LESSON PLAN Teacher: Vianna Hong Lesson: 3 out of 5

Subject: Science Unit 2: Changes to Land Over Time

Objective
SWBAT explain why some natural events occur quickly while others occur slowly by analyzing their cause and effects.

Science Standard Math CCLS

ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.A.3:
● Some events happen very quickly; others occur Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters,
very slowly, over a time period much longer than and meters.
one can observe. (2-ESS1-1)

Materials Vocabulary
Quick or Slow Events Video Tier 3:
Quick or Slow Change Worksheet (copy for each student) Earthquakes - Shaking of Earth’s surface
Sediments - Small rocks, sand, and soil on Earth’s surface

Time Connection/Motivation
5 minutes I decided to grow an apple tree in my backyard and just planted the seed last week. So far, I haven’t
seen any changes. I started to look up information about apple trees and found out that it takes about
ten years to fully grow! This process means that the apple tree grows very slowly because it needs a
long period of time to show change.

On that same day, my family and I went to a barbecue in the park. One of the leaves in the tree fell into
the grill, and it almost immediately burned up! This process means that the leaf burning happens much
quicker because change happens within seconds.

Natural events on Earth happen slowly or quickly, depending on if there’s a change in a short or
long period of time.

Mini-lesson
15 minutes Today, we’re going to see why the changes caused by natural events determine if the natural events
occur quickly or slowly.

Watch Quick or Slow Events video

Start at 0:39 seconds
Stop at 0:53: Why are volcanoes and earthquakes quick events? (Ans: change can be seen
immediately)
Stop at 1:00: Why are erosion and weathering slow events? (Ans: change takes a long time and can
happen so slowly that it isn’t noticeable at all)
Skip to 4:10
Stop at 5:07: How is erosion different from weathering? (Ans: erosion is when rocks are broken
down by rain, snow, ice, or wind and are carried away; weathering is when rocks are broken down
by the same forces)
Stop at 5:34: How long would it take for erosion to form a cave? (Ans: hundreds of years)
Skip to 6:21
Stop at 6:44: Turn and Talk - Do fast events create more intense change than slow events? (Ans: Yes
they change the Earth in more sudden and intense ways while slow events change the Earth slowly
over a long period of time that it isn’t noticeable)
End at 6:44

Independent/Partner/Group Work
15 minutes Students will be in pairs while answering questions on a worksheet using the information they
learned from watching the video. They will fill in the blank to whether the effects of certain events
 occurred fast or slow. Answering the questions will lead students to analyze why natural events can
occur slowly or quickly.

Teacher will be circulating the classroom to ensure students are on task or if there are any questions
Possible guiding questions that will help further the students thinking:
- What type of change comes from quick events? Slow events?
- Why do quick events occur in a short period of time? Why do slow events occur over a long
period of time?
- How are quick events different from slow events? How are they similar?

Share/Closing
10 minutes Students will share answers as a class. They will be encouraged to explain why they chose their
answer. Discussion should lead students to recognize the reasons why natural events can either
occur quickly (change happens over a short period of time) or slowly (change happens over a long
period of time).

Homework
Identify whether a tsunami is a fast or slow event based on the effects it caused on Earth’s surface.