Landforms Unit
Introduction:
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KWL and ABC chart landform terms in groups: Mountain, canyon, valley, delta, flood
plain, tributaries, meanders, slope, erosion, weathering, alluvial fan, maps, models,
aerial photographs, deposition, topographic map
View Greg’s Landform PP from resource folder, discuss terms and places students may
have visited (2.01)
Vocabulary Card sheets and Vocabulary quizzes 1 and 2
Maps and Models:
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US: Maps and Globes and their Uses, 13 minutes
US: Understanding & Using Maps and Globes, 41 minutes, 2 parts, blackline masters
US: Basics of Geography II, (part 1) discusses types of maps, directions, longitude
& latitude, etc. (about 20 minutes)
PP: Understanding Maps
SS Book: Unit 1, Chapter 1, pgs 17-23, read and discuss landforms and regions
(2.03)(SS 1.01, 1.03)
 Refer to map on pg 20, create graphic organizer
Landforms in the United States
West
Central
East
 Mountains
 plains
1. Plains
 Plateaus
 Hills
2. Hills
 plains
3. mountains
 Landforms book, pgs 1-6, Maps and How they are made (2.06)
 Read/discuss pgs 35-36, Aerial Photography (Landforms book)
 Read/discuss Use Elevation Maps, pg 24-25 (SS book)
 Read/discuss Use Longitude and Latitude, pg 50-51 (SS book)
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Investigation 1: Schoolyard Models (see Foss notebook) (2.06)
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Investigation 4: Build a Mountain (topographic maps) (see Foss
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Notebook) (2.06)
Read/discuss pgs 33-34 Topographic maps (Landforms book)
Discuss/explore topographic maps of Oak Hill Elementary
TFK - A Frozen Land and This is the Arctic
TFK – US Deserts
Create a scaled map of the classroom with a key
Types of Landforms
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US: Our Changing Earth, 22 minutes, covers interior and crust, weathering,
erosion, deltas, glaciers, continental drift, plate tectonics, volcanoes and
earthquakes
US: Landforms: Number One, 16 minutes
US: Geographical Features: Landforms, 17 minutes
US: Geologists Notebook: Why the Land Goes Up and Down
Erosion and Weathering
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US: Basics of Geography (48 minutes long, part 1 discusses erosion and weathering,
maps, globes, longitude and latitude, cardinal & intermediate directions, part 2
discusses human influence, climate, weather, climatic regions)
Basics of Geology: Erosion and Weathering
Weathering and Erosion. 20 minutes, covers physical weathering, chemical
weathering and erosion
Investigation 2: Stream Tables (see Foss notebook) (observation sheets
provided in resource folder) (2.03, 2.04, 2.05)
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Investigation 3: Go With the Flow (see Foss notebook) (2.03, 2.04)
SS Book: Lesson 2, pgs 26-32 Bodies of Water (2.02) (SS 1.01)
SS Book: Lesson 3, pgs 33-39 Climate and Vegetation Regions (2.07) (SS 1.06,
1.07)
Landforms book: pgs 15-21 “Rivers and Controlling the Flow” (2.03)
US: Riverflight: From the Mountain Stream (14 min) defines the terms source,
channel and river basin; describes confluence town, bridging point, reservoir, land
use, and communication, and explains the process of erosion, transportation and
deposition. (2.03, 2.04)
Riverflight: To the Open Sea (14 min) (covers flood plains, meander, tributary and
mouth, meander formation, how a river may change course) (2.03, 2.04)
PP: Weathering and Erosion
PP: The forces of weathering and erosion
Human Influence
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US: Geography Basics: Landforms and Living Patterns (2.07) (SS 1.02, 1.05,
1.06, 1.07)
 20 minutes, The earth’s surface constantly changes by natural and human
causes. Landforms affect the concentration of population, as well as agricultural
and recreational activities.
Culminating Activity: Landforms Project
 Project outline letter
 Rubric
 Material Suggestions for Landform Models
 Poetry Examples
Review and Assessment
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Science Coach Review: pages 67-91 (all objectives)
Study Guide
Landforms Unit: Important Concepts handout
Landforms 20 questions game
Landforms Vocabulary review game
Open ended test from Foss notebook
Multiple choice EOG practice test
Supplemental materials:
1. Landforms book: pgs 9-14, Real People in the Grand Canyon
a. United Streaming video: Grand Canyon: The First Journey
b. People of the Canyon (6 book set, see Cher)
2. Landforms book: pgs 28-29, Caves and Sinkholes
a. United Streaming video: National Parks: Caves of the National Parks
b. Mammoth Cave
c. Let’s Go Spelunking (anticipation guide)
3. Houghton Mifflin Core Reader:
a. Volcanoes, pg 84
 anticipation guide
 TFK – Active Volcanoes in the US
 Volcanoes Test
b. Earthquake Terror, pg 28
 Sequencing activity
 Earthquake Terror test
 TFK – A whole lot of shaking
c. Everest Challenge, pg 204
d. The Fear Place, pg 185
4. Leveled Readers:
a. Volcanoes Around the World
b. The San Francisco Earthquake