Purpose:

To explain shape and pattern.

Materials Needed

• Various size pebbles
• Paint roller pan
• Bucket of soil with leaves, pine needles, and so on
• Sand (5lb coffee can)
• Plastic knife, or trowel, or stick
• 2 paper cups
• Water (approximately 1 gallon)
• The above item set is needed for a group of five to six children. Increase as required for larger groups.

Engage

Divide children into small groups (four or five children per group). Ask the groups to discuss what they think mountains and rivers look like to a bird flying over them. After ten minutes, the groups share their thoughts with the class through an open discussion or science talk.

Explore

Divide children into groups of five again and give each group a set of supplies. Have the groups build a hillside at least five inches high at the shallow end of the paint pan. The children should use a mixture of soil, sand and pebbles to make the hillside. Have the children poke three holes in the bottom of one of the paper cups to resemble a watering can spout. Have the children pour the water into the watering paper cup while holding it over the hillside and observe what happens. Repeat as many times as the children wish, adding and subtracting pebbles, sand, leaves, etc. as they wish. Carefully pour out the water in the paint pan after each session.

Explain

Bring the groups together and have them discuss this activity. Guide the discussion toward erosion and how different materials eroded at different rates. Explain to the children this is why some areas look different. Sand moves easier than rocks. Dirt moves easier than sand, and so on. Also ask the children if they tried to make a river, or valley with their materials? What happened when they increased the water speed? Explain how water and wind can cause weathering. Lead them through an example of how an increase in water speed can cause the water to carry heavier objects and cause significant erosion.

Extend

Use plastic topographic maps and place a paper cup at the top of a mountain with one hole in the side of the cup. Have several children drip different colors of food coloring on to rivers, hillsides, and so on. Then pour some water into the cup. As the water drains out of the cup the children can see how the runoff collects as it travels down the mountain, into the river and so on. This activity will also allow the children to see how lakes and rivers are formed.

Evaluate

The children should be able to identify several topographic shapes and patterns, (i.e. hilltops, rivers, lakes, and so on).

Tips for Teachers

• Numerous activities address erosion and weather but do not tie directly into remote sensing. Think about other activities we are doing and how they can be linked to aerial observation. By accomplishing this step, your children will be on their way toward understanding remote sensing.

Next: Lesson 3: TEXTURE - Bumpy, Wrinkled, Smooth?