Erosion Eats Away California Cliff

Contributor
NBC News
Type Category
Instructional Materials
Types
Phenomenon
Note
This resource, vetted by NSTA curators, is provided to teachers along with suggested modifications to make it more in line with the vision of the NGSS. While not considered to be “fully aligned,” the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance using the EQuIP rubric to adapted existing resources. Read more here.

Reviews

Description

This phenomenon is meant to be an anchoring event for a larger unit on Earth’s Systems and processes that shape the Earth.  Students would have to engage in a number of investigations to compare solutions that slow or prevent water or wind from changing the shape of the land.  They would also have to use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth’s events can occur quickly or slowly. Questions to stimulate student conversation could be: What is happening in this video?  What problems do the residents face? How could the problem be prevented or slowed down? Is this a quick or slow change to the land? How do you know it is a quick or slow change? What evidence supports your claim?

 

Intended Audience

Educator and learner
Educational Level
  • Upper Elementary
  • Grade 5
  • Grade 4
  • Grade 3
  • Grade 2
Language
English
Access Restrictions

Free access - The right to view and/or download material without financial, registration, or excessive advertising barriers.

Performance Expectations

2-ESS1-1 Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

Clarification Statement: Examples of events and timescales could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes, which happen quickly and erosion of rocks, which occurs slowly.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of timescales.

This resource was not designed to build towards this performance expectation, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
This video is meant to engage and motivate students to think about Earth’s Systems and processes that shape the Earth quickly or slowly. Conversations between class members could be about whether the change is quick or slow, what is happening to the shoreline, what dangers are evident, and how might further erosion of the cliff be prevented.

Science and Engineering Practices

This resource was not designed to build towards this science and engineering practice, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice
This media clip naturally grabs students' attention by using a real life problem along a California shoreline. By observing the eroding shoreline, students begin to ask questions, construct explanations, and generate their own ways to solve the erosion problem. Merely watching this video will not provide enough evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly. Providing more examples of ways the Earth changes through volcanic eruptions, weathering, or earthquakes allows students to observe changes and provides evidence to categorize Earth events into quick or slow changes.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

This resource was not designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea
This media clip provides opportunities for the students to observe a natural occurrence while in progress and generates conversations among students about whether changes are occurring quickly or slowly to the shoreline.

Crosscutting Concepts

This resource was not designed to build towards this crosscutting concept, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
Students will need more opportunities to observe, discuss and analyze how Earth events can occur quickly or slowly. Tracking the types of Earth events with evidence of the slow or quick changes can be recorded in student notebooks.

Resource Quality

  • Alignment to the Dimensions of the NGSS: - none -

  • Instructional Supports: - none -

  • Monitoring Student Progress: - none -

  • Quality of Technological Interactivity: - none -