Erosion Fun!

With all of the rain we have been having lately, I felt it was the perfect time to start talking about erosion.  My original plan was to walk around the school and find some examples of what might be erosion, but since the rain didn't really let up much this week that might have to be a continuation lesson for next week.  For our main investigation this week, the students were put into pairs and built a sand tower.  The students took a cup full of sand and turned it upside down onto their work surface.  Then each pair of students was given a water dropper and had to add water to their tower.  Some groups counted on drops for a very short time and some continued to count for quite awhile.

Before Erosion

Before Erosion

Before Erosion

Before Erosion

Erosion in Action

Our lowest number of drops before there was a change was 47 and our highest number of drops before there was a change was 201.  We discussed how if you drop the water in the same place the whole time, then that area will erode faster and there will be a change sooner.  The students noticed that if you spread out the drops of water, then it took much longer (and more water) to erode.  As a class we also talked about how each of the towers were shaped differently to begin with, even though they all used the same type of cup to form their towers.  

Later we watched this video on erosion.

We ended the activity with each student eating a lollipop (as discussed in the video) and talked about some facts about erosion.

Yummy Erosion!

Our latest addition with our Class Dojo points, is our Class Dojo Star.  This goes to the student who has the most points at the end of the week.  They get a very special reward and get to sit at a desk all by themselves, where they have their own special supplies and they get to sit in a fun decorated desk.  The student has the choice to sit there everyday of the following week and it really sets them apart as someone who is doing what they need to in class.  Check out our first Class Dojo Star!

Have a great weekend!