"CANYON" SAY WIND, WATER, AND ICE?

"CANYON" SAY WIND, WATER, AND ICE?

MASTER TEACHER Robbie Mumford

GRADES 4-5

OVERVIEW
In this lesson the students will observe the causes and effects of erosion as the slow wearing away of the Earth's surface by wind, water, and ice. They will experiment with the effects of chemicals acting as agents of erosion. In a sweet "grand" way, they will recreate how a landmark such as the Grand Canyon was formed by means of erosion. Then they move down the Colorado River in a final graphing activity.

ETV SERIES
Bill Nye, the Science Guy, "Erosion" # 411

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to:
* Identify how wind, water, and ice cause erosion of the Earth's surface
*View how chemicals ( like acid rain) can be agents of erosion
*Witness the same type of carving action of erosion that form the Grand
Canyon
*Read and interpret graphic information on the Colorado River

MATERIALS
for teacher
Pre-viewing activities:
Sample of limestone or sandstone
Picture of astronauts' footprints on the moon
One clean piece of white paper

per table of 4 -5 students
The Two W's-Wind and Water:
Shallow pan
Soil/sand
Grass/twigs/rocks
Blow dryer
Sprinkling can or pouring cup
Water

per table group of 4 - 5
Acid Attack!:
Lemon juice
Vinegar
Medicine dropper
Two pieces of white chalk

for teacher
Sugar Cube Canyon:
Box of sugar cubes
Water and pouring cup
Large nail

for teacher
Pop Goes the Bottle:
One empty film canister filled with water and push-close cap
One empty film canister filled with frozen water and push-close cap( frozen
overnight)

per teacher
Colorado River Elevation Graph:
Graph sheet ( see end of lesson)
Pencil

VOCABULARY
erosion - the slow wearing away of the Earth's surface
runoff - water that drains off land
sediment - soil, sand, and rocks carried by wind and water
acid rain - weak acids that fall as rain
deposition - the dropping of sediments moved by erosion

PRE-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Have students examine sample of limestone or sandstone. Rub two of the stones together over a piece of paper. Ask them to describe what happens. They should observe that the stones are slightly worn down where they have rubbed together. They should also observe that small particles from the stones collect on the paper. Illicit that this kind of wearing away action changes the size and shapes of rocks. Next, show students picture of astronauts' footprints on the moon. Recall with students that astronauts first landed on and explored the moon in 1969. Explain that they left many footprints in the powdery soil of the moon. Tell the students that today these prints look just as they did in 1969. Have them hypothesize about why this is so.(There is no wind or water to weather erode the rocks and soil) Then, have the students describe what happens to footprints made in the soil of the Earth. Tell them most weathered materials are carried to other places. The movement of weathered rock and soil from one place to another is called erosion. Wind, water, and ice are called agents of erosion.

FOCUS FOR VIEWING
To give students a specific responsibility while viewing, ask students to listen for the four main causes and effects of erosion. Tell the students that the video "will rock their world by erosion". Don't "run off" because our "sediment" will be moved by wind, water, and ice today. We may need an umbrella to protect us from the "acid rain". Let's settle our "deposition" as we begin to explore with Bill Nye the cause and effects of erosion. Be prepared for the graphing activity that will further our knowledge down the Colorado River in our final activity today.

VIEWING ACTIVITIES
BEGIN viewing tape at the beginning. PAUSE after Bill Nye makes the statement "Every rock on the Earth's surface will be different tomorrow from the way it is today" while kneeling down and pointing to the rock formation behind Nye Laboratories door. Ask student, " Why will every rock be different tomorrow?" (They are eroding) Tell them to watch for the named causes of eroding. RESUME video. PAUSE after Bill Nye yells,"Never!" on the rock formation. Have students name the causes of erosion. (water, ice, wind, sand, and chemicals, particularly stressing the first three.) Tell students we will be watching different methods of erosion caused by water and wind. Notice the beautiful landmarks formed by water/wind erosion. RESUME video. PAUSE when the girl in the blue jacket on the beach finishes the sand experiment saying, "It doesn't erode as fast." Tell students we will now explore our own testing station for wind and water erosion. Begin the Two W's activity. Give instructions: Each group takes a shallow pan filling it about one third full with soil/sand, placing grass/twigs/rocks on top. Ask, " How does wind change the land?" Next have students in groups blow air from blow dryer onto the soil pile. Discuss that wind weathers rocks by blowing particles against them and erodes them as they move from one place to another. Now ask, " How does water change the land?". Have students move soil/sand into a pile in the pan and pour water on top of the pile. Try tilting pan and pour water again. Discuss how running water moves materials from one place to another. As we tilted the pan, it deposited sediment at the bottom just as rivers do. Infer how water and wind can change the land. Have students clean up, ready to watch how chemicals like "acid rain" can be a cause of erosion. RESUME video. PAUSE after girl in E.R.- Erosion applies polish to the statue of liberty. Say to students " Let's explore our version of a testing station on chemical erosion." Begin Acid Attack! activity. Give directions: Take the two pieces of white chalk and place a few drops of lemon juice on one and vinegar on the other. Watch and listen carefully as lemon juice and vinegar (acids) come in contact with the chalk. They will start to dissolve and fizz. Discuss how rain water can become slightly acidic when it reacts with elements in the air. Over time, acid rain can eat away at rocks causing them to erode. Have students clean up, ready to continue wind and water formations caused by erosion. Also, how plants can prevent and effect the amount of erosion. RESUME video. PAUSE when Way Cool Scientist screen is shown. Tell students that the Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular canyons in the world. Some of the rocks date back two million years! Over the centuries, water and weather conditions eroded layers of rock, which resulted in the formation of canyon walls. As the Grand Canyon formed, it cut through nearly 1 and 1/4 miles of mainly sandstone rocks. It may be hard to imagine all these happenings on such a "grand" scale. Begin Sugar Cube Canyon observation activity to show what happened as the Grand Canyon was being carved out of the Earth. Group students so that all can see as the teacher takes out a box of sugar cubes(lid cut off) , punches holes with a large nail in one end of the box and places the box on a slight angle with the holey end at the lowest point. Have students observe the sugar cubes as the water slowly "erodes" them. Compare the sugar cube canyon to the Grand Canyon. Tell students, " Now let's watch to see the effects of erosion by ice." RESUME video. STOP video after Earth, Wind and Ice musical soundtrack of song "Causing the Erosion." Begin Pop Goes the Bottle activity showing the film canister filled with liquid water and the one frozen over night. Ask, " What happened?" (ice pushed up the cap) "Does frozen water take up more or less space than liquid water?" (more) "This is how erosion by ice can happen as shown by Bill Nye in our show."

POST- VIEWING ACTIVITIES
We have seen that any rock exposed on the Earth's surface will slowly over time (sometimes even millions of years) be broken down, changed, and then be carried away to other parts of the Earth. The Grand Canyon represents over six million years of erosion. As the Colorado River flows, it slowly digs deeper into the rock. Each millimeter of rock that erodes away took 1,000 years to accumulate. Our final activity will have you read and interpret graphic information on the Colorado River elevations before we "erode" for the day. Pass out the Colorado River Elevation graph sheets. Allow each student on their own to read and interpret the graphic information to answer the questions on the sheet. Move around room to help and encourage where assistance is needed.

ACTION PLAN
Invite a geologist to visit the classroom or plan a field trip to the closest landmark created through erosion (cavern, canyon, river, mountains, etc.). Have students check out local statues for acid rain damage.
Visit the following web sites for further information and lessons.

Ask-a-geologist -- Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey are available on-line to answer student's earth science questions.
e-mail: usgs.gov

The National Speleogical Society -- helps you find out about caves near you.
http://www.caves.org/

EXTENSIONS
Science and Art
Create a wall mural depicting various farming methods used to conserve soil, such as contour farming, terrace farming, and plant selection. Direct students to consult encyclopedias and community resources such as the state agricultural agency for information.

Social Studies
Prepare three sets of cards with twenty cards in each set. On the first set, write the names of twenty of the world's largest rivers, such as the Nile, Amazon, Mississippi, Huang He, and so on. On the second set, write the continents on which these rivers are located. On the third set, write the names of the countries that the rivers flow through. Have the students play a version of "Go Fish" by matching the rivers, continents and countries. Allow students to use a prepared answer sheet and world map to verify their matches.

Reading
Bring in some pictures of interesting land formations, such as sand dunes, deserts, offshore sandbars, limestone caves, rocky cliffs or canyons. Travel brochures are good sources. Ask the students to identify the kind of land formation shown and speculate on how each formed. Read The Bunyans by Audrey Wood to delight students with the tall tale version of how famous landmarks were formed.

Math
Find a landmark that is familiar to the students and is about 1.5 km(1 mile) from the school. Explain that this distance represents the distance from the top of the Grand Canyon to the river that flows to it. This should help them imagine the awesome depth of the canyon.

Creative Writing
Ask the students to imagine that they are a stone that has been picked up by a glacier and carried hundreds of kilometers. Tell them to write about the effect that they have on the land over which they move.

The graph below shows the height above sea level (elevation) of some places you might make stops during a raft trip on the Colorado River.

Lees Ferry Phantom Mud Baths Diamond
Ranch Creek

1. What is the difference in elevation between Lees Ferry and Phantom
Ranch?

2. What is the difference in elevation between Phantom Ranch and Mud
Baths?

3. What is the difference in elevation between Mud Baths and Diamond
Creek?

4. What is the difference in elevation between Lees Ferry and Diamond
Creek?

5. What is the average elevation of the four places shown on the graph?

Updated: April 01, 2008