Weathering, Erosion and Deposition: a full term of science

Ten ready-to-teach lessons for Year 5 Earth and space sciences. Print this pack and the term is prepared: every lesson comes with a step-by-step plan, the questions to ask, a student worksheet, cut-out cards or exit tickets, an assessment kit and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the term at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the lesson you need. Each lesson is three A4 sheets: plan, worksheet, cards or tickets.
3. Gather the few everyday items under “You need” on the plan. Nothing needs a science cupboard.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board or projector. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No science background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the science idea in plain words, lists the misconceptions children bring, and gives model answers. The big idea of the term: weathering breaks rock into pieces where it sits, erosion picks the pieces up, transportation carries them away, and deposition drops them somewhere new. Together they change the land, sometimes over millions of years and sometimes in seconds.

Two ways to run each lesson

Every lesson works as one 60-minute block, or as two 30-minute sessions. The split point is marked in every plan. Lesson 3 starts tests that run overnight and for a week, Lessons 4, 5, 6 and 9 are messy and best done outdoors or on covered tables, and Lesson 6 needs its jars to settle for an hour, so look ahead when you plan.

Safety and care in one look

On the schoolyard walk children look but do not climb slopes or drains. An adult mixes the plaster of Paris; it gets warm as it sets, and nobody breathes the dust or puts hands in it. Safety glasses are on whenever the fan blows sand, and children stand behind the fan. Containers are plastic, never glass, in the freezer. Everyone washes their hands after soil, sand and plaster.

The term at a glance

One lesson a week for a term. Each lesson stands on the ones before it, so run them in order where you can.

How the sequence builds

Lesson 1 finds all four processes at work in the school grounds. Lessons 2 and 3 break rock: by knocking, by freezing water and by growing roots. Lessons 4 and 5 test erosion by rain and by wind, and Lesson 6 follows the pieces as a river carries and drops them. Lesson 7 sorts changes into rapid and slow, Lesson 8 reads real Australian landforms, Lesson 9 meets the people who protect the land, and Lesson 10 is the landscape drawing and final check.

Curriculum links (Australian Curriculum V9)

The whole term teaches the Science Understanding descriptor AC9S5U02 quoted on the cover. The lessons also work these Science Inquiry and Human Endeavour descriptors:

Assessment in this pack

• Every plan ends with “Answers and look-fors”: what meeting the idea sounds like in a Year 5 voice.
• The assessment sheet near the front has a class observation checklist and a three-level rubric.
• Lesson 10 is the summative pair: a labelled landscape from mountain to sea, plus the “Show what we know” check sheet.

Materials for the whole term

One gathering session covers all ten lessons. Everything on this page is an everyday item, comes from the garden, or can be borrowed; nothing needs a science cupboard. Soak the bean seeds the night before Lesson 3.

The one-trip list

• From the classroom: clipboards, rulers, scissors, glue, coloured pencils, A3 paper, a timer, paddle-pop sticks, straws.
• From the kitchen or the shops: sugar cubes, small plastic jars and containers with lids, bean seeds, plaster of Paris, paper cups.
• From the garden: garden soil, grass clippings or mulch, gravel, coarse sand, small stones.
• To borrow: a desk fan, kitchen scales, a watering can, safety glasses, shallow tubs and a long tray.

Safety and care in one look

• On the walk, children look; nobody climbs slopes, steps into drains or touches broken glass or rubbish.
• An adult mixes the plaster of Paris with gloves on. It gets warm as it sets; no hands in it, and nobody breathes the dust.
• Safety glasses for everyone near the fan. Children stand behind it, and an adult switches it on and off.
• Only plastic containers go in the freezer: glass can shatter when the water inside freezes.
• Wash hands after soil, sand and plaster. The sugar cubes in the test are not eaten.

Assessment without extra work

The term assesses itself. Every lesson plan ends with answers and look-fors, and Lesson 10 is the summative pair: a labelled landscape from mountain to sea, and the check sheet. This sheet is the place to jot down what you notice along the way.

The three levels

Class observation checklist

A tick a lesson is plenty; the Lesson 10 check sheet fills the gaps.

Word wall cards

Cut out the cards and build the wall as the words arrive. Lesson 1 starts the wall with the four processes.

Dear families

This term in science, Year 5 investigates how the surface of the Earth changes. Weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces where it sits: freezing water, plant roots and rocks knocking together all do it. Erosion picks the pieces up, transportation carries them away in water, wind or ice, and deposition drops them somewhere new, building beaches, sandbars and deltas.

Your child will shake sugar cubes to see how knocking wears rock down, freeze water to watch ice push, pour ‘rain’ on bare and covered soil, blow sand with a fan, and watch a river build a delta in a tray. We will also look at how fast land can change: a canyon takes millions of years, but a landslide takes seconds.

Try this at home

• On a walk, look for a footpath lifted by a tree root, or a wall with crumbling bricks. Which process is at work?
• After rain, look for mud or sand washed into a gutter. Where did it come from, and why did it stop there?
• At a beach or a creek, look at the pebbles. Why are they smooth and rounded?
• Shake a jar of garden soil and water and leave it overnight. What settles first?

What to ask your scientist

• What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
• Why does a river drop its sand where it meets the sea?
• Which changes to the land are fast, and which are slow?
• How can people stop soil washing away?

A small note on care: at school we keep away from steep slopes and drains, and wash our hands after soil and sand.

Warm regards,

The Year 5 team

Printed from the free seegongsik Weathering, Erosion and Deposition teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y5/earth-and-space/AC9S5U02/pack

Clues in the schoolyard

The land around us is always changing, and the school grounds hold clues to how. Children hunt for evidence of four processes: weathering (a crack in concrete, a root lifting a path), erosion (bare patches where water runs, little channels on a slope), transportation (sand or mulch carried along a path or gutter) and deposition (a pile of sand where water stopped). They record each clue, name the process, and meet the four words that run through the term.

We are learning to

• name the four processes that change the land: weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition,
• find and record evidence of each process in the school grounds,
• explain how a clue shows a process at work.

Success criteria

• I can find clues for at least three of the processes and say which process each one shows.
• I can tell weathering (breaking) from erosion (moving).

You need

• the clue cards (third sheet), cut out, one or two per group,
• clipboards and pencils, and a phone or tablet for photos (optional),
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the clue hunt; start Session B with the class table.

Watch for these ideas

• “Weathering and erosion are the same thing.” Weathering breaks rock where it is; erosion picks up the pieces and moves them.
• “Rock is hard, so it never changes.” Even the hardest rock cracks, crumbles and wears away, though often too slowly to see.
• “Only rivers change the land.” Rain, wind, ice, plant roots and even feet change it too.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: hunt together as a class for two clues of each kind, with the teacher naming the process.
• Bigger: photograph one clue now and again in four weeks. Has anything changed?

Answers and look-fors

• Part A answers vary: cracked concrete or a root lifting a path (weathering), bare soil and little channels on a slope (erosion), sand or mulch along a path or in a gutter (transportation), a fan of sand or soil at the bottom of a slope or downpipe (deposition).
• Part B: weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces where it sits; erosion picks up the pieces and carries them away.
• Part C: a pile of sand where water stopped is deposition. The water slowed down, so it dropped what it was carrying.

Our clue hunt

A. Clues we found

B. Breaking or moving?

C. A pile that tells a story

Clue cards

Cut out the cards. Each group hunts for the clue on its card, then swaps. Look closely; do not climb or step into drains.

Teacher note: wash hands after the hunt. Keep the class table of clues; Lesson 10 uses it again.

Shake, rattle and break

Weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces where it sits. One way is knocking and rubbing: stones rolled along by rivers and waves bang and scrape against each other until their corners wear off. Children model it with sugar cubes shaken in a jar, with and without three small stones, counting the cubes still whole every 50 shakes. Then they meet four more ways rock breaks and match each one to a real example.

We are learning to

• explain weathering as rock breaking into smaller pieces where it sits,
• run a fair test, record counts at set points, and draw a line graph,
• match five ways rock breaks to real examples.

Success criteria

• I can use our graph to say which jar wore its cubes down faster, and why.
• I can match each way rock breaks to an example.

You need

• for each group: two small plastic jars with lids, 20 sugar cubes, three small stones and a sheet of dark paper,
• the rock-breaking cards (third sheet), one set per pair,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the shake test; start Session B with the graph and the cards.

Watch for these ideas

• “Weathering moves the rock.” Weathering only breaks it; the pieces stay where they are until erosion moves them.
• “Only soft rocks wear away.” Hard rocks wear away too, just more slowly.
• “The sugar dissolved.” There is no water in the jar: the cubes broke into grains because they knocked together, like stones in a river.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: shake one jar with stones and count at 0 and 150 shakes only.
• Bigger: add a third jar with a spoonful of sand instead of stones. Does sand wear the cubes down as fast?

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: we changed whether there were stones in the jar; we measured the number of whole cubes every 50 shakes; we kept the same the number of cubes, the jars, the shaker, and how hard and fast they shook.
• Parts B and C: counts vary. Usually both lines fall as the shakes add up, and the jar with stones loses its whole cubes faster and fills with more sugar ‘sand’.
• Part D: the jar with stones. In a river or on a beach, stones knock and rub together all the time, so they wear down and their corners round off.
• Part E: freezing water E, growing roots A, heating and cooling D, rainwater C, knocking and rubbing B.

The shake test

A. Our fair test

B. Whole cubes left

C. Our graph

Plot both jars, one colour each, and join each set of dots with a line.

D. What it tells us

E. Rock-breaking cards

Rock-breaking cards

Cut out all the cards. Match each example card (A to E) to the way the rock was broken.

Teacher note: the sugar cubes in the test are not eaten. Throw them away with the sugar sand at the end.

Ice and roots

Two of the strongest ways rock breaks are almost too slow to watch: water freezing in cracks, and roots growing in them. Children start two tests today. A small plastic container is filled to the brim with water, closed and frozen overnight; the ice pushes the lid up, because water takes up about one tenth more room when it freezes. Soaked bean seeds are set in wet plaster of Paris beside a plain cup of plaster, and over the next few days the swelling, sprouting seeds crack the plaster the way roots crack rock.

We are learning to

• explain how freezing water and growing roots can break rock,
• set up two tests and observe them carefully over several days,
• record observations with dates, drawings and words.

Success criteria

• I can explain why the ice pushed the lid up.
• I can describe the changes in the plaster cups day by day and link them to roots cracking rock.

You need

• for each group: a small plastic container with a snap-on lid, two paper cups and five bean seeds soaked overnight,
• plaster of Paris, water, a stick to stir and gloves for the adult who mixes it, and room in a freezer,
• the worksheet (next sheet) and the exit tickets (third sheet).

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Do the freeze test in Session A and the seed test in Session B. Either way, check the freezer the next morning, check the cups each day for a week, and finish Part B before Lesson 4.

Watch for these ideas

• “Ice is weak because it melts.” Freezing water pushes very hard: it can split rocks and burst water pipes.
• “Plants are soft, so they cannot break rock.” Roots grow a little thicker every year and push with great force.
• “The plaster cracked because it dried out.” That is why there is a plain cup: if only the seed cup cracks, the seeds did it.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: run the freeze test as one class demonstration.
• Bigger: freeze a second container only half full. Does the ice still push the lid? Why not?

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: the ice bulges up above the rim and pushes the lid up or off. Water takes up about one tenth more room when it freezes, so it pushes on whatever holds it, like the sides of a crack in rock.
• Part B: over a few days the seeds swell and sprout, and the plaster around them cracks or lifts, while the plain cup does not change. Roots in a crack push the same way, a little more each year.
• Exit tickets: 1 more. 2 so we can tell the seeds made the difference, not the plaster drying. 3 any place a root lifts or cracks a path, a wall or a rock.

Ice and roots

A. The freeze test

B. The seed test

Exit tickets

Print one sheet for every four children and cut along the dashed lines. Each child answers a ticket alone before leaving.

Teacher note: the answers are on this lesson’s plan. Keep the plaster cups on a tray away from the edge of the bench; they crack slowly.

Rain on bare ground

Erosion is the picking up and carrying away of loosened soil and rock, and rain falling on bare ground is one of its biggest causes. Children make two soil slopes in tubs, one bare and one covered with mulch or grass clippings, and give both the same 500 mL of ‘rain’. They catch the muddy water that runs off, let it settle, and measure the depth of soil it carried away. Bare soil usually loses far more, which is why farmers and gardeners keep soil covered.

We are learning to

• describe erosion as moving loosened soil and rock away,
• run a fair test and measure settled mud in millimetres,
• use our results to explain why covered soil erodes less.

Success criteria

• I can name what we changed, what we measured and what we kept the same.
• I can use our measurements to say which tub lost more soil, and why.

You need

• for each group: two shallow plastic tubs with a notch cut in one end, damp garden soil, mulch or grass clippings, a watering can with a rose, a measuring jug, two clear jars, a ruler and some books,
• the step cards (third sheet), one set per group,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child; an outdoor space or covered tables.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Plan and pour in Session A, measuring the jars before the end; start Session B with the graph.

Watch for these ideas

• “This is weathering.” The soil was already loose; the water moved it. Moving loose material is erosion.
• “The mulch soaked up the water, so the test is not fair.” Both tubs got the same water. Soaking it up and slowing it down is exactly how a cover protects soil.
• “Muddy water is just dirty water.” The brown is soil carried in the water; let it settle and you can measure it.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: run one bare and one covered tub as a class demonstration and measure together.
• Bigger: test a steep bare slope against a gentle bare slope. Which loses more soil?

Answers and look-fors

• Step cards in order: E, C, A, F, D, B.
• Part A: we changed whether the soil was covered; we measured the depth of mud that settled in each jar, in millimetres; we kept the same the soil, the tubs, the slope, the amount of water, the pouring height and time, and the settling time.
• Parts C and D: depths vary. Usually the bare tub’s jar is brown with a thick layer of mud, and the covered tub’s jar is much clearer with a thin layer or none.
• Part E: the bare tub. Mulch or plants shield the soil from the falling rain, slow the water down and hold the grains, so less soil is carried away.

Which slope loses more soil?

A. Our fair test

B. My prediction

C. Our results

D. Our graph

E. What it tells us

Step cards

Cut out the cards and put them in the order you will do them. Check the order with your group before you start.

Teacher note: this test is messy. Run it outdoors or on covered tables, and keep the soil damp, not soaking, before you pour.

Wind on the move

Wind erodes too: it lifts dry, loose grains and blows them away, building ripples and dunes where it drops them. Children blow a fan across a tray of dry sand for 30 seconds, catch the sand that blows off and weigh it, then repeat with a windbreak of paddle-pop sticks standing in the sand. Running each test twice shows whether the result repeats. Then they sort nine real examples into erosion by wind and erosion by water.

We are learning to

• explain how wind erodes dry, loose sand and soil,
• repeat a fair test and compare the runs,
• use our results to explain how windbreaks protect soil.

Success criteria

• I can say how much sand blew away with and without the windbreak, using our measurements.
• I can sort examples of erosion into wind and water.

You need

• for each group, or one class demonstration: a shallow tray of dry sand, a desk fan (or a hairdryer on cool), sheets of paper, paddle-pop sticks, kitchen scales and a spoon,
• safety glasses for everyone near the fan,
• the wind-or-water cards (third sheet), one set per pair, and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the fan test; start Session B with the card sort.

Watch for these ideas

• “Wind only moves sand at the beach.” Wind also blows topsoil off dry, bare paddocks, sometimes as dust storms that cross whole states.
• “One run is enough.” A second run shows whether the result repeats. If two runs are very different, look for what changed.
• “The windbreak stops the wind.” It slows the wind near the ground, so less sand is lifted, but some still moves.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: run the fan test once each way as a class demonstration and weigh the sand together.
• Bigger: test damp sand against dry sand. Which blows away more, and why?

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: we changed whether there was a windbreak; we measured the mass of sand blown onto the paper in 30 seconds, in grams; we kept the same the sand, the tray, the fan speed and distance, the time, and we levelled the sand before every run.
• Part B: masses vary. Usually far less sand blows off with the windbreak, and the two runs of each test are close to each other.
• Part C: rows of trees slow the wind near the ground, so less dry soil is lifted and blown away.
• Part D: wind, cards 2, 3, 6, 7; water, cards 1, 4, 5, 8, 9.

Does a windbreak help?

A. Our fair test

B. Sand blown off in 30 seconds (g)

C. What it tells us

D. Wind or water?

Wind or water?

Cut out the cards. Read each one and decide whether wind or water is doing the eroding.

Teacher note: sweep up the sand afterwards and keep it dry for Lesson 6. Glasses stay on until the fan is off.

Rivers carry and drop

A river is the great carrier of the land: it picks up sediment, carries it along (transportation) and drops it where the water slows down (deposition). Children shake a jar of water with gravel, sand and soil and watch it settle into layers, the biggest pieces at the bottom and the finest mud on top, because heavy pieces sink first when the water stops moving. Then they pour water down a tray of damp sand, watch a channel form, and see a fan of sand, a delta, build where the water spreads out and slows.

We are learning to

• describe transportation and deposition by moving water,
• measure the layers that settle in a jar, in millimetres,
• explain why slowing water drops its load and builds landforms such as deltas.

Success criteria

• I can describe the order of the layers in our jar and explain it.
• I can explain where and why a delta builds up.

You need

• for each group: a clear jar with a lid, a cup each of gravel, coarse sand and garden soil, water and a ruler,
• a long tray of damp sand propped up at one end, a jug of water, and a bucket to catch the overflow,
• the journey cards (third sheet), one set per pair, and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Shake the jars at the start of Session A and do the stream tray; start Session B with the board, then read the jars.

Watch for these ideas

• “A river only carries water.” It also carries sand, mud and stones; the muddier the water, the more it is carrying.
• “Mud floats.” Fine mud sinks too, just very slowly, which is why the water above the layers stays cloudy for hours.
• “Deposition only happens at the sea.” Water drops sediment wherever it slows: on the inside of a bend, in a lake, at the foot of a slope.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: run one settling jar and one stream tray as class demonstrations.
• Bigger: raise the top of the stream tray higher. Does faster water carry more sand? Where does the delta build now?

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: gravel at the bottom, then sand, then fine soil on top, with cloudy water above that clears slowly; thicknesses vary. The biggest, heaviest pieces sink first when the water stops moving.
• Part B: the water cut a channel and carried sand down the tray. Where it reached the flat end it spread out and slowed, and dropped the sand in a fan shape, like a delta.
• Part C: D (weathering), B (erosion), F (erosion), A (transportation), E (transportation), C (deposition).

Carry and drop

A. The settling jar

B. The stream tray

C. The journey of a grain

The journey of a grain of sand

Cut out the cards and put them in order, from the mountain to the sea. Then name the process on each card: weathering, erosion, transportation or deposition.

Teacher note: some cards show two processes at once (the creek both carries the chip and wears it down); accept either name with a reason.

Fast or slow?

The same four processes can change the land slowly or rapidly. A river may take millions of years to carve a gorge, while a landslide or a flood reshapes a place in minutes. Children sort twelve change cards into rapid and slow, then place them along a class time line from seconds to millions of years. The surprise is the cliff that falls in seconds after waves have undercut it for hundreds of years: slow change can set up a sudden one.

We are learning to

• sort changes to the land into rapid and slow,
• place changes on a time line by roughly how long they take,
• explain how slow change can lead to a sudden one.

Success criteria

• I can sort the change cards into rapid and slow and give a reason for a tricky one.
• I can explain why a falling cliff is both a rapid and a slow change.

You need

• the change cards (third sheet), one set per pair,
• a string line or a long strip of paper across the room, labelled from “seconds” to “millions of years”, and pegs or tape,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the sort; start Session B with the class time line.

Watch for these ideas

• “Slow change is not real change.” Over thousands and millions of years, slow change shapes whole mountains and valleys.
• “Rapid changes come from nowhere.” Many sudden changes, such as a cliff falling or a landslide, follow years of slow weathering and erosion.
• “A million years is about the same as a thousand.” Use the time line: a million years is a thousand lots of a thousand years.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: sort six cards first, three rapid and three slow, then the rest.
• Bigger: find a news story about a rapid change in Australia, such as a flood or a beach washed away, and name the process that caused it.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: rapid, cards 1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12; slow, cards 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10.
• Part B, roughly: seconds to minutes: 1, 8; hours: 4, 11, 12; days: 5; years: 3; hundreds to thousands of years: 6, 7, 9; hundreds of thousands to millions of years: 2, 10. Accept a sensible order with a reason.
• Part C: card 8. The fall took seconds, but the waves had been wearing away the foot of the cliff for hundreds of years first.
• Part D: rapid change is usually more dangerous for people because it gives little warning; slow change shapes more of the land over time.

Fast or slow?

A. Sort the cards

B. Our time line

Write the card numbers above the line, from the fastest change to the slowest.

C. Slow then sudden

D. Think about it

Change cards

Cut out the cards. Sort them into rapid and slow changes, then put them in order along the time line.

Teacher note: the times on the answer key are rough; what matters is the order and the reason. Keep the cards for Lesson 10.

Landforms of Australia

Australia is full of landforms shaped by the four processes. Children read six landform cards, from the Twelve Apostles to Kings Canyon, find the clues that tell which processes shaped each one and how fast, and explain one landform in their own words. They find each place on a map of Australia as they go.

We are learning to

• identify the processes that shaped real Australian landforms,
• use clues in a text as evidence for a process,
• explain how one landform formed, using the four process words.

Success criteria

• I can name the processes that shaped each landform and point to the clue on the card.
• I can explain how one landform formed, using at least two process words.

You need

• the landform cards (third sheet), one set per pair,
• a map of Australia on the board or wall,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the landform detectives; start Session B with “Explain one”.

Watch for these ideas

• “Landforms have always looked like this.” Every landform was shaped, and is still being shaped, by weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition.
• “Uluru was built up out of the ground.” Uluru is what is left standing after the softer land around it was worn away.
• “A sand island is just broken rock from nearby.” K’gari’s sand was carried along the coast by waves and currents for thousands of years before it was dropped there.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: read three cards together as a class first, then pairs do the other three.
• Bigger: find a landform near your school and write a card for it in the same style.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: The Twelve Apostles, weathering and erosion by the waves (slow, with a sudden collapse); The Pinnacles, weathering by rainwater, and erosion by the wind (slow); Uluru, weathering, and erosion of the land around it (slow); K’gari (once called Fraser Island), transportation and deposition by waves, currents and wind (slow); The Murray Mouth, transportation and deposition (fast enough that the dredging never stops); Kings Canyon, weathering and erosion by water and wind (slow).
• Part B, for example: ‘The Pinnacles formed when rainwater slowly weathered the limestone into pillars, and the wind eroded the loose sand from around them.’
• Uluru: the climb closed in 2019 out of respect for the Anangu people, who look after Uluru; visitors walk around its base instead.

Landform detectives

A. What shaped it?

B. Explain one

Landforms of Australia

Cut out the cards. Read each one closely and underline the clues that tell you which processes shaped it.

Teacher note: Uluru is looked after by its Anangu traditional owners together with Parks Australia. Some sacred sites around its base must not be photographed or shared, so choose photos taken from the public viewing areas.

Protecting the land

People use what they know about erosion to protect soil, beaches and riverbanks. Children design a way to stop a bare soil slope washing away, using a few simple materials, test it with the same rain as in Lesson 4, and measure the mud that still runs off. Then they meet six people who protect the land in their work and explain how each one uses the science.

We are learning to

• use what we know about erosion to design a way to protect soil,
• test a design fairly and compare it with our Lesson 4 results,
• explain how people use erosion science to make decisions about the land.

Success criteria

• I can explain how my design slows the water or holds the soil.
• I can say how one person on the cards uses the science of erosion.

You need

• for each group: a tub of damp soil with a notch, as in Lesson 4, a watering can, a 500 mL measure, a clear jar and a ruler,
• building materials for each group: ten paddle-pop sticks, two cloth scraps, a handful of small stones, five straws and a handful of grass clippings,
• the Lesson 4 results, the people cards (third sheet), and the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? Plan and build in Session A; start Session B with the test and the people cards.

Watch for these ideas

• “The best design stops all the water.” The water has to go somewhere. Good designs slow it, let it soak in, or guide it away gently.
• “Erosion is always bad.” Erosion is natural, and deposition builds beaches and rich river flats; people step in where erosion harms soil, homes or rivers.
• “One test proves it.” Compare with other groups and with Lesson 4, and think about what was different each time.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: give each group one material to test (sticks, cloth or stones) and compare across the class.
• Bigger: test the best design on a steeper slope, then suggest one improvement and test it again.

Answers and look-fors

• Part A: designs vary: rows of sticks across the slope (like terraces), cloth laid over the soil (like erosion matting), stones along the bottom (like a rock wall), clippings as mulch. The reason says how it slows the water or holds the soil.
• Part B: depths vary. Usually a design that slows the water across the whole slope, or covers it, sends off much less mud than the bare tub did in Lesson 4.
• Part C: crop farmer, erosion by rain and wind, because the stubble covers and holds the soil; landcare volunteers, erosion of the creek bank by flowing water; builder, loose soil being carried away; it is dropped behind the fence instead; grazier, erosion by rain and wind, because the grass keeps covering the soil; dune care group, erosion of the dunes by wind and waves; engineer, erosion by fast water and waves.
• Part D, for example: plant groundcover on the bare bank beside the oval and make one path, so feet and rain stop wearing it away.

Save the slope

A. Our design

B. Our test

C. People who protect the land

D. Our school

People who protect the land

Cut out the cards. Read what each person does, then decide how it stops erosion.

Teacher note: Landcare groups work in most Australian towns; a local group may be glad to visit, or to let the class help with a planting day.

Show what we know

The summative lesson, run as a celebration. Each child draws a landscape on A3 paper from a mountain to the sea, showing all four processes with labels and arrows for where the material moves, plus one slow change and one rapid change. Children gallery-walk each other’s landscapes, sit the final check alone, and close with the on-screen quiz as a class game.

We are learning to

• show where weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition happen in a landscape,
• explain how the processes link, from a mountain to the sea,
• show what we know on our own on the final check.

Success criteria

• My landscape shows all four processes, each labelled in a place where it really happens.
• I can show on the final check how the four processes change the land, slowly and rapidly.

You need

• A3 paper and coloured pencils,
• the cards from the term (the clue table, the journey cards, the change cards) for ideas,
• the plan worksheet (next sheet) and the final check (third sheet), one each per child, and the interactive unit open for the closing quiz.

Lesson flow (about 60 minutes)

Running two half-sessions instead? End Session A after drawing time and keep the landscapes safe. Start Session B with the gallery walk, then the final check and the class quiz.

Watch for these ideas

• Weathering and erosion labelled in the same spot. Ask: where is the rock breaking, and where are the pieces moving?
• Deposition drawn where the water is fast, such as halfway down a steep slope. Ask: is the water fast or slow there?
• Arrows that carry sediment uphill. Ask: which way does the water flow, and so which way does it carry the sand?

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: give a printed outline of a mountain, a river and the sea; the child adds the processes, labels and arrows.
• Bigger: add people protecting the land, and explain what each one is doing and which process they slow down.

Answers and look-fors

• Final check marking guide: 1 weathering. 2 the water swells as it freezes and pushes the crack wider, until the rock splits. 3 where it meets the calm sea. 4 erosion, by the wind. 5 a landslide after heavy rain. 6 the bare tub, because nothing slowed the water or held the soil. 7 the rock cracks on the mountain (weathering), the creek carries the pebble (transportation), the river drops its sand at the mouth (deposition). 8 any correct example, such as plants whose roots hold the soil, mulch that covers it, or windbreaks that slow the wind.
• A score of 6 or more out of 8, plus a landscape with all four processes placed where they really happen, meets the descriptor. The rubric near the front of the pack turns this into a level.
• Meeting the idea at the gallery sounds like “the rock cracks up on the mountain, the creek carries the pieces down, and the river drops the sand at the sea where it slows down”.

My landscape plan

A. Where each process happens

B. Slow and rapid

C. A quick sketch first

Show what we know

Show what you know about how the land changes. Read each one, then circle or write. Take your time.

Teacher note: read the items aloud one at a time. The marking guide is on this lesson’s plan; the rubric near the front of the pack turns the score into a level.