5th Grade - Elementary Science Bundle # 3
Title
Creating and Changing Earth’s Surface
Link to Integrated Process Skills
Link to Assessment
Link to Related Assurance Words
Suggested Dates
Oct 4 – Oct 22 (14 days)
Link to Related Non-Fiction
Big Idea/Enduring Understanding
Guiding Questions
Changes over time affect the surface of the Earth and can be
rapid and easily observed or gradual and hard to detect.
How can natural processes and forces change the surface of the earth?
What are some ways landforms form and change?
The resources included here provide teaching examples and/or meaningful learning experiences to address the District Curriculum. In order to address the TEKS
to the proper depth and complexity, teachers are encouraged to use resources to the degree that they are congruent with the TEKS and research-based best
practices. Teaching using only the suggested resources does not guarantee student mastery of all standards. Teachers must use professional judgment to select
among these and/or other resources to teach the district curriculum.
Knowledge & Skills with
Student Expectations
District Specificity/Examples
5.7 Earth and Space. The student
knows Earth's surface is constantly
changing and consists of useful
resources. The student is expected to:
Including:
Through process, review:
 Rapid Changes to Earth’s Surface (such as Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Land/Mud
slides, Tsunami, hurricane, flooding, fire)
5.7b recognize how landforms such as
deltas, canyons, and sand dunes are the
result of changes to Earth's surface by
wind, water, and ice
 Slow Changes to Earth’s Surface (such as weathering, erosion, deposition, mountain
development, [soil formation], [cave formation]
Embedded Review TEKS:
3.7 Earth and space. The student knows
that Earth consists of natural resources
and its surface is constantly changing.
The student is expected to:
3.7b investigate rapid changes in Earth’s
surface such as volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes, and landslides
3.7c identify and compare different
landforms, including mountains, hills,
valleys, and plains
 Constructive Forces: creation / building up
Such as Volcanic lava creating new land, water leaving mineral deposits, deposition,
landform formation
 Destructive Forces: destroying / breaking apart
Such as: earthquakes, tornadoes, erosion, weathering, tsunami, volcanoes
 Weathering (introduced in 3rd grade)
Involves the breaking down of earth materials through direct contact with
atmospheric conditions such as heat, water, ice, and pressure
NOTE: Elementary does not cover “chemical weathering”
 Erosion (introduced in 4th grade)
Slow destruction of a substance; Process of the movement of loosened or weathered
materials from one place to another often due to wind, water, moving ice, creep, and
gravity such as canyons, caves, sea arches, valleys
4.7b observe and identify slow changes
to Earth’s surface caused by weathering,
5th Grade Bundle 3, 2010-2011
3/9/2016
Suggested Resources
(See note above)
AIMS 5th Grade Earth Science Texas Core
Curriculum
“Earth Changes”, page 240
“Weathering Activity Cards, page 251
“Erosion”, page 262
“Agent Erosion”, page 264
“River Run”, page 275
“Sandy Beaches”, page 283
AIMS 4th Grade Earth Science Texas Core
Curriculum
“A Drip On a String”. Page 32
“Wash and Wear Cave”, page 42
TAKscopes
Changes to Land (old 5.11a/.12a)
Engage:stalagtite / stalactite model
Explore: W.E.D
Explain
Gateways, 5th Grade
4.2: Forces of Nature: Wind and Weather,
page 127
4.3: Explain: Forces of Nature” Constructive
and Destructive
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5th Grade - Elementary Science Bundle # 3
erosion, and deposition from water,
wind, and ice
 Deposition (introduced in 4th grade)
Settling or placement (deposit) of rock, sediment, and organic matter such as with delta
formation, at the base of mountains, and sand dunes
4.3: Explore: The Forces of Water, page 131
4.3: Evaluate Forces of Nature Constructive
and Destructive
Landforms including:
 Deltas
o formed at the mouth of a river where the river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary,
lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river
o formed from deposition of sediment over a long period of time
 Canyons
o Deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river
o Formed from the erosion process over long periods of time
 Sand dunes
o Ridge of sand created by the wind (erosion and deposition)
o Often found in deserts or near lakes and oceans)
 Valleys
o An area of elongated low-land typically surrounded by much higher hills and
mountains
o Form in a variety of ways such as separation of Earth’s Crust (Rift valley), formed
by a glacier (Glacial Valley – U shaped), Slow process of erosion (River valleys)
o Unlike a canyon, a valley is broad, with a large area of valley floor, rather than a
narrow profile
 Mountains (introduced in 3rd Grade)
o Several types; made of earth and rock materials
o Slow formation, Earth’s crust movement
 Plains (introduced in 3rd Grade)
o Formed primarily by erosion and deposition of sediment
BrainPop
“Volcanoes”
“Earthquakes”
“Natural Disasters”
GeoScience: Change Over Time:
(Focus on landforms or changes in land
observed
-5th Grade PPT: Teacher background on
WED and sedimentary rock and overview of
lessons (campus share folder > Science Curr
Information >GeoScience Change Over Time
> 5th Grade)
-Engage – WED of mineral block; Explore –
wind, glaciers 1 (“a” can use “clay” recipe
from TAKScopes; “b” can add gravel to
“sand” glacier and make in cups); glaciers 2
(can just have cubes from glacier (1) melt);
water erosion – very similar to FOSS stream
table activity using other materials (add
marbles instead of blocks in FOSS)
-Explain – great pull together activity to
vocabulary and TEKS)
-Elaborate – pictorial assessment
FOSS Kit - Landforms
Investigation 2 and 3
FOSSWEB Landforms
Module Summary - Investigation 2 and 3
Teacher Resources: Student Sheets
Stream Table Set-Up (page 7)
Landform Vocabulary (page 8)
Stream Table Ideas (page 12)
United Streaming
“Earth’s Changing Landscape (7:14)
5th Grade Bundle 3, 2010-2011
3/9/2016
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5th Grade - Elementary Science Bundle # 3
-Our Changing Earth segment
“Geologist’s Notebook: Why land Goes Up
and Down (11:00)
Some Processes that Change the Earth's
Surface lesson idea
Understanding Constructive and Destructive
Forces
Pictures of Erosional Landforms
Pictures of Depositional Landforms
River Delta Diagram
River Delta Formation Over Time Picture
Palo Duro Canyon State Park (Texas) Picture
Canyon Screenshot
Sedona Canyons
Grand Canyon
Mongolian Sand Dune
Beach Sand Dune
Valley Picture
Glacial Valley
Glacial Valley 2
Mountain Picture 1
Volcanic Mountain 1
Mountain Collage
Plains in Texas Panhandle
Great Plains
Scientific Investigation and Reasoning
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5th Grade - Elementary Science Bundle # 3
5.1 Scientific investigations and reasoning. The student
conducts classroom and outdoor investigations
following home and school safety procedures and
environmentally appropriate and ethical practices. The
student is expected to:
5.1a demonstrate safe practices and the use of safety
equipment as described in the Texas Safety Standards
during classroom and outdoor investigations
5.1 Scientific investigations and reasoning. The student
conducts classroom and outdoor investigations
following home and school safety procedures and
environmentally appropriate and ethical practices. The
student is expected to:
Add statement about proper use and disposal of soil
5.1b make informed choices in the conservation, disposal,
and recycling of materials
5.2 Scientific investigations and reasoning. The student
uses scientific methods during laboratory and outdoor
investigations. The student is expected to:
5.2a describe, plan, and implement simple experimental
investigations testing one variable
5.2b ask well-defined questions, formulate testable
hypothesis, and select and use appropriate equipment and
technology
5.2c collect information by detailed observation and
accurate measuring
5.2d analyze and interpret information to construct
reasonable explanations from direct (observable) and
indirect (inferred) evidence
5.2e demonstrate that repeated investigations may increase
the reliability of results
5.2f communicate valid conclusions in both written and
verbal forms
5.2g construct appropriate simple graphs, tables, maps, and
charts using technology, including computers, to organize,
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5th Grade - Elementary Science Bundle # 3
examine, and evaluate information
5.3 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student
uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to
make informed decisions. The student is expected to:
5.3a in all fields of science, analyze, evaluate, and critique
scientific explanations by using empirical evidence, logical
reasoning, and experimental and observational testing,
including examining all sides of scientific evidence of
those scientific explanations so as to encourage critical
thinking by the student
5.3 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student
uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to
make informed decisions. The student is expected to:
Including when and why we use and don’t use:
 Jetties
 Dams
 Levees
 SeaWalls
 and
 Rebuilding coast / shoreline / banks after flooding /
hurricanes
Using Levees for Flood Protection
Use any available current events as discussion
points
5.3c draw or develop a model that represents how
something works or looks that cannot be seen such as how
a soda dispensing machine works
5.3 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student
uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to
make informed decisions. The student is expected to:
5.3d connect grade level appropriate science concepts with
the history of science, science careers, and contributions of
scientists
5.4 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student
knows how to use a variety of tools and methods to
conduct science inquiry. The student is expected to:
5.4a collect, record, and analyze information using tools
including calculators, microscopes, cameras, computers,
hand lenses, metric rulers, Celsius thermometers, prisms,
mirrors, pan balances, triple beam balances, spring scales,
graduated cylinders, beakers, hot plates, meter sticks,
magnets, collecting nets, and notebooks; timing devices
including clocks and stopwatches, and materials to support
the observation of habitats of organisms such as terrariums
and aquariums
Including:
 Notebooks
 Cameras (evidence gathering)
 Hand lens
5.4b use safety equipment including safety goggles and
gloves
Related Assurance Words
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5th Grade - Elementary Science Bundle # 3
Assessment
Assessment Probes
Understanding Student Ideas in Science (Page Keeley), Volume 1
“Beach Sand”, page 163
“Mountain Age”, page 169
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Performance Assessment
Brainstorm ways to prevent wind and water erosion. Relate this to the real world.
GeoScience: Change Over Time: Grade 5: Page 29 Evaluate: Identify Landforms and
Processes that create them.
Understanding Student Ideas in Science (Page Keeley), Volume 3
“Summer Talk”, page 177
Scenario / Open-Ended
Multiple Choice
In what ways can a river change the land around it?
Related Non-Fiction
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