Our Amazing Earth
A Classrooms Unleashed Program
for Fourth Grade Students
Students become geologists, learning about patterns of change to the earth’s surface, with a focus on weathering and erosion. In addition to a field study at Deer Creek Hills Nature Preserve, we provide in-class lessons in the Our Amazing Earth program.
All of our lessons are backward designed from Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for fourth grade. In addition to the Sierra Nevada Journeys-led lessons, classroom teachers will be provided with 3-4 easy-to-use learning experiences to reinforce concepts and vocabulary, as well as pre- and post-assessments.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Classroom LessoN: WEATHERING and Erosion
Fourth-grade geologists use hands-on simulations to discover the concept of weathering and investigate the causes and effects this natural process has on rocks.
Students explore how different factors affect the rate of erosion. Then, they will use their understanding of how sediment moves to collaboratively build a landscape with the goal of increasing or decreasing the rate of erosion.
Outdoors at a local nature area: WEATHERING AND EROSION IN THE REAL WORLD
This field study at the beautiful Deer Creek Hills Nature Preserve has your geologists practicing their observation skills to explore the outdoors and use what they’ve learned about weathering and erosion to investigate and interpret the causes of observed changes to the landscape.
TEACHER INFORMATION
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
4-ESS2-1: SEP: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations; DCI: Earth Materials and Systems; CC: Cause and Effect
COMMON CORE
W.4.8, SL4.1, SL4.3
In partnership with:
