LESSON PLAN Teacher: Nisa Ali Lesson: 2 out of 5

Subject: Science Unit 2: The Changes to Land Over Time

Objective
SWBAT describe how erosion changes the shape of land by analyzing its forces. (math)

Science Standard Math CCLS

ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth
Some events happen very quickly; others occur very
slowly, over a time period much longer than one can
observe (2-ESS1-1)
Materials
● “Less Than, Greater Than” Anchor Chart
● “The Power of Water for Kids: How Erosion
Water Shapes Landforms for Children –
Freeschool” Video
● Comparing Causes of Erosion Worksheet
(on bottom of Lesson Plan)
● Kahoot
https://kahoot.it/challenge/06353881?challenge-id=f779984
8-f216-4640-b743-b984816f180f_1652573500524
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.NBT.A.4
Compare two three-digit numbers based on
meanings of the hundreds, tens, and ones digits,
using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of
comparisons.
Vocabulary
Tier 3:
by ● Geologists - scientist that studies Earth’s surface
● Formation - when something is made/created
Tier 2:
● Transport - to move from one place to another
● Force - a push or pull or anything that makes things
move + changes their shape

Time Connection/Motivation
3 mins. During huge rainstorms, my mom’s garden gets destroyed! A lot of her small plants are moved
from one side of the garden to the other when there’s a lot of wind. Just like how my mom’s plants
are moved from one place to another, all rocks, soil, natural materials, and even other plants on
Earth’s surface undergo a similar process –Erosion.

Mini-lesson
20 mins. Erosion is when natural forces like wind, water, glaciers/ice, and gravity cause natural
materials to transport from one place to another. This cause the shape, and even size of the
land to change quickly/slowly depending on the force that caused it.

Let’s watch this video to gain a better understanding on how these forces work.
~ Watch “The Power of Water for Kids: How Erosion by Water Shapes Landforms for
Children – Freeschool”.
● Start at 0:30
● Stop at 0:52: Can you recall how water changes the shape of a landscape during
Erosion? (ans. Water breaks down rock and dirt, and carries the particles away)
● Stop at 1:30: What are some of the features that can form after waves erode rocks
along the coast slowly over time? (ans. Beaches, Sea Stacks, and Cliffs)
● Stop at 2:48: How do glaciers/ice erode rock and other materials? What do they
form? (ans. As glaciers move, they break up pieces of rock and other stone. They can
form valleys and lakes as they carve through land).
~ Add the point that, Gravity also impacts Glacier’s role in Erosion because it pulls
ice downhill.
● END AT 2:56
 Alright students, one huge takeaway from the video is that different forces of Erosion cause
the shape and size of land to change over time because natural materials and rocks are
being transported from one place to another. New land features form over years due to the
continuous transportation of materials.

Now, for your independent activity in a bit, you will be completing a Math worksheet where
you can compare the speeds of the different forces or causes of Erosion! Before I send you
off to complete the worksheet, I want to go over the method you will practice.

Everyone’s eyes at this Anchor Chart please:

When comparing numbers, we use the terms, “less than
(<), greater than (>), and equal to (=). This helps us
organize numbers based on their value, and know which
amounts are larger, smaller, or equal to another.

Now, let’s read the directions of the Worksheet together:

“Geologists are studying the different causes of erosion
in a small region. Help the geologists compare the number
of land formations impacted by wind, water, ice, gravity,
and waves by circling the correct sign (> greater than, <
less than, = equal).”. Using the symbols, they want us to compare the different forces based
on the number of land formations they eroded.

Let’s do #’s 1 and 2 together.

~ For #1, we see that the force, Wind affected 92 land formations. Whereas, Water affected
58. Is 92 greater than, less than, or equal to 58? … Right, it’s greater than, so we circle the
(>) symbol on the worksheet!

~ For #2, we see that the Erosion force, Ice affected 49 land formations and Gravity
affected 63 land formations. Turn and talk to your partner, is 49 greater than, less than, or
equal to 63? … Let’s share ideas … Amazing! It’s less than so we will circle the (<) symbol
on the worksheet.
Independent/Partner/Group Work
15 mins. Now, I want everyone to complete the rest of the questions individually! After you and your
partner is finished, turn and talk. Explain why you chose the answers that you did.

Teacher will circulate while students are working with individually, then with a partner to
complete the assignment. Possible guiding questions that will help further the students
thinking are:
- Compare the values of the different numbers, which is larger/greater?
- Why did you and your partner agree on greater than instead of less than?

Share/Closing
6 mins. Students will share their answers for different questions, and explain their reasoning for
them.

Discussion should lead to something like …

● I chose “greater than (>) for #3 because the Wind force affected 92 land formations
and the Water affected 49.
Homework
Students will complete a Kahoot where they answer several “fill in the blank” questions about Erosion.

ANCHOR CHART
WORKSHEET