Weathering Lesson Plan: Earth’s Systems

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Weathering Lesson Plan.

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Weathering, and supports the standard of making observations to provide evidence of the effects of weathering. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display a photo of an example of weathering, like this one:

Ask students:

  • What do you observe about this structure?
  • How do you think it was formed?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Weathering topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Have students read one of the Related Reading articles. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Students take the Weathering Challenge and Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about weathering while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a tutorial about weathering that explains how weathering helps form sedimentary rock.
  • Make-a-Map: Create a concept map comparing and contrasting mechanical and chemical weathering. Include examples of each type. 
  • Creative Coding: Code a learning game challenging players to sort forces and reactions as causes of mechanical or chemical weathering. 

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of weathering with these topics: Erosion, Soil, and Property Changes.

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Lesson Plan Next Generation Science Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 3-5-ETS1-1, 6-8, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7