20386_Science_with_STEM_Year_4_Earth_and_Space_Sciences_Surface_changes

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Lesson 3 Earth and space sciences SURFACE CHANGES Teacher notes Science inquiry focus: What is weathering? How does weathering make soil? Science Inquiry Skills: • Questioning and predicting QP • Planning and conducting PC • Processing and analysing data and information PA • Communicating Science as a Human Endeavour: C • Students make predictions about how soil is created and what breaks down rocks on Earth’s surface. • Students describe the relationship between weathering and the changing surface of Earth. Background information • The rock soil comes from is often referred to as parent rock. Parent rock is the main factor in determining the texture of soil, whether it is acidic or basic and whether it is rich in nutrients. Climate is another important factor. • Natural processes can take more than 500 years to break down two centimetres of topsoil. • Weathering is the breaking down of rocks and soil on Earth’s surface. There are three forms of weathering— physical, chemical and biological. See pages 6, 7 and 8 of the BBC Bitesize website at . • Physical weathering occurs when the temperature of the rocks constantly changes, such as a freeze-thaw process, or by repeated exposure to sun, wind or rain which has an exfoliation effect on the rock. • Chemical weathering is caused by rainwater which becomes slightly acidic as it dissolves the carbon dioxide in the air as it falls. • Physical weathering is caused by living organisms such as the roots from a tree cracking the surface, an animal that burrows into a rock, or algae that attaches itself to a rock and produces a chemical that wears away the surface. Technology/Engineering/Mathematics links: • researching a definition online • scanning a QR code or typing a URL into a web broswer that links to a website to research information • using a digital application like Popplet or Book Creator to create a graphic organiser and sort information • taking digital photographs and printing them or using them in a digital application for comparison Assessment focus: • Use page 90 or the digital option as a formative assessment of the student’s ability to collect, represent and analyse information. Resources • Images of red sand beach and black sand beach • Mortar and pestle, rock salt for demonstration • Geological society website for definition of weathering • BBC Bitesize website at
Earth and space sciences SURFACE CHANGES Lesson 3 Lesson plan Introduction: 1. Show a selection of images of different-coloured sandy beaches to engage students; red sand beach , black sand beach . How were these beaches made? What do you notice about the nearby rocks? Do you think the beaches always looked like this? In pairs, students discuss possible answers. QP Development: 2. Pass a mortar and pestle, with rock salt in it, around the classroom for students to have a go at breaking down the rock salt. Discuss questions including: What do you think will happen to this rock salt if you grind it with the pestle? What will it look like? How might this be similar to how rocks become sand or soil? What acts as the 'pestle' in nature? QP 3. Introduce the term weathering. Students research a definition online or go to , and write an agreed definition to place on a word wall. PC 4. In pairs, students conduct their own research to explore how rocks undergo weathering by reading pages 6, 7 and 8 on the BBC Bitesize website at . Note: A QR code link to this website is provided on page 90 for students to scan as well as the URL. Students then create a graphic organiser or concept map using page 90, drawing their own graphic organiser, or using a digital application like Popplet or Book Creator. PC PA C Differentiation • Less capable students can draw pictures to explain the weathering process, or retell it orally using the audio recording function on an application such as Book Creator. • More capable students can research other websites, such as to compare information on weathering, and add any more information. 5. Students recreate the physical weathering process, freeze-thaw, to demonstrate how it works. Students use modelling clay to form a rock and then create a well in the middle which is filled with water. Seal the hole with clay and place in the freezer overnight. In the morning, students photograph the ‘rock’ which should have cracked to allow for the expanded frozen ice. Students should predict how the rock will look by drawing a diagram, and then compare the predicted diagram to the photograph taken after being in the freezer overnight. They may use page 91 to draw/paste their images, or use a digital application like Popplet or Seesaw instead. PC PA Reflection: ©R.I.C. Publications Low Resolution Images Display Copy 6. Watch the video How mountains turn to dust at , which summarises the process of weathering rock and how it changes Earth’s surface. Did you know that it took so many years to break down rock? What do you think this means for the future? What will Earth look like? What do you think is the most powerful weathering tool? C QP R.I.C. Publications® – www.ricpublications.com.au YEAR Science: 4 A STEM APPROACH 89
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20386_Science_with_STEM_Year_4_Earth_and_Space_Sciences_Surface_changes

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