Investigating Erosion and Deposition
Earth ecoSTEM Kit Materials Used: Mini-Stream Tables and Trowels
ENGAGE - Students Observe This Phenomenon
GATHER
REASON
EXPLORE a Kit-Supported Learning Experience
Working in teams of 4, students will use the included mini-stream tables to explore the processes of erosion, deposition and weathering, in an attempt to recreate the forces and processes that they think formed this canyon andthis delta. Then they will research the formation of these two Georgia landscapes: Providence Canyon and the Altamaha River delta, and compare historical accounts to their own explanations or claims.
EVALUATE
Students can complete the Breaking It Down: Weathering and Erosion lesson from public television series Nature, in which they perform a series of experiments to demonstrate and compare mechanical and chemical weathering, erosion, and deposition. They can also explore:
- Explanation of Providence Canyon formation from GA Envir Protection Div
- How rivers erode canyons from Time for Geography
- Explanation of delta formation from Sciencing
Why rivers have deltas from MinuteEarth
ELABORATE
Students should be able to distinguish among constructive and deconstructive forces (weathering, erosion, and deposition) and to demonstrate understanding by sorting cards with this illustrated quizlet and playing Weathering and Erosion Jeopardy with the class. Reteaching can be done with the Shape it Up interactive game on geological processes from AAAS.
EXTEND
Students can learn more about the Dust Bowl, including its causes and solutions, by exploring resources at the end of CPF’s Dust Bowl & the Dirty Thirties lesson. These Best Practices for Soil Conservation provide strategies that students can model in the school garden. Virtual River is an online sumulation challenge.
COMMUNICATE
Revised EXPLANATION
After making sense of a core idea by engaging in science or engineering practices through the lens of crosscutting concepts, students revise their original explanations of a phenomenon.
EMPOWERMENT
Students may propose solutions and choose a project such as identifying erosion and deposition on school grounds and mitigating it.