SIOP Lesson Plan Day #3

Standards:
2.a. Students know water running downhill is the dominant process in shaping the landscape,
including Californias landscape.
7. a. Develop a hypotheses.

Theme: Planet Earth.

Lesson Topic: Is Earths Surface Worn Down? (Lesson 3 of 5)

Objectives:
Language: Form an opinion and support it with details by participating in a debate on the different
types of weathering, mechanical or chemical
Content: Outline the different types of weathering and their causes by completing a graphic
organizer.

Learning Strategies: Graphic Organizer, whole class, group, individual, debate, rank ordering

Key Vocabulary:
1.

erosion

2.

sediment

3.

weathering

4.

chemical

5.

mechanical

6.

glacier

Materials: graphic organizer, 6th grade Houghton-Mifflin Science books, materials to model
chemical weathering (safety goggles, rock, chalk, vinegar, bowl)

Motivation: 1.

Brainstorming: Students work as whole group with the teacher or in small

groups. Teacher begins with a stimulus such as pictures of erosion due to water like the cliffs above
a beach and pictures of erosion due to chemicals and has the students decide the cause of the
erosion in the pictures.
2.
In-text questions: Students respond to teacher-constructed questions about the reading
selection from the 6th grade Houghton-Mifflin Science books as they read it. Questions are designed
to guide students through the reading and provide a purpose for reading. Students preview the Intext questions (teacher constructed questions) first then answer them as they read the chapter.
Students review their answers with their small group, and then share them with the whole group.

Presentation: (language and content objectives, comprehensible input, strategies, interactive

and feed back)
1.

Discuss with students the difference between the physical and chemical weathering.

2.
Comprehensible Input: Mechanical weathering breaks larger rocks into small pieces called
sediments. Erosion carries these sediments to other places. Chemical weathering changes the
composition of rocks. The changes caused by erosion and weathering usually comes about very
slowly.
3.

Form students into teacher built groups, to support language and content abilities.

4.
Display directions in written form and read together, for each step of the model making,
including each group members responsibility. Check for understanding.

Practice/Application: (Meaningful activities, interaction, strategies, practice and application,

feedback)
1.
Rock Weathering Experiment: Using a nail scratch the calcite over a plastic bowl to make small
pile of dust. Tilt the bowl to spread the dust as evenly as possible across the bottom and up the
sides.
2.
Observe: Use the eyedropper to drip several drops of water along one side of the bowl.
Observe what happens to the dust that the water meets. Use a hand lens to observe more closely.
Record your observation.
3.
Predict: What do you think will happen to calcite when it comes in contact with vinegar? Write
your predictions in your Science notebook.
4.
Observe: Using another bowl, repeat step 1. Then repeat step 2 but use vinegar instead of
water.
Observe and record what happens.
Review/Assessment: (Review Objectives and vocabulary and assess learning)
1.
Informal Assessment: a) What physical weathering broke the calcite into smaller pieces? b)
Predict how chemicals can wear down Earths surface?
2.
Ask the students to hypothesize- In nature, how could pieces of rock change when exposed to
rushing water? How could rock change when exposed to acids? Use your results from the
experiment to support your hypothesis.
Extension:
1.
Exit Ticket: On an index card, Compare and Contrast the different weathering.
Remember to use vocabulary words correctly in your response.
2.
HOTS questions (working with buddy): Can water break apart rocks when it freezes into
ice? Design an experiment using chalk, water, a plastic bag and a freezer. Write a report to
communicate the steps you followed, your results, and your conclusion.