What's going on in Mr. Solarz' Class?

Lesson 8 - Fossils in Rock Layers

8/9/2018

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Big Ideas:

Patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers help explain changes in a landscape over time.

2 Days:

No prep.

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Describes how fossils in rock layers help explain changes in a landscape over time and is able to identify why certain fossils are located in certain rock layers.
Is adept at identifying how fossils they’ve never seen before can help explain changes in a landscape over time.

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Lesson 7 - Shaping the Earth

8/9/2018

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Big Ideas:

Patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers help explain changes in a landscape over time.

1 Day:

View the Videos Grand Canyon Over Time and Grand Canyon Formation prior to teaching the lesson.

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Demonstrates how patterns in rock formations help explain changes in a landscape over time and is able to describe some of those patterns.
Demonstrates how unfamiliar examples of patterns in rock formations can explain changes in a landscape over time.

Watch this video first:

Hand out the worksheet, and then begin watching these videos from Science Companion:

Complete the assessment/Performance Task from Science Companion.

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Lesson 6 - Mapping Earthquakes

8/9/2018

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Big Ideas:

Movements of the Earth’s crust shape the landscape.
Most earthquakes occur in bands along tectonic plate boundaries.

1 Day:

Review the Earthquake: Data and Earthquake: Map science notebook sections to know where the students will plot earthquake points on their maps.

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Explains why most earthquakes occur at plate boundaries.
Researches why earthquakes might occur at other places on Earth.

Whole-Class Activity:

Either choose to do the Science Companion lesson as is, or switch to the Mystery Science lesson (same lesson being taught). One thing to note is that the Mystery Science lesson does not correlate all that well with the Science Companion lesson. You may need to teach some of those ideas separately.

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Lesson 5 - Moving Plates Create Landscapes

8/9/2018

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Big Ideas:

Movements of the Earth’s crust shape the landscape.
Most earthquakes occur in bands along tectonic plate boundaries.

2 Days:

Prepare the materials for the modeling activity in Session 2.

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Explains why some mountain ranges form at convergent plate boundaries.
Can name specific mountain ranges.
Explains why mid-ocean ridges form at divergent plate boundaries.
Can name and describe other landscapes that form at divergent plate boundaries.

Whole-Class Activities:

These videos are REALLY tough! But don't get discouraged! Try to learn whatever you can!

Optional Activity:

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Lesson 4 - Investigating Erosion and Deposition

8/9/2018

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Big Ideas:

Moving water, ice, wind, and living things shape landscapes.
Moving water, ice, and wind break down rock, transport materials, and shape landscapes.

3 Days:

Teach "Skill Builder Designing a Fair Test" before this lesson
Set up one river table and one windstorm box before Day 1.
Locate a station in your classroom and prepare the materials needed for the river tables and the windstorm boxes.

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Explains that some changes to landscapes happen quickly, but that most take place over many years.
Can describe specific examples of changes that happen quickly and ones that take place over a long period of time.

Whole-Class Activities:

Have students read, "Rivers Shape Landscapes" and "Wind Shapes Landscapes" prior to teaching the lesson. The information helps them plan their investigations.
Conduct the Sand Dunes or River Table lab (read, answer questions, follow the Scientific Method to conduct a test, etc.).
Watch the videos below.
Answer the Reflection/Synthesis Questions at the bottom of the post.

Whole-Class Activity:

Reflection/Synthesis Questions:

Answers:

What were you trying to create in today's lab?
What improvements did we make to the model from trial to trial? After you list each improvement, explain why we made that change and explain if it helped or not.
What did the final model demonstrate for us? Was there anything that didn't work out? If so, what were we not able to demonstrate?
What would have been challenging for you if you were asked to do this entire lesson on your own?

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Lesson 3 - Glaciers Change Landscapes

8/9/2018

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Big Ideas:

Moving water, ice, wind, and living things shape landscapes.
Moving water, ice, and wind break down rock, transport materials, and shape landscapes.

2 Days:

Ice cubes and glaciers in the freezer.

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Describe how water, ice, wind, living organisms, and gravity break rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller particles and move them around.
Describe specific examples of processes that break down and move rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller particles.

Whole-Class Activities:

Watch the time lapse video above to SEE what a glacier is.
Have students read, "What Is a Glacier?" prior to teaching Session 1 or during the Session 1 Introductory Discussion.
Have students read, "Glaciers Shape Landscapes" after Session 1.
Watch the videos below.

Evidence of Learning:

Students will be given RESPONSIBILITY PARTNERS and asked to create a video explaining:

how a glacier is formed,
how a glacier advances,
how a glacier retreats,
where glaciers are generally located, and
what makes glaciers move.

Students will be asked to demonstrate (or use visuals in a different way) the questions above, while giving as much information as they can to support their answers. They can use any resources to help them create their video that they'd like.

Students need to embed this video into a blog post entitled, "Glaciers Change Landscapes." Then answer the reflection questions at the bottom of this post by typing them into the blog post.

Finally, read the article entitled, "Glaciers Change Landscapes" below...

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Lesson 2 - Abrasion Weathers Rock

8/9/2018

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Big Ideas:

Moving water, ice, wind, and living things shape landscapes.
Moving water, ice, and wind break down rock, transport materials, and shape landscapes.

1 Day:

No prep.

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Explains that landscapes result from four specific processes, and can explain how these processes can act to create landscapes.
Can explain which process(es) are involved in the creation of several specific landscapes.

Whole-Class Activities:

There are 4 main processes that cause landforms on earth: Weathering, Erosion, Abrasion, and Deposition. We need to learn the differences between each of these processes and which landforms are created by each.

"Grinding Rocks" Lesson

Which processes are involved in the creation of each landscape? Explain how.

Processes:

Weathering
Erosion
Abrasion
Deposition

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Lesson 1 - Landscapes Change

8/7/2018

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Big Ideas:

Moving water, ice, wind, and living things shape landscapes.
Moving water, ice, and wind break down rock, transport materials, and shape landscapes.

2 Days:

Session 1 is outside (preferably after a rain)

Student Goals for the Lesson:

Explains that the Earth’s surface changes constantly and that landscapes result from those changes.
Can name specific landscapes that result from those changes.