The learning goals for this unit consist of students being able to understand, demonstrate, and visualize the changes that occur on the Earth’s surface through the forces of change, which cause wreathing and erosion. The four curriculum areas that will be integrated are science, social studies, math, and language arts.
Based on the Utah State Core Curriculum, students will be expected to understand that the
Earth’s surface is constantly changing. Some changes happen very slowly over long periods of time through the causes of weathering and erosion. There are few changes that cause changes over a short period of time (such as landslides)
 Identify the objects, processes, or forces that weather and erode Earth’s surface (e.g., ice, plants, animals, abrasion, gravity, water, wind)

Describe how geological features (e.g., valleys, canyons, buttes, arches) are changed through erosion (e.g., waves, wind, glaciers, gravity, running water).
 Describe and justify how the surface of Earth would appear if there were no mountain uplift, weathering, or erosion.
 Describe the role of deposition in the processes that change Earth’s surface.

Explain how layers of exposed rock, such as those observed in the Grand Canyon, are the result of natural processes acting over long periods of time.
Students will be given a pre-assessment on weathering and erosion to determine background knowledge, prior to starting the unit.
The information in this section is based on data found on Data Dashboard, and surveys given in class. In addition, a pre-assessment and an additional survey were given to the students’ to aid in the design of the unit and to evaluate the students’ educational needs and background knowledge.
Demographics:
The class consists of 26, 5 th
grade students, of which 15 are male and 11 are female. About half of the students are currently eleven years old and the rest will be turning eleven by the end of this school year. Two students are currently receiving special education services for reading and language arts, and three students receive services for speech. There are seven ELL students in the class. Two of those ELL’s have a WIDA proficiency level of 2, and two students have a
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proficiency level of a 3. The last 3 students tested at a WIDA proficiency level of 5. Using the
5 th
grade IOWA test as a standard, there are 2 students who could possibly be labeled as gifted.
In addition, one student is from a native of Russia, and is Caucasian; one student is a Pacific
Islander; seven are listed as Hispanic, and the other seventeen are Caucasian. All students attend a Title I school where the socio-economic background of students is very diverse and the population tends to be somewhat transient. According to the school wide data, 67% of the students in the school (65% in the listed class) receive free or reduced meal breakfasts and lunches.
Attitudes, Values and Opinions:
Based on the pre-assessments/surveys, 88% of the students report liking school enough that they didn’t prefer to be somewhere other than school. The survey also reported that 92% of the students had a neutral or positive attitude about learning earth science material. Of that 92%, there were 40% who said they felt “very excited” to learn the material. When asked about learning strategy preferences, the students had a variety of opinions. Specifically with science, the survey showed that students wanted to do hands on projects and experiments. These results said that 16% would prefer to work on their own, 60% prefer to work on projects with a partner or in a group, 24% specifically liked doing hands on activities, and 8% preferred listening to the teacher “lecture”.
Access to Technology:
From the survey given to students it was found that 87% of the students said they have access to internet at home through the use of either a computer, tablet, or smartphone. It was also found that 38% of the students access internet daily, with 63% reporting they access the internet daily or almost every day. That left 37% of the students accessing the internet about once a week or not at all, and 13% not having that access at home. I also found that 28% of the students claim to go to the library (or other locations) to access the internet.
All of students in the class have access to computers and internet at school in the school’s computer lab as well as through three portable school computer labs.
Schedule:
Of the 26 students in the class, only three have missed more than 10 days of school with parent(s) reporting illness or family emergencies as reason for being home. Four students have a significant amounts of tardiness, but that may only effect this unit’s lessons on Friday’s as it is taught in the afternoon most days. There are 2 students who will miss science once a week due to a mentoring assignment with the Playworks program at the school.
This weathering and erosion unit will last approximately 7 days with 30 minute science periods.
Science is taught as the second to last last period of the day Mondays through Friday, with the
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Friday’s lessons occurring as the second lesson of the day (9:15 – 9:45). This is where tardiness may play a factor.
Learner Skills:
According to AIMS data, approximately 46% of students are currently reading at a 5 th grade target level. 16% are slightly below grade level in either oral fluency and/or comprehension and need strategic intervention. 38% are reading and/or comprehending at a level that requests a need for substantial reading intervention.
77% of students generally complete work as assigned. 12% have difficulty completing work independently and need additional scaffolding for completion. 11% fail to complete and turn-in acceptable assignments at least 30% of the time.
: 5 th Grade Students Will :
I.
Be able to identify the main forces of change, as well as explain the differences between weathering and erosion.
A.
View short Brainpop videos on weathering and erosion. Through the use of graphic organizers, create “glossaries” of the vocabulary below. a.
Weathering b.
Erosion c.
Geological d.
Physical vs Chemical Weathering e.
“Forces of Change” = ice, wind, water, gravity
B.
Learn and perform the “Weathering and Erosion Rap” and use it as a resource to identify the differences between weathering and erosion.
II.
Come to understand what the different forces of change are and how they change the Earth around us. Identify and describe the processes that occur in the creation of specific land formations as well as explain why some rocks weather and erode differently.
A.
Define, illustrate and give examples and non-examples of vocabulary words in science packets/journals. a.
Glaciers b.
Wind c.
Running Water d.
Gravity e.
Root Pry
B.
Conduct a variety of “experiments” and participate in hands on activities that represent the events that occur in the creation of land formations (listed below). a.
Buttes b.
Arches
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c.
U-shaped Canyons d.
V-shaped Canyons
III.
Describe the role of deposition in the processes that change Earth’s surface.
A.
Observe and demonstrate how deltas are created and what role that has played in the Utah landscape.
B.
Define, illustrate and give examples and non-examples of vocabulary words in science packets/journals. a.
Delta b.
Landslide
IV.
Explain how layers of exposed rock, such as those observed in the Grand Canyon, are the result of natural processes acting over long periods of time.
A.
Participate in cake/ PBJ Grand Canyon erosion activity. a.
Write a hypothesis of what it would have been like to see the Grand Canyon a million years ago vs. today.
V.
Review and assess what they have learned throughout the unit.
A.
Play “Slap” and other vocabulary review games to show understanding of unit terms.
B.
View the Bill Nye video on Weathering and Erosion
1.
Complete Graphic Organizer on the video to use as a review for a final written assessment.
2.
Complete a Post-Assessment student feedback survey at the end of the unit.
The following is a list of resources which will be used throughout the unit.
1.
Projector/Document Camera
2.
PowerPoint and images displaying Weathering and Erosion
3.
Sand in a large tub
4.
Chalk, cinnamon sticks, sugar cubes, and 4 baby food jars
5.
25 minute Bill Nye Video on weathering and erosion
6.
Blow Dryer
7.
Giant “glitter rock” and paper
8.
Core Reading Materials
9.
Squirt Bottle
10.
Packet materials/Science Journals
11.
Dirt/Cups for mini glaciers (frozen in the freezer the night before)
12.
Tin foil/paper plates
The unit will be taught in seven 30-minute time periods. Each period will begin with a quick 2 to 3 minute review of materials covered the day before and an introduction of the days objectives. Whole-group instruction will then be taught using the images/graphic organizers
(especially with vocabulary) and class discussions/teacher demonstrations (approximately 15
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minutes). Students will then work in small-groups or pairs to explore experiments, draw conclusions and record the day’s happenings in their packets/science journals (5-7 min). Each class period will ideally end with a 2 to 3 minute wrap up of the objective for the day’s lesson.
I have chosen to use this approach to teaching this unit because it includes time to review
(spiral), state objectives, have teacher direction/demonstration as well as time for students to interact with their daily lesson. It has effective scaffolding for ELLs (with lots of graphic organizers and demonstrations of vocabulary to be taught) and other students’ with special needs.
It also exposes all students to information through direct instruction, as well as allowing students to experience different instructional models (group/hands on/ etc.) to meet the learning preferences of all students in the class. This model is also effective because it allows students at least some time with a hands-on approach to the scientific model of instruction where students are engaged in exploring, and recording their learning. (Unfortunately I have found very little
“experimenting” activities to teach this topic of science. We do as much as we can in making predictions with our demonstrations, but it is somewhat limited to the “traditional” idea of scientific experiments. We mostly observe and record what we see.)
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