Introduction
What shapes the land? Think about all the landforms you've seen, hills, rivers, and mountains. All these landforms can go through slow or quick changes! Today you will be exploring two process that change the shape of Earth's land: weathering and erosion.
Task
Working with your face partner, you will complete this WebQuest to learn about how weathering and erosion change the shape of Earth's surface. As you go through this, think of how weathering and erosion are similar and different. Does it occur quickly or slowly? You will complete the graphic organizer using the "Process" portion. Discuss how these processes work and effect the Earth. Where might you see this? How does weather like rain, wind, and sun effect landforms?
Use your time responsibly! You will have questions to answer at the end of the lesson. There is also space for you to leave any questions or interesting facts you have from this WebQuest!
To start, make sure you have the graphic organizer with your name on the top!
Process
Erosion and Weathering are processes that change the shape of the Earth! What is the difference?
Weathering breaks down the Earth’s surface into smaller pieces. Those pieces are moved in a process called erosion, and deposited somewhere else. Weathering can be caused by wind, water, ice, plants, gravity, and changes in temperature.
WEATHERING
Weathering wears away rocks and soil; this can be caused by water, ice, wind or nature. Water can hit landforms in waves causing the rocks to break into smaller pieces. Water can also enter cracks in rocks then freeze in colder weather. This works like a wedge when the ice splits the rock. Wind can push rocks and cause them to roll and chip apart. Plant roots can also weather rocks as they grow through the rocks. As the plants grow, they can crack the rocks and eventually cause them to break apart. Weathering can take years to break rocks into pieces small enough to be moved by erosion.
EROSION
As the rocks are broken by weathering, erosion is the process that carries small particles away and deposit them somewhere else. Water is a common way these particles move, such as a river carrying loose dirt down the river. Wind can also move these particles. Think of a windy day on a beach, the wind can blow the sand around and move it to a new place. Erosion can happen quickly or slowly.
DIG DEEPER
Click the link and watch the video to see erosion and weathering in action!
Weathering & Erosion Video For Kids | 3rd, 4th & 5th Grade (generationgenius.com)
Evaluation
Now you understand how weathering and erosion change the shape of the land, it is time to put that knowledge to the test!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Os6uRPq1CD38EMiUA051Mi0xTlyv3x4GRw1x4tXEh2A/edit
Credits
YouTube. (2020, April 30). Erosion explained - Brainpop -5/5/20. YouTube. Retrieved April 2, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxldsKFmnZY
Weathering & Erosion Video for Kids: 3rd, 4th & 5th grade. Generation Genius. (2019, September 9). Retrieved April 2, 2022, from https://www.generationgenius.com/videolessons/weathering-and-erosion-vi…
Teacher Page
2-ESS1-1
Performance Expectation:
Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.
For this lesson, students will learn the process of weathering and erosion to understand erosion is a slow process of moving particles and weathering is a faster process that breaks the earth apart.
Clarification Statement:
Examples of events and timescales could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes, which happen quickly, and erosion of rocks, which occurs slowly.
DCI (Disciplinary Core Ideas):
THE HISTORY OF PLANET EARTH Some events happen very quickly; others occur very slowly, over a period of time much longer than one can observe. (LE.ESS1C.a)