K5 Science Endorsement GPS Lesson Plan

Title STEM – Beach erosion

Teacher(s) Kelly Barrere
E-mail Kelly.barrere@bartow.k12.ga.us
School Euharlee Elementary
Lesson Title beach erosion can it be stopped?
Grade Level 5th grade Concepts(s) Earth’s surface changing by weathering
Targeted and erosion
Performance Expectation –
The students will be able to construct and argument based on observations and supported
by scientific evidence to identify surface features as being caused by constructive and/or
destructive processes.

Science & Engineering Disciplinary Core Ideas Crosscutting Concept

Practice (Content)
1. Asking questions S5E1The student will obtain,
2. Construct an Evaluate and communicate
argument information to identify
surface features on the Earth
3. Developing and caused by constructive
using models and/or destructive
processes.
Compare and contrast
Cause and effect
Important places in U.S.
-Grand Canyon (Social
Studies), Mississippi
River (and other rivers)

Map skills (Geography)

Georgia Performance Standards - S5E1. obtain, Evaluate and communicate

information to identify surface features on the Earth caused by constructive and/or
destructive processes. b. Develop simple interactive models to collect data that
illustrate how changes in surface features are/were caused by constructive and/or
destructive processes.
SS5G1 Locate important places in the United States
Safety Considerations –

Students must wear safety glasses

DAY ONE
Gain Attention: Formative Assessment Probe: Why is the Ocean Salty?
Present the Material & Provide Learner Guidance & Feedback: Students will make a t-chart in their science
journals. They will write building up on one side of the chart and tearing down on the other side. Students will
take their journals on an investigative walk around the school to document changes in the Earth’s surface in
ways of it being built up or torn down.
Assessment: Observations during lessons- Listening and reading students’ observations and explanation of
thinking on their probe gives me a good idea of their prior knowledge coming into this unit.

DAY TWO
Students will participate in short explorations with their table group to illustrate weathering, erosion, and
deposition without being introduced to the vocabulary.
Exploration 1: Students will be given a container with a sugar cube and a rock. Students are asked to make
observations of their sugar cube before, then shake it in the container with the rock for one minute before
making observations of their sugar cube again. I will ask, “what happened? What do you notice?” I will record
students thoughts on chart paper.
Exploration 2: , Students will receive a pan with two skittles and a cup of water. Students will be asked to pour
the water over the skittle and observe changes in the skittle when it has been left to sit in the water. I will
ask, “what happened? What do you notice?” and record students thoughts on chart paper.
Exploration 3: Students will receive a pan with two types of sprinkles and a straw. Students will be told to blow
on the sprinkles using the straw. I will ask, “what happened? What do you notice?” and record students
thoughts on chart paper.
We will look at the notes written on the chart paper from the three exploration observations as a class and
decide how we could summarize each exploration. Students will be introduced to the words weathering, erosion,
and deposition and as a class we will create definitions of these words using the explorations as an experience
to tie our definitions to. Students will create a foldable to record their definitions as well as an illustration to
remember each process.

DAY THREE
Students will apply the new vocabulary learned in yesterday's lesson to new situations. Students will visit three
centers and will be asked to think about what processes each center represents.
Center 1 (teacher led): Students will break an alka seltzer tablet into three pieces. Students will drop a drop
of hot water on the first piece, a drop of room temperature water on the second piece, and a drop of ice water
on the third piece. We will discuss the similarities and differences we observe. Next students will be given a
piece of chalk and sand paper. THey will be asked to rub their chalk along the sand paper. Again, we will discuss
what happened. Finally- I will show students pictures of trees breaking up rocks and we will lead into labeling
the three types of weathering: chemical (alka seltzer tabs), mechanical (chalk and sand paper), and biological
(trees and rocks)
Center 2: Students will be given a pan of sand, a cup of ice, a cup of water with a dropper, and a straw.
Students will be instructed to “move” the sand using any of the materials provided.
Center 3: Before beginning centers, I will assign each group a team captain. This person is in charge of the
timer at this center. Two desks will be sitting on one side of the room, each with a basket of legos on top. On
the other side of the room parallel to both desks will sit two pans on the floor. When a group visits this center,
they will split into two teams. Each team will have one minute to build a structure from their legos (each basket
has the same number of legos). Once the structures have been built, the teams will race to see who can
“weather” their lego structure first. Students are only allowed to weather one piece at a time and must move
that piece by crab walking all the way to the pan on the floor, where they piece will be dropped off (deposited).
The first team to get all of their pieces in the pan wins.
Closure: Discuss observations from each center, the importance of these three processes working together,
and how the changes take place overtime.

DAY FOUR
Gain Attention: Hurricane Matthew: What does it mean to be in a state of emergency?
Present the Material & Provide Learner Guidance & Feedback: What is a hurricane? Why do we make
preparations when a hurricane is predicted to impact our coastline?
I will facilitate a discussion where we will raise these questions as well as others that students may have.
Students will use their prior knowledge of how they witnessed water changing the surface of the school yard
to think about how water could affect those living in coastal areas during a hurricane. I will show students
pictures and videos on how this hurricane affected people in surrounding counties and states.
Students will split into groups to “simulate” small (normal waves) and record its effects and will then “simulate”
strong (large waves) like the ones produced in hurricanes and will record its effects.
Assessment: Discussions during the lesson

DAY FIVE
Gain attention: Show students beach shot of before and after a large storm/hurricane.
Stimulate prior knowledge: Students will turn and talk to discuss what they observed during the simulations
yesterday.
Guiding question: Why did the sand move? Why did the pictures of the beach look different? How can we
protect our beaches from hurricane force waves?
Present the Material & Provide Learner Guidance & Feedback: Students will problem solve with their group to
engineer a way to protect their lego beach front home from being eroded by hurricane Lamb. Students will
have playdough to represent concrete, popsicle sticks to represent fencing, cotton balls to represent sandbags,
and rocks at their disposal. Once each student has attempted to mitigate storm surge effects, their ideas will
be put to the test. Assessment: Discussions of ways to reclaim beach that was lost in the hurricane.

** INCLUDE FORKS TO REPRESENT VEGETATION AND ROOTS!

CONTINUING THE UNIT

● Gain Attention: Formative Assessment Probe: Is it Erosion?
Present the Material & Provide Learner Guidance & Feedback: Students will explore how sand dunes
are made by creating a visual model in a pan using sand, a hair dryer, and toothpicks.
Assessment: Discussions during the lesson

● Gain Attention: Barrier Islands logic puzzle (Aims activity)

Present the Material & Provide Learner Guidance & Feedback: Discuss the creation of barrier islands,
their importance, and their role in protecting our coastline. Show students pictures of Georgia’s
barrier islands. Read mini-story on barrier islands (Aims book)
Assessment: Discussions during the lesson

● Quick check to see how students are understanding earth science standards.

● Walk outside to the storm drain let out behind MLES playground. It has formed a river. Discuss
examples of weathering, erosion, and deposition in a “river”. Students will illustrate it in their science
notebooks.

● Gain attention: River time lapse in slow motion NGSS Phenomena

Stimulate prior knowledge: Students will turn and talk to discuss what we have learn thus far.
Present Material: Constructive/Deconstructive processes vocabulary words. Rivist T-chart created at
the beginning of the unit, add new vocabulary words.
How is a river both a constructive and deconstructive process?
Students will discuss erosion of river rocks as well as create their own models of rivers to explore this
question.

● Grand Canyon Formative Assessment Probe

Show students pictures of the Mississippi and Colorado River
Math connection: Mini-lesson on graphing
Have students work in groups to graph a “long profile” of the river of their choice

● Students will finish graphing the “long profile” of their river

 Observing data and gathering evidence from our graphs
Class discussion on how the slope of a river can affect the land through which it flows.

● Guiding question: Why does the Colorado River need so many dams?
Blocking the Flow Aims Activity
Students will discover the importance of Dams and Levees
Enrichment: Distribute Flooding the Colorado- Students will read how dams can affect sediment
distribution.
● Students will research Statesboro’s storm drain system and ways flooding is prevented in their
community.
● Students will apply their knowledge of dams, levees, and storm drain management by designing their
own way to prevent flooding in a community or flooding from a river.

● Students will create a digital graphic organizer on constructive and deconstructive processes using
terms and examples learned so far in this unit.

Students will continue making their graphic organizer on constructive and destru

Extension Activities (may do’s):

~Read small book “Earth’s Surface” alone or with partner: activity on p. 25 for extra credit
~Research (print picture and do write-up) for concept/question board in room.
~Brainpop- weathering, erosion
~USGS streamer website https://txpub.usgs.gov to find rivers, streams in Cartersville,
Euharlee and see if they can find where water originates from and what ocean it ends up in.

Documentation of Resources –