Disciplinary Core Ideas
In the last unit, students explored how weathering and erosion change Earth materials, and then designed an engineering solution that reduces erosion. In this unit, students are introduced to the science phenomena of landforms on Earth’s surface, exploring how scientists use maps to represent the shapes and kinds of land and water on Earth’s surface.
In this unit, students study Earth’s systems, analyzing the science phenomena of natural processes that shape Earth’s surface. In this lesson, students model the different ways that tectonic plates move to observe how landforms are created. This page showcases key aspects of this lesson.
In this unit, students analyze the science phenomena of how elements make up minerals, which make up rocks. In this lesson, they explore geologic phenomena that cause Earth’s surface to change over time in predictable patterns. This page is an overview of this lesson.
In this unit, students focus on the processes that cycle Earth materials, connecting the movement of water in the water cycle and wind with changes to Earth’s surface through weathering and erosion. In this lesson, students explore the science phenomena of how convection in Earth’s mantle causes the tectonic plates to move, creating many of Earth’s landforms. This page showcases key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students explore phenomena that change Earth’s surface over time, analyzing how weathering, erosion, and convection in the mantle are three phenomena that help to cycle Earth materials. In this final lesson of the unit, students use their knowledge to analyze the science phenomena of rock strata, thus reconstructing Earth’s geologic history. This page showcases components of this lesson.
