Lesson 1: Read and discuss
Cracking Up: A Story About Erosion (Science Works)
by Jacqui Bailey (or a similar text). This book is about the cause and effect relationship of how water, ice, wind, and sun affect erosion. Although this text is recommended, there are many other on-grade-level texts that could fulfill this purpose. Having a literature connection helps to build a frame around the educational content to be studied. At this point, introducing a landforms anchor chart and/or watching a few video clips that are grade level appropriate and related to landforms would be helpful. The objective here is for students to learn vocabulary related to fluvial landforms and to set the stage for further investigation.
Lesson 2: Play dough landforms. Have students create physical depictions of braided channels, a canyon, a cliff, a delta, a meandering stream, an oxbow lake, and a valley using play dough. They can use texts or online pictures as a reference.
Lesson 3: Google Earth (landform identification). In the computer lab, or using a classroom set of computers, have students access Google Earth. Simply type “Google Earth” into your internet browser or navigate to https://earth.google.com/web. The program can also be downloaded for free. Some prep work is required here, as you may want to create a customized Google Earth tour with preselected locations. Have students locate each of the above-mentioned landforms (braided channels, canyon, cliff, delta, meandering stream, oxbow lake, valley). The objective here is for students to learn how to use a virtual map to locate examples of fluvial landforms. As an alternative, images of these landforms can be printed on paper and students
Lesson 4: Paper mountains. Using an 11x17 piece of construction paper (preferably white or a light color), have students make a fist and wrap the paper around it, making a “mountain” out of the paper. Tape the sides of the paper to a table and have the students trace along all the ridges with a washable color marker (preferably blue). Have students predict where they predict water will travel and accumulate. Using a spray bottle filled with water, mist the colored paper mountain until it is saturated and the colored ink begins to run. Have students compare their results with their predictions in preparation for a follow-up group share and discussion. The objective here is for students to understand that a watershed is anywhere water flows once it has reached the surface of the earth.
Lesson 5: Google Earth (If I floated in a boat down the Connecticut River, where would I end up?). Have students return to using Google Earth. This time, have them look up the Connecticut River and pose the above question. Have students take note of any landforms or water features they would encounter as the floated down the river. This can be done in a science notebook or a teacher created worksheet. As an extension, you can provide the names of other rivers and have students repeat the same task with a different location. The objective for this lesson is for students to understand the paths of natural rivers and that they eventually empty out into an ocean or large body of accumulated water. If Google Earth is too advanced for your students, you can also use a USGS stream tracker tool located at https://txpub.usgs.gov/DSS/streamer/web/. This tool will allow you to select a waterway and click on a button to trace up or down stream. If computer access is difficult, printed maps of New England that show the Connecticut River can also be used. The source of the Connecticut River is just above the Canadian border on the 4
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Connecticut Lake. The mouth of the Connecticut River is the Long Island Sound, which then connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lesson 6: Sediment part 1 (Why is there sand at the beach?). Take five sheets of construction paper placed lengthwise, side by side, and labeled 1 to 5. Draw a mountain with the beginning of a river on sheet 1 and continue the river on sheets 2, 3, and 4. On sheet 5, draw the end of the river as it empties out into an ocean. You will need one set for each group of up to four students. Using another sheet or two of construction paper, cut or tear out “paper rocks” that are roughly the size of a half dollar (can be a bit larger). These are the initial boulders. Have students place all the boulders on sheet one with the mountain. They will simulate what happens as boulders travel and crash into each other down the river. Set a timer for 15 seconds. On go, students will take one boulder at a time from sheet one, tear it in half, and place it on sheet two. It is okay if not all boulders are removed from sheet one. Once again, set timer for 15 seconds and students will tear each paper boulder that was on sheet two in half and place it on sheet three. Continue this process until you reach sheet 5. Students should observe how the boulder broke down over time as it traveled downstream, creating smaller and smaller pieces.
Lesson 7: Sediment part 2 (What settles first?). Take a clear plastic bottle that can be capped at the top, such as a clear two-liter soda bottle. Fill the bottle about one third of the way with different sizes of sediment - rocks of various sizes, sand, soil, etc. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and cap it tight. You can make one of these as a classroom example or have students make their own. Have students shake their bottle and then place it upright on the table and leave it alone. Have them observe which sediments sink first, second, third, etc.… Observations can be noted in their science notebook and the results discussed in a follow-up discussion. A good question to discuss is how could the size of the particle affect how far it can be carried by moving water?
Lesson 8: Stream table observations. In this lesson, students will explore and take note of models of fluvial landforms created in a classroom stream table. A large classroom stream table is exciting, engaging, and a great place to experiment with how the rate of water flow, steepness of slope, and size of sediment can affect fluvial landforms. Instructions for creating various levels of stream tables are attached to this unit. Students will attempt to create and identify various landforms from the above list in the concepts/content section of this unit. Use plastic flags labeled with each type of landform as markers for students to use when they have identified a landform. Students can raise or lower the flow of water, as well as adjust the incline of the stream table to observe cause and effect relationships between the water and the land. Students can also experiment with adding natural or manmade items to the stream table, such as plastic trees or a dam.
Lesson 9: Personal stream tables. Students can construct their own, smaller version of a stream table at their desks. See the attached instructions for personal stream tables. Display pictures of river deltas, land deposition, canyons, etc... Have students compare their models to others and the pictures. Discuss if they observe any similarities to the real-life landform pictures.
Lesson 10: Glacial erosion. If you have a large classroom stream table, you can setup a model of glacial erosion by placing a large block of ice on a sloped stream table bed. Take note of what the land looks like before any movement of the ice. Then, let the ice slowly melt and slide down the stream table over a couple of days. It might be best to set this up over a weekend and observe the changes that occurred in the land over the past few days. Another idea is to setup a time lapse video to record the movement over time.