Curated OER
Water-Holding Capacity
High schoolers design and conduct an experiment to compare the water-holding capacity of sand, soil, and moss. They measure the change in weight for each material after adding the same amount of water to each material.
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The Wedding of a Mountain
Students examine the differences between weathering, erosion, and deposition as it pertains to mountains.
University of Southern California
Wave Erosion Lab
Using a stream table, erosion enthusiasts examine how the density of sediment and how the slope of land contribute to the amount moved by waves. You will not be able to use this entire resource as is; there are teachers' names and...
Curated OER
Agents of Erosion
Fourth graders explore the agents of erosion. They observe rocks that are rough and unweathered and record observations. They investigate rocks rubbed with sandpaper and ones that are not and the effects that the sandpaper has on the...
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Plop! Plop! Fizz! Fizz!
Fourth graders study physical and chemical weathering. They explain how the processes of weathering and erosion change and move materials that become soil. They create a K-W-L chart to show what they know and list what else they would...
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Erosion
Students examine soil erosion and what causes it. In this soil lesson students complete several experiments on soil erosion and the weathering process.
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The Little Ice Age
In this Little Ice Age learning exercise, students read about changes in weather and temperature resulting in changes in rain fall and glacier movement. Students answer three critical thinking questions about the Little Ice Age that...
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Weathering Landforms
Stduents create and color plaster landforms, and describe how weathering and erosion change the Earth's surface.
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An Erosion Survey
In this erosion worksheet, students draw a map of their school ground or neighborhood, mark examples of weathering and erosion, and list the examples on spaces provided. A chart with examples of different types of weathering and erosion...
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Landforms in a Tub
Fifth graders use common household items to build landforms and simulate weathering and erosion.
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Word Grid
In this soil worksheet, students find words that represent soil words in a word search. Students search for 9 words in this word search.
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Erosion: Slip Sliding Away
Fourth graders investigate the causes of erosion. Through several demonstrations including one using sugar cubes and warm water, they observe the effects of erosion. In groups, 4th graders conduct similar experiments and record their...
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The Dirt We Depend On- Characteristics of Dirt Reading Comprehension Worksheet
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a selection about dirt and soil characteristics. They answer 10 matching questions and 5 multiple choice questions based on the information given in the non-fiction article.
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Water: Naturally Cleaned
Young scholars use stream trays covered in different types of rocks or soil to investigate infiltrates and runoff. For this water pollution lesson, students work in groups with stream trays that have different substrates. They write a...
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Agents of Erosion
Fourth graders observe and identify the effects of geological activities and weathering on Earth's surface. They also take a look at reports of events such as storms, earthquakes, floods, and volcanoes. There is a hefty hands-on activity...
Biology Junction
Changes in Ecosystems: Ecological Succession
Can an area with no soil turn into a forest? Scholars learn about the process of ecological succession using an interesting presentation. It covers both primary and secondary succession in the building of new ecosystems.
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The Earth Around Us: Air, Water & Soil
Second graders explore erosion and find the factors effecting erosion of hillsides. In this erosion lesson, 2nd graders experiment by creating a hillside and simulating rain. Students discuss and record their results on a worksheet.
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Detecting Magnetic Materials in "Martian" Soil
Students simulate some of the Pathfinder experiments by devising methods of collecting and measuring magnetic substances in pseudo-Martian soil. The efficiency of each of the methods used to collect materials is evaluated in this lesson.
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Erosion: Changing the Face of Earth
Fourth graders explore how the landscape of the planet can be changed by different elements of wind, water, ice and chemicals through hands-on activities. They examine pictures of areas around town and discuss anything they think is out...
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Weathering and Erosion Splashdown
Fourth graders investigate how plants and their roots help slow the erosion process.
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Cold As Ice
Fourth graders investigate how glaciers cause the weathering of landforms. They observe a brick that has been placed on a frozen slab of ice, and discuss the results, comparing them to the movements of a glacier. In small groups, they...
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Micro-Climate
Atmosphere aces investigate the microclimates that exist within a larger area. They use a thermometer to record the varying temperatures and identify the microclimates on a map that they have drawn. This exercise helps them to understand...
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Graphing and Analyzing Biome Data
Students explore biome data. In this world geography and weather data analysis lesson, students record data about weather conditions in North Carolina, Las Vegas, and Brazil. Students convert Fahrenheit degrees to Celsius degrees and use...
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Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life
Students explain how the earth makes fossils and how dinosaur remains become fossils. In this Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life lesson, students solve paleo-puzzles which ask students to solve problems as if they were paleontologists....