration Lessons and Extensions

Weathering and Erosion: Illinois State Museum Geology Online (website) - Students complete stations around the classroom to learn about different types of weathering and erosion. (Use Part II, “Erosion Stations.”)

Weathering and Erosion
Illinois State Museum Geology Online, geologyonline.museum.state.il.us

Using a Stream Table to Investigate Erosion Control: Maine Geological Survey (website) - Investigate different methods of controlling water-induced topsoil erosion.

Using a Stream Table to Investigate Erosion Control
Maine Geological Survey, www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/mgs.htm

Assessment Ideas

Provide photographs of various landforms (valley, plateau, mesa, plains, river delta, etc.), and have students identify/describe the processes responsible for the formation of each.

Journal Writing: Create a systems diagram showing the processes responsible for the formation of each landform discussed in the activity above. The diagram should include the impact of humans (biosphere connection).

Literature Connections

Erosion. Riley, Joelle (ISBN-10: 0822566192)

America’s National Parks: The Spectacular Forces That Shaped Our Treasured Lands. Michels, Dia and Levy, Nathan (ISBN: 0 7894 8016 6)

In Search of The Grand Canyon: Down The Colorado River with John Wesley Powell. Fraser, Mary Ann (ISBN: 0-805-05543-6)

Mammoth Cave National Park. Graf, Mike (ISBN: 0-736-82221-6)

Mountains. Collier, Michael (ISBN: 9781931414180)

Valleys. Webster, Christine (ISBN: 0-736-83716-7)

What Makes The Grand Canyon Grand? The World's Most Awe-inspiring Natural Wonders. Christian, Spencer and Felix, Antonia (ISBN: 0-471-19617-7)

Paddle-to-the-sea. Clancy, Holling (ISBN: 0-395-29203-4)

Where the River Begins. Locker, Thomas (ISBN: 0-140-54595-6)

Related Science TEKS

(4.7A) Physical Properties of Soils
The student is expected to examine properties of soils, including color and texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support the growth of plants.

(4.7C) Natural Resources
The student is expected to identify and classify Earth's renewable resources, including air, plants, water, and animals; and nonrenewable resources, including coal, oil, and natural gas; and the importance of conservation.

Related Math TEKS

4.11A  The student is expected to estimate and use measurement tools to determine length (including perimeter), area, capacity and weight/mass using standard units SI (metric) and customary.

4.16A  The student is expected to make generalizations from patterns or sets of examples and nonexamples.

Additional Resources

An Introduction to Erosion: KidsGeo.com (website) - Descriptions and photos of the different forms of weathering and erosion.

An Introduction to Erosion
Kidsgeo.com

Teaching Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition: Marcia’s Science Teaching Ideas (website) - Great ideas for teaching weathering, erosion, and deposition, including vocabulary, worksheets and games.

Teaching Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition
by Marcia J Krech, Marcia’s Science Teaching Ideas, mjksciteachingideas.com

Examine a Landscape Formed by Erosion: Exploring Earth (website) - Photos illustrating the effects of erosion in different geographic areas in the US.

Examine a Landscape Formed by Erosion
Exploring Earth, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, www.classzone.com

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