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Weathering

Weathering

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

Weathering and Erosion: Mr. SciGuy (website) - Great photos and illustrations summarize different processes of weathering and erosion.

Weathering and Erosion
Mr. SciGuy, www.mrsciguy.com

Weathering: Geography4Kids (website) – Mechanical and chemical weathering processes are explained in easy-to-understand ways.

Weathering
by Andrew Rader, Geography4kids.com

Signature Lesson

Weathering: Utah Education Network (website) - Students observe and identify four types of weathering processes: wind, running water, plant growth, and freezing water.

Weathering
Utah Education Network, www.uen.org

Supporting Lessons

Weathering and Erosion Splashdown: Utah Education Network (website) - The hands-on activities in this lesson demonstrate how plants and their roots help to slow the erosion process.

Weathering and Erosion Splashdown
Utah Education Network, www.uen.org

Weathering and Erosion: Utah Education Network (website) - A variety of activities in which students explore how weathering and erosion change Earth’s surface.

Weathering and Erosion
Utah Education Network, www.uen.org

Do Rocks Last Forever? Kids GeoZone (website) - Four classroom experiments that illustrate the effects of mechanical and chemical weathering.

Do Rocks Last Forever?
Kids GeoZone, State of California Department of Conservation, www.consrv.ca.gov

Elaboration Lessons and Extensions

Weathering Landforms: Utah Education Network (website) - Students create and color plaster landforms to learn about weathering.

Weathering Landforms
Utah Education Network, www.uen.org

How Do Chemicals, Streams and Ice Weather Rocks? Linda Riordan (website) - Scroll down the page to these three mini-units on weathering and erosion.

How Do Chemicals, Streams and Ice Weather Rocks?
by Linda Riordan, userpages.bright.net/~double/trans.htm

Assessment Ideas

Weathering Walk: Marcia’s Science Teaching Ideas (website) - Scroll down the page and use the activity worksheet to guide students on a walk around the school, where they will seek out and observe different types of mechanical and chemical weathering.

Weathering Walk
by MJ Krech, Marcia’s Science Teaching Ideas, mjksciteachingideas.com

Literature Connections

Weathering and Erosion: Wearing Down Rocks. Hoffman, Steven (ISBN-10: 1448827116)

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

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

Additional Resources

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 MJ Krech, Marcia’s Science Teaching Ideas, mjksciteachingideas.com

Observe the Chemical Weathering of Feldspar to Clay: Exploring Earth (video) - Video animation that shows the weathering of feldspar into powdered clay.

Observe the Chemical Weathering of Feldspar to Clay
Exploring Earth, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, www.classzone.com

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