Unit description
Duration: 8 weeks + 2 weeks optional consolidation
This unit teaches students how forces from wind, water and living things shape Earth’s surface. Students use models to describe how moving water causes erosion. Learning includes exploration of Torres Strait Islander Legends and Aboriginal Dreaming Stories about landscapes and landforms. Students model the internal structure of Earth and research the changes to the landscape caused by earthquakes and volcanoes.
Syllabus outcomes
ST2-SCI-01 uses information to investigate the solar system and the effects of energy on living, physical and geological systems
ST2-PQU-01 poses questions to create fair tests that investigate the effects of energy on living things and physical systems
ST2-DAT-01 uses and interprets data to describe patterns and relationships
Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024.
Posing questions
The posing questions outcome in each stage of the Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024) supports the Working Scientifically outcomes in Stage 4. To supplement the syllabus content and the teaching advice, the department has created an information document for posing questions available here: Posing questions – teacher information sheet (staff only).
Related learning
The learning in this unit will relate to ideas and content in Stage 1 Unit 3 and will be built on in future units as reflected in the sample scope and sequence – Science and technology K–6.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and Cultures: when planning and programming content relating to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and Cultures, teachers are encouraged to:
involve local Aboriginal Communities and/or appropriate Knowledge Holders in determining suitable resources
use Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander-authored or endorsed publications
read the principles and protocols relating to teaching and learning about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and Cultures and the involvement of local Aboriginal Communities.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources has been developed to assist teachers in selecting appropriate resources for teaching about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, Cultures and Languages respectfully and effectively.
Resources overview
The table below outlines the duration and resources required for each lesson.
Lesson
Duration and resources
Lesson 1 – landscapes and landforms
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 1 – Australian features
Resource 2 – Frayer model – landform
Resource 3 – Frayer model – landscape
Resource 4 – coastal landscape
Resource 5 – landscapes and landforms
Video: Landscape types (4:30)
Chart paper
Sticky notes
Writing materials
Lesson 2 – Torres Strait Islander Legends
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 5 – landscapes and landforms
Website: AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia
Website: Google Earth
Hoops labelled ‘landscapes’ and ‘landforms’
Vocabulary anchor chart
Writing materials
Lesson 3 – Aboriginal Dreaming Stories
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 6 – landscapes and landforms anchor chart
Website: AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia
Chart paper
Digital devices
Individual whiteboards
Markers
Modelling clay
Sticky notes
Vocabulary anchor chart
Writing materials
Lesson 4 – What is weathering?
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 1 – Australian features
Resource 7 – weathering cards
Video: Physical and Chemical Weathering of Rocks (3:49) (from 0:00–2:07)
Coins
Digital device with a camera
Labels – soft, medium, hard
Magnifying glasses
Metal file or nail
Rocks of different hardness (or a rock kit)
Vocabulary anchor chart
Writing materials
Lesson 5 – weathering by wind and water
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 8 – Which one does not belong?
Resource 9 – wind weathering
Resource 10 – wind weathering annotations
Resource 11 – water weathering
Resource 12 – water weathering annotations
Video: Why are river pebbles round? Sugar shake: erosion experiment (primary) (4:10) (from 0:00–2:10)
Plastic containers
Sandstone rocks or sugar cubes
Writing materials
Lesson 6 – weathering by living things
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 10 – wind weathering annotations
Resource 13 – flow chart symbols
Resource 14 – wind weathering flow chart
Video: What is Weathering? (6:57) (from 4:29–4:50)
Chart paper or digital Concept maps
Digital devices with a camera
Individual whiteboards
Magnifying glasses
Markers
Writing materials
Lesson 7 – erosion caused by water
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 15 – coastal erosion examples
Video: Twelve Apostles (6:22) (from 0:00–1:57)
Video: Coastal Erosion (3:43)
Individual whiteboards
Markers
Vocabulary anchor chart
‘Weathering rocks’ concept map from Lesson 6
Writing materials
Lesson 8 – planning an erosion fair test
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 16 – fair test
Resource 17 – fair test examples
Resource 18 – erosion investigation planner
Video: Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Experiment (3:33) (from 1:00–1:23)
Erosion flow chart completed in Lesson 7
Writing materials
Lesson 9 – conducting an erosion fair test
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 19 – erosion investigation factors
Resource 20 – erosion fair test steps
Resource 21 – keep the same checklist
Resource 22 – erosion fair test challenge
Cups or small containers
Damp sand
Digital device with camera app
Erosion investigation planners completed in Lesson 8
Measuring jugs
Props such as a thick book or small box
Rulers (30 cm)
Sticky notes
Trays (For example, aluminium trays, baking trays, tote trays)
Water
Writing materials
Lesson 10 – explaining fair test results
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 23 – annotated diagram
A3 paper
Erosion flow chart completed in Lesson 7
Glue sticks
Individual whiteboards
Markers
Photos from Lesson 9
Scissors
Vocabulary anchor chart
Writing materials
Lesson 11 – Earth’s internal structure
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 24 – research table scaffold
Website: Google Earth
Website: Structure of the Earth!
Website: The Earth’s structure (poster)
Modelled notetaking example from Lesson 3
Globe (optional)
Individual whiteboards
Markers
Vocabulary anchor chart
Writing materials
Lesson 12 – modelling Earth’s internal structure
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 25 – fix this diagram
Resource 26 – representing Earth’s internal structure
Resource 27 – modelling Earth’s internal structure
Website: The Earth’s structure (poster)
Modelling clay – 4 distinct colours such as red, yellow, green, blue
Paper plates
Research tables completed in Lesson 11
Rulers (30 cm)
String or dental floss
Writing materials
Lesson 13 – researching earthquakes
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 28 – Earth’s internal structure
Resource 29 – earthquakes
Resource 30 – fault line
Resource 31 – landslide
Chart paper
Individual whiteboards
Modelled note taking example from Lesson 3 and Lesson 11
Markers
Sticky notes
Writing materials
Lesson 14 – modelling landslides
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 29 – earthquakes
Resource 32 – modelling landslides
Damp sand
Gloves
Gravel
Modelled note taking example from Lesson 3 and Lesson 11
Scoops
Soil
Props such as a thick book
Tote trays
Writing materials
Lesson 15 – researching volcanic eruptions
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 5 – landscapes and landforms
Website: Volcano | Geoscience Australia
Video: Volcanic Eruptions (1:59)
Video: Volcanoes 101 (3:04)
Video: Volcanoes 101 | National Geographic (4:58) (from 3:22–4:35)
Chart paper
Modelled note taking example from Lesson 3 and Lesson 11
Sticky notes
Writing material
Lesson 16 – volcanoes change landscapes
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 33 – volcanic eruptions passage
Modelled note taking example from Lesson 3 and Lesson 11
Sticky notes
Vocabulary anchor chart
Writing materials
Optional consolidation – Activity 1
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Website: Tsunami
Website: Tsunami facts: Check out the mighty wave!
Concept map from Lesson 14
Writing materials
Optional consolidation – Activity 2
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Website: Science Experiment – Tsunami
Dirt
Model trees or small sticks with leaves
Newspaper
Plastic tray
Rocks/gravel
Sand
Small cardboard boxes (replicating houses)
Thick cardboard
Water
Optional consolidation – Activity 3
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Resource 34 – glacier vocabulary
Writing materials
Optional consolidation – Activity 4
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
Website: Seismology facts for kids
Digital devices
Writing materials
Lesson 1 – landscapes and landforms
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students demonstrate their understanding of the terms ‘landscape’ and ‘landform’ to assist in their understanding of Earth’s surface.
Prior learning:
observe and identify rocks in natural formations and those used in built structures
locate and compare deserts, forests, mountain ranges, rivers, ocean trenches and volcanoes of Australia and the world using grid and relief maps and compass directions north, south, east and west (Stage 2 HSIE)
Key vocabulary: landscape, landform, mountain, coastal, desert, semi-arid, beach, cliffs, sand dunes, mesa, summit, valley, surface, sea stack
Lesson preparation: prepare a vocabulary anchor chart to be added to across the term. Digital templates of a Frayer diagram are available on the Digital Learning Selector. You may wish to share a digital template, rather than use the Frayer diagram provided for this lesson.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains a suggested learning intention and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intention and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Investigate Aboriginal Dreaming Stories and Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms
Students are learning:
about Earth’s surface.
Students can:
identify landforms and landscapes
describe differences between landscapes and landforms.
Explain the learning intention and refer to it throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of deserts, mountain ranges and oceans.
Display images from Resource 1 – Australian features one at a time.
Students indicate if the image shows a mountain, desert or ocean by forming a mountain shape, a flat desert shape or making ‘wave’ motions with hands.
Scan responses to check for understanding of deserts, mountains and oceans. Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Revisit that deserts, mountains and oceans are some of the natural features found on Earth’s surface.
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach deserts, mountains and oceans.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Introduce the term ‘landform’. Explain that landform is Tier 3 vocabulary and means ‘a natural feature on Earth’s surface’. Define ‘landform’ and add to the vocabulary anchor chart.
A landform is ‘any of the numerous features which make up the surface of the earth, as plain, plateau, canyon’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2026).
Explain that the ‘surface’ is the part of Earth that people live on. Add ‘surface’ to the vocabulary anchor chart.
A surface is ‘the outer face, or outside, of a thing’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2026).
Display Resource 2 – Frayer model – landform. Highlight key phrases from the definition to co-construct characteristics.
Explain that a mountain is an example of a landform. It is a natural feature found on Earth’s surface. Guide students to identify examples and non-examples by asking:
Is it a natural feature?
Is it found on Earth’s surface?
Add examples and non-examples to the Frayer model. Refer to Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Frayer model – landform
Introduce the term ‘landscape’. Explain that landscape is the scientific term for an area with a number of natural features or landforms. Define ‘landscape’ and add to the vocabulary anchor chart.
A landscape is ‘an area of land with distinguishing features or landforms’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2026).
Watch Landscape types (4:30) (from 0:50–1:09). Ask: What were the 3 landscapes in the video? (Coastal landscapes, desert or semi-arid landscapes, mountain landscapes.) Record each landscape type on a sticky note.
Display Resource 3 – Frayer model – landscape. Highlight key phrases from the definition to co-construct characteristics. Refer to Figure 2.
Explain that while a single mountain is a landform, the larger area of land that the mountain is part of is a mountain landscape. Guide students to identify examples and non-examples from the video by asking:
Is it an area of land?
Are there landforms on the land?
Model adding the examples recorded on sticky notes and non-examples to the Frayer diagram. Refer to Figure 2.
Figure 2 – Frayer model – landscape
Note: other examples of landscapes include riverine landscapes and karst landscapes. Further information on these landscape types can be found at Landscape types (4:30) (from 2:32–4:13).
Watch Landscape types (4:30) (from 1:09–1:46). Identify new vocabulary and add to the vocabulary anchor chart. For example:
Vocabulary
Definition
Sand dunes
A sand hill or sand ridge formed by the wind, usually in desert regions or near lakes and oceans. (Macquarie Dictionary 2026)
Mesa
A landform having a relatively flat top and bounded wholly or in part with steep rock walls … (Macquarie Dictionary 2026)
Summit
The highest point or part, as of a hill … (Macquarie Dictionary 2026)
Display Resource 4 – coastal landscape. Explain this is a coastal landscape.
Ask: Why is this a landscape? (It is an area of land with landforms.)
Guide students to identify landforms within the coastal landscape. Model labelling the landforms in the landscape. For example, cliff, beach, sea stack. Refer to Figure 3.
A sea stack is ‘a column or pillar of rock, isolated from the shore …’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2026)
Figure 3 – labelled coastal landscape
Ask: Are there any coastal, mountain or desert landscapes near our school? Support students to identify local areas as coastal landscapes, mountain landscapes or desert/semi-arid landscapes.
Students create a diagram of a local landscape, title the diagram with the type of landscape represented and label at least one landform within the landscape.
Circulate and ask students to identify and describe the landscape and landforms in their diagram. Provide feedback to confirm or correct students’ understanding of landscapes and landforms.
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot identify landforms and landscapes.
Provide images of landscapes and landforms such as Resource 5 – landscapes and landforms. Support students to sort the images, identifying which show a single landform and which show an area of land (landscape).
Students can identify landforms and landscapes.
Students create a series of ‘What am I?’ cards, using clues to describe a landform or landscape.
Assessment
What to look for
Can students identify landforms and landscapes? ST2-SCI-01
Can students describe differences between landscapes and landforms? ST2-SCI-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Refer to the learning intention to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
In pairs, students complete the sentence stem, ‘The difference between a landscape and a landform is …’
Select pairs to deliver their sentence to the class.
Optional assessment
Students select an image from Resource 1 – Australian features, title it with the landscape type and label 1 to 2 landforms visible within the image. Check that students can identify that landscapes are the larger area of land and landforms are natural features on Earth’s surface.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to identify landforms and landscapes.
Lesson 2 – Torres Strait Islander Legends
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students investigate a Torres Strait Islander Legend about the formation of a landform. They consider the cultural significance of the Legend in connecting to Place.
Prior learning:
distinguish Aboriginal Country from Torres Strait Islander Places using language maps (Stage 1 HSIE)
investigate Aboriginal Dreaming Stories and Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms
Key vocabulary: Legend, Place, Torres Strait, landform, landscape, diagram, annotation, formation, dugong
Lesson preparation: print and cut out images from Resource 5 – landscapes and landforms so there are enough images for each student to have one. Source hoops and label ‘landscapes’ and ‘landforms’.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intentions and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intentions and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Investigate Aboriginal Dreaming Stories and Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms
Use notes, diagrams, flow charts and annotations to support understanding and explain processes
Students are learning:
about the shaping of Earth’s surface
to create written explanations that support scientific understanding.
Students can:
identify the landscape or landform in a Torres Strait Islander Legend
explain how the Legend describes the formation of the landform
create annotated diagrams to support understanding and explain processes.
Explain the learning intentions and refer to them throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of identifying landforms and landscapes.
Explain that each student will be given an image of either a landscape or a landform from Resource 5 – landscapes and landforms. Students need to identify which it is, then place it in the hoop labelled ‘landforms’ or ‘landscapes.’
Note: this activity could also be run as a relay with multiple teams sorting the same images.
Monitor student responses to check for understanding of identifying landscapes and landforms. Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Revise the terms ‘landscape’ and ‘landform’ from the vocabulary anchor chart and connect to the 2 labelled hoops and images sorted.
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach identifying landforms and landscapes.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Display AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia. Review that the map shows different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups across Australia.
Revise the concept of Country in Aboriginal culture, emphasising that it is not just land but encompasses language, culture and community. Review that Torres Strait Islander Peoples use the term ‘Place’.
Note: Country is used to describe a specific area of a nation or clan including physical, linguistic and spiritual features. Aboriginal communities’ cultural associations with their Country may include or relate to languages, cultural practices, knowledge, songs, stories, art, paths, landforms, flora, fauna and minerals. These cultural associations may include custodial relationships with particular landscapes such as land, sea, sky, rivers as well as the intangible places associated with the Dreaming(s). Custodial relationships are extremely important in determining who may have the capacity to authentically speak for their Country.
Place is a space mapped out by physical or intangible boundaries that individuals or groups of Torres Strait Islander Peoples occupy and regard as their own. It is a space with varying degrees of spirituality (NESA 2024).
Provide clues to guide students to locate the Torres Strait Islands on the language map. For example, the Torres Strait Islands are a group of small islands. The islands are part of Queensland, so look near the northern tip where Queensland meets the sea. The Torres Strait Islands are closer to Papua New Guinea than most parts of Australia. They lie in the water between the Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea.
Explain that there are many Torres Strait Islander Legends. Some of these Legends describe the formation of landscapes and landforms.
Display the word ‘formation’. Explain that the root word is the verb ‘form’, which means to shape. The suffix ‘-ion’ means an act or process and changes the verb into a noun. Define ‘formation’ and add to the vocabulary anchor chart.
A formation is ‘the act or process of forming.’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2026)
Watch Gelam: creator of dugong (3:59). Facilitate a class discussion by asking:
Who is this Legend about? (Gelam and his mother.)
Where do Gelam and his mother live at the beginning of the Legend? (On Moa Island.)
Why does Gelam’s mother decide to scare him? (Gelam is keeping all the fat birds for himself and giving his mother the thin ones.)
Gelam finds out his mother is the one scaring him. He dreams that his father tells him to find a special tree. What does he make from the special tree? (A dugong.)
What does Gelam take with him in the dugong? (He puts all the trees, plants, fruit, vegetables, seeds and dirt from Moa in the dugong.)
The dugong with Gelam inside keeps swimming away until they get to Mer Island. What does Gelam turn into? (The big hill on Mer Island.)
How did Gelam form the other 2 islands? (He spat out 2 seeds that became the other islands).
Display the webpage, Dugong and enlarge the images. Explain that a dugong is a large marine mammal found in the Torres Strait.
Display a satellite image of Australia on Google Earth. Use clues to guide students to locate the Torres Strait Islands on the satellite image. For example, the Torres Strait Islands are a group of small islands near the northern tip of Queensland. They lie in the water between the Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea.
Zoom in to locate Moa Island and Mer Island. Revise that in the Legend, Gelam and his mother start off living on Moa Island. Guide students to locate Moa Island on Google Earth.
Ask: Where did Gelam and the dugong swim to? (Mer Island). Guide students to locate Mer Island on Google Earth. Select students to trace possible paths that Gelam and the dugong may have taken to swim from Moa Island to Mer Island. Locate the other 2 islands near Mer Island.
Ask: Is this image of a landform or a landscape? Why? Students think-pair-share responses.
Explain this is a landscape as it shows an area of land with landforms in it. Each island is a landform. The largest island has a hill on it, another type of landform. The Legend of Gelam describes the formation of the hill and the 2 smaller islands.
Revise that a diagram is a simple drawing. Seek input to draw a diagram of what Mer Island may have looked like before the events of the Legend. The 3 landforms in the Legend should not be in the ‘before’ diagram. Refer to Figure 4.
Figure 4 – before the Legend
Review that annotations are short sentences or notes added to explain features and functions.
Ask:
Is a label an annotation? (No.)
What is an annotation? (A short sentence or note.)
What does an annotation do? (Explains features or functions.)
Seek input to add annotations to the diagram. Refer to Figure 5.
Figure 5 – after the Legend
Support students to individually create annotated diagrams of the landscape around Mer Island before and after the events of the Legend. Include annotations of the landforms the Legend explains the formation of, refer to Figure 6. Reminder: collect this work sample to complete the optional assessment.
Figure 6 – before and after
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot explain how the Legend describes the formation of the landform.
Watch Gelam: creator of dugong (3:59) (from 3:00–3:25). Replay 3:06–3:13. Repeat ‘Gelam turned into a big hill. He spat out 2 seeds and it became the other 2 islands.’ Support students to verbally repeat and record as annotations on sticky notes.
Provide a printed copy of Islands in the Torres Strait, including Mer (Murray Island). Support students to annotate the picture with the sticky notes and verbally explain the formation of the hill on Mer Island and the 2 islands.
Students can explain how the Legend describes the formation of the landform.
Watch Gelam: creator of dugong (3:59). Explain that the Legend describes the formation of another landform that isn’t on Mer Island (the large rock on Moa Island that Gelam’s mother becomes). Students identify the other landform and independently create a before and after annotated diagram of the rock on Moa Island.
Assessment
What to look for
Can students identify the landscape or landform in a Torres Strait Islander Legend? ST2-SCI-01
Can students explain how the Legend describes the formation of the landform?
ST2-SCI-01
Can students create annotated diagrams to support understanding? ST2-SCI-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Review that landforms and landscapes may be special Places for Torres Strait Islander Peoples. They are part of Legends that have been told for thousands of years.
Ask:
What landforms on Mer Island hold special meaning? (The big hill and the 2 smaller islands.)
Why are they special? (They are landforms associated with the Legend of Gelam.)
Could there be other landforms considered special? (Yes. This is only one Legend and there are many others.)
Refer to the learning intentions to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Optional assessment
Collect annotated diagrams of Mer Island. Check the ‘before’ diagram and annotations include Mer Island without a hill and no smaller islands. Check the ‘after’ diagram and annotations for an explanation that Gelam turned into a big hill and that he spat out 2 seeds that became the 2 smaller islands.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to explain how the Legend describes the formation of the landform and to create annotated diagrams to support understanding.
Lesson 3 – Aboriginal Dreaming Stories
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students investigate Aboriginal Dreaming Stories about the formation of a landscape or landform on the Country their school is on. They consider the cultural significance of the Dreaming Story in Connecting to Country.
Prior learning:
identify and describe significant Aboriginal sites across NSW and relate them to Dreaming Stories (Stage 1 HSIE)
investigate Aboriginal Dreaming Stories and Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms
Key vocabulary: shape, Dreaming Stories, Country, landform, landscape, diagram, annotation, formation, events, Worimi
Lesson preparation: the following lesson explores Aboriginal Dreaming Stories that describe the formation of a landscape or landform. If possible, engage with your local Aboriginal community and invite a local Aboriginal community member or Elder to share local stories relevant to the school's context.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intentions and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intentions and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Investigate Aboriginal Dreaming Stories and Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms
Use notes, diagrams, flow charts and annotations to support understanding and explain processes
Students are learning:
about the shaping of Earth’s surface
to create written explanations that support scientific understanding.
Students can:
describe an Aboriginal Dreaming Story about the formation of a landform or landscape
use notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the landform.
Explain the learning intentions and refer to them throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms.
Prompt students to recall the Legend of Gelam.
Revise that landforms and landscapes may be special Places for Torres Strait Islander Peoples because they are part of Legends that have been told for thousands of years.
Students use individual whiteboards to draw and label a diagram of the landforms the Legend of Gelam describes.
Scan diagrams and labels to check for understanding of Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms.
Ask:
What does ‘formation’ mean? (The act or process of forming.)
What is the Torres Strait Islander Legend that describes the formation of landforms at Mer Island? (Gelam and the dugong.)
What animal did Gelam travel to Mer Island in? (A dugong.)
What landforms at Mer Island does the Legend of Gelam describe the formation of? (The big hill and the 2 smaller islands.)
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach Torres Strait Islander Legends about the formation of landscapes and landforms.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Display AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia. Revise that the map shows different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups across Australia.
Note: the borders between groups are purposefully represented as slightly blurred and are not meant to be exact. Some of the information shown on the map is contested and may not be agreed to by some traditional custodians.
Locate the Country the school is on. Revise the concept of Country in Aboriginal culture, emphasising that it is not just land but encompasses language, culture and community.
Note: Country is used to describe a specific area of a nation or clan including physical, linguistic and spiritual features. Aboriginal communities’ cultural associations with their Country may include or relate to languages, cultural practices, knowledge, songs, stories, art, paths, landforms, flora, fauna and minerals. These cultural associations may include custodial relationships with particular landscapes such as land, sea, sky, rivers as well as the intangible places associated with the Dreaming(s). Custodial relationships are extremely important in determining who may have the capacity to authentically speak for their Country (NESA 2024).
Review that many Aboriginal Dreaming Stories describe how places on Country were formed and why these places are important to Aboriginal Peoples.
Note: The Dreaming has different meanings for different Aboriginal groups. The Dreaming can be seen as the embodiment of Aboriginal creation which gives meaning to everything; the essence of Aboriginal beliefs about creation and spiritual and physical existence. It establishes the rules governing relationships between the people, the land and all things for Aboriginal Peoples. The Dreaming is linked to the past, the present and the future. Where appropriate, refer to Aboriginal names for the Dreaming (NESA 2024).
Display the success criteria, ‘use notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the landform’.
Underline the word ‘shaping’. Explain that the root word is ‘shape’. ‘Shape’ can be a noun, or a verb. Distribute modelling clay to students.
Direct students to roll out the modelling clay and trace ‘a shape’, for example a triangle. Explain that in this example, ‘shape’ is a noun. However, ‘shape’ can also be a verb.
Direct students to ‘shape the clay into a mountain’. Explain that in this example, ‘shape’ is a verb. Direct students to ‘shape’ the clay into familiar landforms. For example, shape the clay into a cave, shape the clay into a hill, shape the clay into a sea stack.
Connect to success criteria by explaining ‘shaping’ is a verb. It has a similar meaning to ‘forming’. Add ‘shaping’ to the vocabulary anchor chart.
Underline ‘use notes to’ at the beginning of the success criteria.
Revise that taking notes means writing short sentences or key words to help remember facts. This begins with thinking about the facts needed.
Explain that there are many different ways to take notes. One way is to write key facts on a sticky note, then organise the facts into groups.
Model using a think-aloud to identify facts that will connect to the success criteria. For example:
‘The success criteria tell me that I need to use notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the landform. I can break this down into the key facts I’ll need to find. I know that this is about a landform, so I need to know what landform this Dreaming Story is about.’ Model recording ‘landforms’ on chart paper.
‘I’ll also need to know what happens in the Dreaming Story to shape the landform. I’ll need to note down the events.’ Model recording ‘events’ on chart paper.
Explain that students will be viewing an Aboriginal Dreaming Story from Worimi Country. Locate Worimi Country on the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia.
Inform students to indicate to pause the video and take a note by putting their hands on head when they hear information about landforms or a key event.
Begin Aboriginal Dreaming Story – Creation of the Worimi Conservation Land (3:07). Pause when students indicate to take a note. Seek input on what information to record as a note.
Model using a different sticky note to note each new piece of information. For example, Table 1.
Table 1 – note-taking
Timestamp
Key information
0:23
Landform – sand dunes
0:35
The land was flat. The bush grew next to the sea.
0:57
Malu (storm spirit), Worima (wind spirit) and Garua (sea spirit) made a huge storm.
1:40
The Worimi people were scared and moved inland to Tanilba Bay.
1:50
Weeks later, Jookin (Sun spirit) appeared.
2:00
Malu disappeared. Worima turned into a breeze. Garua was calm.
2:17
The Worimi people returned to find the land had changed.
2:25
Worima had pushed the sand into large sand hills.
2:33
Between the sand hills and the sea were lagoons.
2:46
There were plenty of animals, fish and fresh water.
2:56
The Worimi people lived here for thousands of years.
Seek input to read each sticky note and place under ‘landforms’ or ‘events’ in order.
Note: keep a copy of the modelled note-taking (sticky notes arranged on the chart paper) for use in Lessons 11, 13, 15 and 16.
Ask:
What landform does this Dreaming Story describe the shaping of? (Sand dunes.)
What was the landscape like before the events of the Dreaming Story? (Flat, with the bush meeting the sea.)
According to the Dreaming Story, how were the sand dunes shaped? (Worima, the wind spirit, pushed the sand out of the sea.)
Explain the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the sand dunes. It also explains that after the landscape changed, there was plenty of food and fresh water available for the Worimi people. This Dreaming Story has been told for thousands of years and is a reminder of how important the sand dunes are.
Select 1 to 2 students to retell the Dreaming Story using the notes taken. Discuss how having short notes helped students to remember key parts of the Dreaming Story.
Explain that students will take notes while viewing another Dreaming Story. Revise landforms and events as the key information to record.
Provide students with sticky notes. Prompt to put their hands on their head to indicate they need the video paused to take a note.
Watch Stage 2: Uncle James – Murrumbidgee Creation Story (3:38). Encourage students to pause the video to take notes. For example, Table 2.
Table 2 – guided note-taking
Timestamp
Key information
0:15
Landform: Murrumbidgee River
0:46
The Goanna men decided not to share the Murrumbidgee River.
0:54
They stored the Murrumbidgee River in the mountains of Tumut.
1:11
The Goanna women had a corroboree and decided to tell the Goanna men to let the water go, but they were too scared.
1:35
Balana, a Goanna girl, said she would go.
2:17
Special People, who lived in caves at Bethungra, decided to help Balana.
2:32
The Special People helped Balana sneak past the Goanna men.
2:37
Balana stuck a stick into the side of the mountain and out flowed the water.
2:45
The Goanna men chased Balana.
2:50
Balana ran into the caves at Bethungra where the Special People could protect her.
2:57
The Goanna men had a corroboree. The Goanna women had their own corroboree.
3:07
The Goanna men realised that Balana was protected by Special People, and that Goanna women were very angry at them.
3:15
The Goanna men decided to change from patriarchal to matriarchal.
Prompt students to refer to their notes to answer the following questions.
Ask:
What landform is the Dreaming Story about the shaping of? (The Murrumbidgee River.)
What other landforms plays an important role in the Dreaming Story? (The mountains at Tumut and the caves at Bethungra.)
Where was the Murrumbidgee River at the beginning of the Story? (Stored in the mountains.)
How did the Murrumbidgee River get free? (Balana stuck a stick in the side of the mountain.)
Group students and provide modelling clay. Each group will build a simple model of the landforms in the Dreaming Story and select sticky notes to create a sequence of events under the model.
Circulate as groups work to monitor the use of notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the Murrumbidgee River.
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot use notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the landform.
Provide students with access to a digital device and Stage 2: Uncle James – Murrumbidgee Creation Story (3:38). Demonstrate how to pause the video and use images and labelled diagrams to record notes. Support to organise images into a sequence of events and use to orally retell the Murrumbidgee Creation Story.
Students can use notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the landform.
Provide groups of students with a digital device to create a retelling of the Worimi Story, explaining how the sand dunes came to be. For example, using stop motion or animation.
Assessment
What to look for
Can students identify an Aboriginal Dreaming Story about the formation of a landform or landscape? ST2-SCI-01
Can students use notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the landform? ST2-SCI-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Review Resource 6 – landscapes and landforms anchor chart. Revise the definitions of a landscape and a landform.
Seek input from students to identify the landscapes and landforms featured in the Dreaming Story of the Worimi Conservation Land and the Legend of Gelam from the Torres Strait Islands.
Summarise that Dreaming Stories and Legends have been told to describe changes to Earth’s surface for thousands and thousands of years.
Refer to the learning intentions to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Optional assessment
Students individually create a story map of the Dreaming Story, using teacher notes to describe the events leading to the shaping of the Worimi sand dunes. Review story maps to ensure they reflect information in the notes describing the shaping of the landform.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to use notes to explain how the Dreaming Story describes the shaping of the landform.
Lesson 4 – What is weathering?
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students explore what weathering is and explore the different forms of weathering. Students test a variety of rocks for hardness.
Prior learning:
describe the difference between landscapes and landforms
recognise that a force is a push or a pull that can make things either start moving, stop moving, change speed, direction or shape
Key vocabulary: weathering, force, landscape, landform, crystal, grains, texture, colour, smooth, rough, dull, shiny, sparkly, small, large
Lesson preparation: if your school does not have a rock kit, collect a sample of rocks that are different in texture, colour and grain or crystal size. Alternatively, contact a nearby high school to borrow a rock kit. Prepare sets of cards from Resource 7 – weathering cards for groups of 2–3 students. Prepare 3 labels on A4 paper – soft, medium and hard.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intention and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intention and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01, ST1-DAT-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Explain how the forces produced by wind, water and living things weather rocks
Students are learning:
that weathering shapes Earth’s surface.
Students can:
define weathering
identify that the forces produced by wind, water and living things cause weathering
test rocks for hardness.
Explain the learning intention and refer to it throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of the difference between landscapes and landforms.
Students stand. Display images on Resource 1 – Australian features.
Students recall their understanding of landforms and landscapes to classify each image.
If an image is of a landform, students remain standing.
If an image is of a landscape, students sit down.
For each image, select a student to justify their decision. Remaining students use a thumbs up to indicate agreement, thumbs down to indicate disagreement and an open hand to add additional information.
Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Revise the definitions of landscapes and landforms:
A landform is ‘any of the numerous features which make up the surface of the earth, as plain, plateau, canyon’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2026).
A landscape is ‘an area of land with distinguishing features or landforms’ (Macquarie Dictionary 2026).
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach the difference between landscapes and landforms.
Core lesson
Duration: 45 minutes
Steps
Note: weathering describes the process by which rocks or minerals are broken into smaller fragments. It often occurs in combination with erosion and transportation (Australian Academy of Science 2026). It can be caused by agents including wind and water. Rocks can also be physically broken down by living things. Weathering caused by living things is called biological weathering. This unit focus on weathering caused by 'forces’ in the content point, ‘Explain how the forces produced by wind, water and living things weather rocks’. Reference to extreme changes in temperature has been removed from the definition. An understanding of chemical weathering is not required for Stage 2; that content is covered in Stage 4 Geological change in the Science 7–10 Syllabus (2023). Students need only use the term ‘weathering’.
Introduce the term ‘weathering’. Explain that weathering is a step in the creation and shaping of landscapes and landforms. It is the breakdown of rocks into smaller particles by the action of wind, water and living things.
Weathering refers to ‘the breakdown of rocks into smaller particles. It can be caused by forces produced by wind, water and living things’ (NESA 2024).
Add weathering to the vocabulary anchor chart.
Explain that the focus of learning in Stage 2 is the effect of forces from wind, water and living things on landscapes and landforms.
Watch Physical and Chemical Weathering of Rocks (3:49) (from 0:00–2:07). Connect weathering with the formation and transformation of landforms and landscapes.
Explain that students will be learning about weathering, in which rocks are broken into smaller fragments by forces from wind, water and living things.
Rewatch Physical and Chemical Weathering of Rocks (3:49) (from 0:00–2:07), pausing at each label to read and discuss the forces that cause weathering:
The force of water running over rocks or falling on to rocks (like a waterfall) (0:46).
The force of waves crashing into rocks (1:07).
The forces caused by water expanding in rock cracks when it freezes (1:20).
The force of the wind when it hits rocks (1:42).
The force of plant roots growing into rocks, creating and expanding cracks (1:59).
Note: the video shares how changes in temperature can weaken rock as it expands and contracts. While this is an example of weathering, it is not directly related to force and is beyond the scope of Stage 2 content. Likewise, chemical weathering is not explored in Stage 2.
Organise students into pairs or small groups.
Provide each small group of students with cards from Resource 7 – weathering cards. Students:
share the cards equally between them
take turns to read or describe a card
identify if they have a matching image, sentence or force.
After groups have matched the cards, check for understanding by making true or false statements for student response, such as:
Weathering means when rocks are broken into small fragments. (True.)
The force of moving water can push against rocks and slowly wear pieces away. (True.)
The force of waves crashing into rocks can cause cracks and break pieces off over time. (True.)
When water freezes in rock cracks, the cracks get smaller. (False.)
Wind can create a force that slowly wears the surface of rocks away. (True.)
Plants can cause physical weathering. (True.)
Physical weathering happens only because rocks melt when they get hot. (False.)
Add ‘weathering’ to the vocabulary chart: rocks are broken into smaller fragments. It can be caused by forces produced by wind, water and living things.
Explain that students will now explore the hardness of different rocks. Ask:
What do you think ‘hardness’ means?
Do all rocks have the same hardness?
What are some different ways that you could test how hard a rock is?
Note: students may think that rocks are hard and unchangeable because they observe little natural change during their lifetime. This idea is reinforced by common expressions such as ‘rock hard’. However, some rocks crumble easily, especially sedimentary rocks made from sand, shells and pebbles that are loosely cemented or compressed together. All rocks are affected by weathering, but harder rocks tend to weather more slowly. Over Earth's history, rocks have undergone many changes due to natural processes. (Australian Academy of Science 2026)
Students sit in a circle. Provide access to magnifying glasses.
Revise vocabulary for observing and describing rocks such as crystal, grains, texture, colour, smooth, rough, dull, shiny, sparkly, small, large.
Introduce rock samples for students to observe and describe as they are passed around the circle. Select students to share their observations and descriptions.
Students return the rocks to a central collection point.
Explain that different rocks can have different levels of hardness. Harder rocks take longer to break down through forces from wind, water and living things. Place the labels soft, medium and hard in the centre of the circle.
Explain that students will be testing the hardness of the rock samples using a scratch test. Students will use their fingernail and then a coin. Using a fingernail and a coin to scratch the surface of a rock represents a force acting on the rock.
Explain the relationship between the tool used to scratch the rock, the force applied and the rock’s hardness. Clarify that softer materials (like a fingernail) can only scratch softer rocks, while harder objects (like a coin) can scratch harder rocks.
Model how to use your fingernail and then a coin to scratch the surface of a rock. Explain which of the labels (soft, medium or hard) you would place the rock next to, giving your reasons.
Note: for further information about scratch tests, refer to Primary Connections – Scratch test.
Organise students into small groups.
Provide rock samples to each group. Guide students to take turns trying to scratch the rocks using their fingernail. If a rock can be scratched, place it in the centre of the circle next to the ‘soft’ label.
With the remaining rocks, guide students to attempt to scratch the rocks using a coin. Place the rocks that can be scratched with a coin next to the ‘medium’ label.
Reform a class circle. Demonstrate scratching each remaining rock with a metal file or an iron nail. Group the rocks that are scratched with the file or iron nail next to the ‘hard’ label.
Discuss how students might classify rocks that could not be scratched at all during the activity.
Note: capture an image of the rock hardness label sort for use in the optional assessment.
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot identify that wind, water and living things cause weathering.
Provide students with a smaller set of cards (3 instead of 6) from Resource 7 – weathering cards. The teacher or peer reads the cards aloud and students focus on matching the image to the force or the sentence.
Students can identify that wind, water and living things cause weathering.
Students examine photos of landscapes or landforms from Lesson 1. Students identify the forces involved and how the weathering might have shaped it.
Assessment
What to look for
Can students define weathering? ST2-SCI-01
Can students identify that the forces produced wind, water and living things cause weathering? ST2-SCI-01
Can students test rocks for hardness? ST2-SCI-01, ST1-DAT-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 5 minutes
Refer to the learning intention to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Summarise how different levels of rock hardness has implications for weathering – harder rocks take longer to weather than softer rocks.
Review images from Resource 1 – Australian features to identify landforms and landscapes where harder rocks remain, such as The Three Sisters.
Optional assessment
Provide students with a photograph of the rock hardness sort. Students add annotations related to the rock hardness test, such as ‘Soft rocks could be scratched with a fingernail. Rocks in the medium group could be scratched with a coin but not with a fingernail. The teacher could scratch the hard rocks with a metal file. There were some rocks that we could not scratch with tools we had in the classroom’.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to test rocks for hardness.
Lesson 5 – weathering by wind and water
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students revise what weathering is and explore examples of weathering of rocks by water and wind.
Prior learning:
recognise that a force is a push or a pull that can make things either start moving, stop moving, change speed, direction or shape
explain how the forces produced by wind, water and living things weather rocks
Key vocabulary: weathering, forces, annotation, diagram
Lesson preparation: print copies of Resource 12 – water weathering annotations for each student.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 60 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intentions and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intentions and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Explain how the forces produced by wind, water and living things weather rocks
Use notes, diagrams, flow charts and annotations to support understanding and explain processes
Students are learning:
that weathering shapes Earth’s surface
to create written explanations that support scientific understanding.
Students can:
explain how rocks are weathered by wind
explain how rocks are weathered by water
annotate a diagram to show the process of weathering.
Explain the learning intentions and refer to them throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of the definition of forces.
Students recall their understanding of forces by discussing examples of push and pull forces and sharing their ideas with the class.
Revise a definition of a force.
A force is a push or pull between objects, which may cause one or both objects to change speed and/or direction of their motion or change their shape (ACARA n.d.).
Review push and pull forces using a door as an example.
Display Resource 8 – Which one does not belong? Ask students to focus on push and pull forces to identify which item does not belong.
Students turn and talk to identify the odd one out, explaining their reasoning referring to forces. For example:
The ball image is the only one where the push force comes from a kick.
The door image has push and pull forces but it is the only one that moves around a hinge.
The drawer image has push and pull forces but is the only one that moves in straight lines.
The fishing image has only pull forces.
Check for understanding by pointing to each image in Resource 8 – Which one does not belong? Students call out the forces represented: push, pull or push and pull.
Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach the definition forces.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Revise a definition of weathering.
Weathering refers to the breakdown of rocks into smaller particles. It can be caused by forces produced by wind, water and living things (NESA 2024).
Explain that both wind and water carry small items like sand, dust and dirt. Combined with the push forces of moving water and wind, the continual rubbing of particles can weather rocks.
Connect the continual rubbing of sand, dust and dirt to the scratch tests conducted in Lesson 4. Explain that the process takes a long time; the duration depends on the hardness of different rocks.
Display Resource 9 – wind weathering. Ask:
What details or features do you notice?
What do you think these landforms have in common?
What questions do you have?
Explain that each image on Resource 9 – wind weathering is an example of a natural feature sculpted by the wind.
Display and read Resource 10 – wind weathering annotations.
Identify the arrows and the annotations. Explain that the arrows show the direction of the wind and the forces that it produces. The annotations describe the process of weathering caused by wind.
Display Resource 11 – water weathering. In each image, explain:
where the water is in contact with the rock
the force produced by moving water (such as waves and falling water)
how the force of the water has shaped the rocks over time (for example, waves cutting away at the base of a coastal cliff or flowing water breaking tiny pieces of rock as it moves over it)
that rocks have formed different shapes depending on the force of the water and the hardness of the rock.
Watch Transportation of sediment in a river (0:21). Identify how the force the water can pick up and carry small rocks, and that the rocks bump into each other as they move. Point out the smooth shapes of the larger rocks.
Note: this video is described as ‘transportation of sediment’. Its purpose here is to demonstrate weathering due to the force of water.
Explain that a scientific model is a drawing, diagram, object or explanation that helps to show how something in science works. Scientists use models to help explain ideas, understand processes and share their thinking with others.
Watch Why are river pebbles round? (4:10) (from 0:00–2:10). Stop at 2:10 to explain that in this model:
the sugar cubes represent rocks
the container represents the river
the shaking represents the force of the water weathering the rocks.
Organise the students into groups.
Provide each group with severable sugar cubes (or sandstone sample) and a clear plastic container. Students closely observe and describe the sugar cubes’ features (shape, size, visible grains).
Students place the sugar cubes (or sandstone) in the clear container. Guide students to gently shake the container for 10–15 seconds, then stop to observe and record any changes to the cubes.
Students shake the container more vigorously for another short period. Guide students to observe how the cube changes further, noting how grains break away.
As a class, discuss what changed and why. Prompt students to describe:
how the forces from the movement of water caused the grains to separate
how stronger shaking (representing stronger forces from the water) caused faster or greater breakdown.
Explain that the weathering of rock by water can take many years.
Display Resource 10 – wind weathering annotations. Review that the purpose of those annotations was to describe the process of weathering caused by wind.
Display Resource 12 – water weathering annotations. Model at least one annotation, explaining what details you have included and why.
Guide students to add annotations and a sketch to Resource 12 – water weathering annotations, refer to Figure 7. Reminder: collect completed water weathering annotations to use for optional assessment.
Figure 7 – water weathering annotations
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot draw and annotate a diagram to show the process of weathering.
Provide students with annotation frames such as ‘The … of the water cause the rock to …’ or ‘Over time, the rock becomes …’. Guide students to complete each frame.
Students can draw and annotate a diagram to show the process of weathering.
Students create a T-chart to compare wind and water weathering. Students then explain how the processes are similar and how they are different.
Assessment
What to look for
Can students explain how rocks are weathered by wind? ST2-SCI-01
Can students explain how rocks are weathered by water? ST2-SCI-01
Can students annotate a diagram to show the process of weathering? ST2-SCI-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Refer to the learning intentions to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Summarise that wind and moving water apply force to rocks, gradually breaking them apart and changing their shape.
Display Resource 9 – wind weathering and Resource 11 – water weathering. Connect the modelled and student annotations to real examples of weathering caused by wind and water on those resources.
Optional assessment
Collect annotated Resource 12 – water weathering annotations. Review student annotations for an understanding of the weathering process.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to annotate a diagram of an example of weathering.
Lesson 6 – weathering by living things
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students explore how living things cause weathering of rocks.
Prior learning:
explain how the forces produced by wind, water and living things weather rocks
recognise that a force is a push or a pull that can make things either start moving, stop moving, change speed, direction or shape
Key vocabulary: flow chart, process, weathering, lichen. moss
Lesson preparation: prepare a blank ‘Weathering rocks’ concept map either on chart paper or a digital template (refer to Digital Learning Selector Concept maps). Prepare for the scavenger hunt by identifying locations on your school site or in accessible areas where there is evidence of weathering by plant growth.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intentions and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intentions and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Explain how the forces produced by wind, water and living things weather rocks
Use notes, diagrams, flow charts and annotations to support understanding and explain processes
Students are learning:
that weathering shapes Earth’s surface
to create written explanations that support scientific understanding.
Students can:
explain how rocks are weathered by living things
create a flow chart to explain weathering by plants.
Explain the learning intentions and refer to them throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of how the forces produced by wind can weather rocks.
Revise the definition of weathering.
Weathering refers to the breakdown of rocks into smaller particles. It can be caused by forces produced by wind, water and living things (NESA 2024).
Students recall vocabulary related to weathering caused by wind and record on an individual whiteboard.
Check for understanding by reviewing student whiteboards.
Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Seek input from students to begin a jointly constructed ‘Weathering rocks’ concept map to be developed in this lesson and Lesson 7.
Add vocabulary and describe steps relating to weathering caused by wind to the concept map.
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach how the forces produced by wind can weather rocks.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Display and revise Resource 10 – wind weathering annotations. If appropriate, add any missing information to the concept map.
Explain that weathering processes can be represented in a flow chart.
Display Resource 13 – flow chart symbols. Revise the features of a flow chart including:
an oval to represent the start and finish
rectangles to show steps
arrows to show the sequence order
diamonds to show decisions.
Display Resource 14 – wind weathering flow chart. Connect the steps in the annotations to the flow chart.
Discuss each step, noting that sentence punctuation and perfect grammar are not required.
Explain that students will use Resource 14 – wind weathering flow chart as a model of a flow chart for weathering by plants.
Watch What is weathering? (6:57) (from 4:29–4:50). Explain that it is the push force of the plant stem and roots that weathers the rocks.
Discuss the main steps of the weathering of rocks by plants, such as:
A seed germinates in a crack in a rock.
As the plant grows, the roots push into the crack and exert force on the rock.
The growing roots and stem push against the sides of the rock, making the crack wider and deeper.
Over time, the continued force from the roots breaks the rock into smaller pieces.
Guide students to complete a flow chart for the main steps of biological weathering by plants.
Explain that students will conduct their own guided scavenger hunt outside to find evidence of weathering by plants.
Watch Biological Weathering: Scavenger hunt (2:28). Explain that lichen and moss are living things that often grow on the surface of rocks. They can grow in tiny cracks in the surface of rocks and contribute to the weathering process.
Note: for a description of mosses and lichens refer to Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens. Characteristics of lichens and mosses is not required learning for Stage 2 students.
Add living things, related examples and vocabulary to the ‘Weathering rocks’ concept map, such as:
plant roots
lichen and moss
plants growing in pavement cracks.
Organise students into pairs or groups with magnifying glasses and/or digital devices with a camera (if available).
Take students outside to locations on your school site (or in accessible areas) where there is evidence of weathering by plant growth.
Guide students to conduct a scavenger hunt to identify and capture images of weathering by plants.
During the scavenger hunt, select an example where a plant is growing in a crack. Revise the push force on rocks by plants and describe what the effect may be in the long term.
Ask students to share examples of weathering by plants they observed or recorded during the scavenger hunt. Add a few examples to the ‘Weathering rocks’ concept map.
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot create a flow chart to explain weathering by plants.
Co-construct a flow chart, explaining each step in the process.
Students can create a flow chart to explain weathering by plants.
Students learn about Piddock clams, an organism that bores into rocks in coastal areas for protection. Refer to for example: Piddock clams. Interesting facts about rock boring molluscs (2:58) (from 0:00–2:10).
Students use images or a flow chart to explain the weathering process.
Assessment
What to look for
Can students explain how rocks are weathered by living things? ST2-SCI-01
Can students create a flow chart to explain weathering by plants? ST2-SCI-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Refer to the learning intentions to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Connect new learning to previous learning. Summarise that weathering can be caused by different forces, including:
wind moving sand and dust
water moving sand and pebbles
living things, such as plant roots and stems pushing into cracks in rocks.
Revisit flow charts. Ask: Why is a flow chart useful for explaining weathering processes? Summarise that flow charts show the sequence of steps in a process.
Optional assessment
Students draw an annotated diagram showing weathering by plants.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to explain weathering by plants.
Lesson 7 – erosion caused by water
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students describe how the force produced by moving water causes erosion and how this shapes landscapes and landforms.
Prior learning:
explain how the forces produced by wind, water and living things weather rocks
recognise that a force is a push or a pull that can make things either start moving, stop moving, change speed, direction or shape
Key vocabulary: weathering, erosion, force, landscape, landform, sea stack
Lesson preparation: print copies of Resource 15 – coastal erosion examples for pairs or small groups.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intentions and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intentions and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Describe and model how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
Use notes, diagrams, flow charts and annotations to support understanding and explain processes
Students are learning:
that forces shape Earth’s surface
to create written explanations that support scientific understanding.
Students can:
distinguish between weathering and erosion
describe how erosion caused by moving water changes the landscape
create a flow chart to explain the process of erosion
identify that erosion can change landscapes slowly or rapidly.
Explain the learning intentions and refer to them throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of how forces produced by water weather rocks.
Display the jointly constructed ‘Weathering rocks’ concept map developed in Lesson 6. Review the weathering of rocks by wind and living things.
Students recall and record 3 steps related to weathering caused by water on an individual whiteboard.
Check for understanding by reviewing student whiteboards. Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Add any new or additional steps and vocabulary relating to weathering caused by water to the concept map.
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach how forces produced by water weather rocks.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Note: the syllabus Teaching advice (additional): Stage 2 – Physical and living systems depend on energy states: [After weathering] ‘(e)rosion is the next step in the creation and shaping of landscapes and landforms. Erosion cannot happen without weathering happening first. Erosion happens when wind or water carries tiny grains of the broken-down rocks away from the weathered landscape. This action changes the landscape, forming caves, tunnels, crevices and pools. Erosion can happen quickly, for example in a flash flood, or over long periods of time, for example in cave development.’
Skamp et al explain (pp 669-670) that ‘[a]lthough the processes of weathering and erosion are closely linked, it is beneficial for students to tease them apart. The term erosion means ‘worn or eaten away’ and describes the removal of weathered products away from the parent rock. Agents or causes of erosion include gravity, water, wind and animals.’
Support students to develop a clear understanding by associating ‘weathering’ with rocks breaking apart (not move), and erosion with bits of rock being taken away (move away).
Revise the meaning of ‘weathering’.
Weathering refers to the breakdown of rocks into smaller particles. It can be caused by forces produced by wind, water and living things (NESA 2024).
Introduce the term ‘erosion’. Explain that erosion refers to the process by which soil, rocks and other surface materials are carried away, by the actions of water, wind or ice. Add ‘erosion’ to the vocabulary anchor chart.
Erosion means the process by which soil, rocks and other surface materials are carried away, by the actions of water, wind or ice (NESA 2024).
Explain that after weathering occurs, erosion is the next step in the creation and shaping of landforms and landscapes.
Check for understanding of the distinction between weathering and erosion by asking true or false statements, such as:
Weathering happens first, then erosion. (True.)
Weathering and erosion mean the same thing. (False.)
Weathering means the breaking apart of rocks. (True.)
Erosion means moving soil, rocks and other surface material away. (True.)
Both weathering and erosion change Earth's surface. (True.)
Explain that the force of moving water is a major cause of erosion. A single raindrop can scatter small amounts of material. A river can, over time, weather and erode rock to form a valley. Ocean waves weather and erode coastlines.
Watch Twelve Apostles (6:22) (from 0:45–1:57). Review the meaning of ‘sea stack’ from Lesson 1.
Explain that these landforms were formed over a long period of time. Ask:
How were these structures formed? (The waves formed a cave. 2 caves connected to form an arch. The arch collapsed to leave a rock stack.)
Why did some stacks collapse? (The sea eroded the base of the stack, until it toppled over.)
Where did the land go? (Washed into the sea.)
Provide students with Resource 15 – coastal erosion examples. Identify the cave, arch and sea stacks.
Rewatch Twelve Apostles (6:22) (from 0:00–1:57).
In pairs or small groups, students label and annotate the images identifying evidence of erosion such as caves, loss of material at base of cliffs, arches and broken arches, and pillars. Monitor student annotations and provide feedback on evidence of erosion.
Prompt students to recall the purpose and features of flow charts using examples from previous lessons.
Seek input from students to jointly construct a flow chart showing the process of weathering then erosion by the force of water in the creation of the Twelve Apostles or a similar landform. Refer to Figure 7 for an example.
Figure 8 – flow chart
Guide students to reproduce the flowchart.
Students independently add 2 sentences to explain how moving water causes erosion and changes the landscape, using the creation of the Twelve Apostles or a similar landform as an example.
Note: keep a completed flow chart for use in Lesson 8 and 10.
Explain that landscape changes by erosion can happen over a long period of time or happen quite quickly.
Watch Coastal Erosion (3:43). Compare the length of time taken for the formation of the Twelve Apostles to the coastal erosion caused by storms.
Explain that the landscape changes depend on the material being weathered and then eroded. For example, sand will be eroded faster than rock. Connect this idea back to the scratch testing in Lesson 4.
Explain that the landscape changes will also depend on the forces applied by the water. For example, gentle waves will erode a beach more slowly than high energy waves generated by a storm.
Seek input from students to jointly construct a Venn diagram to show differences and similarities between slow and rapid changes to landscapes caused by water erosion. Refer to Figure 9.
Figure 9 – slow and fast erosion
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot describe how erosion caused by moving water changes the landscape.
Display Resource 15 – coastal erosion examples. Jointly construct descriptions of changes in each image. Guide students to connect the changes to forces from waves.
Students can describe how erosion caused by moving water changes the landscape.
Students review Twelve Apostles (6:22) (from 0:45–1:57) to create a flow chart to show the formation steps (crack – cave – arch – stack – collapse).
Assessment
What to look for
Can students distinguish between weathering and erosion? ST2-SCI-01
Can students describe how erosion caused by moving water changes the landscape?
ST2-SCI-01
Can students create a flow chart to explain the process of erosion? ST2-SCI-01
Can students identify that erosion can change landscapes slowly or rapidly? ST2-SCI-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Refer to the learning intentions to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Students place their flow chart side by side with a peer’s flow chart. Students discuss each other’s flow chart and sentences.
Students decide whether key components are included and suggest improvements. Key components include:
the force of water causes weathering
rock surface is broken down
erosion due to the same force moving the broken rock pieces away
land is changed and creates new landforms.
Optional assessment
Students complete an exit slip:
Water erosion causes rapid landscape changes when … because …
Water erosion causes slow landscape changes when … because …
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to identify that erosion can change landscapes slowly or rapidly.
Lesson 8 – planning an erosion fair test
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students plan a fair test to investigate how forces produced by moving water cause erosion.
Prior learning:
pose questions to conduct fair tests to determine the effects of soil, water and light energy on plants
describe and model how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
Key vocabulary: model, fair test, measure, cause, effect, factor, erosion, channel, sand, width
Lesson preparation: prepare digital or printed copies of Resource 18 – erosion investigation planner for each student.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intention and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intention and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01, ST2-PQU-01, ST2-DAT-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Describe and model how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
Students are learning:
to investigate forces that shape Earth’s surface by conducting fair tests.
Students can:
describe how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
pose questions to test the effects of moving water on erosion
plan a fair test by changing one factor and keeping others the same.
Posing questions: the posing questions outcome in each stage of the Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024) supports the Working Scientifically outcomes in Stage 4. To supplement the syllabus content and the teaching advice, the department has created an information document for posing questions available on the Planning, programming and assessing science and technology K–6 (2024) webpage.
Explain the learning intention and refer to it throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of the elements of a fair test.
Display Resource 16 – fair test to revise the elements of a fair test. Remind students of the mnemonic ‘Cows Moo Softly’ to match ‘Change, Measure, Same’. Students repeat ‘Cows Moo Softly’ as you point to the steps in the resource.
Display and read Resource 17 – fair test examples. Students turn and talk to discuss which tests are fair and why.
One scenario at a time, check for understanding of fair tests by asking students to place their hands on their heads for option A and hands behind their back for option B as the fair test. Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Select students to justify their decision. Remaining students use thumbs up to indicate agreement, thumbs down to indicate disagreement and an open hand to add additional information.
Assess students’ readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach elements of a fair test.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Explain that students will plan and conduct a fair test investigating erosion caused by moving water. To support students’ preparation, revise the:
definition of erosion
flow chart from Lesson 7 showing how forces produced by moving water shape Earth’s surface through erosion (refer to Figure 7)
concept of a scientific model.
Remind students that a scientific model is a drawing, diagram, object or explanation that helps to show how something in science works. Scientists create and use models to understand and investigate things that are too big, too small or too slow to see easily in real life, such as the process of erosion.
A model is a ‘representation that describes, simplifies, clarifies or gives an explanation of the workings, structure or relationships within an object, system or idea’ (ACARA n.d.).
Watch Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Experiment (3:33) (from 1:00–1:23) without sound.
Guide students to describe how the experiment models erosion caused by moving water by asking:
What does the sand on the tray represent? (The land.)
What does pouring the water represent? (Rainfall, a flowing river.)
Why is the tray placed on an angle? (To represent moving water.)
How do we know that erosion occurred? (Sand moved down the tray and made the channel in the sand wider.)
What real landforms could this model represent? (Riverbeds, valleys, canyons, gullies.)
Display Resource 18 – erosion investigation planner. Explain the purpose of each section of the planner.
Provide students with Resource 18 – erosion investigation planner. Explain that students will plan a fair test by completing the missing details, beginning with posing a testable question.
Review the question frame: ‘How does changing … affect the amount of erosion that occurs?’. Remind students that a fair test means an investigation is done in a way that clearly shows cause and effect.
Students turn and talk to brainstorm elements of the model that when changed, would affect the amount of erosion that occurs.
Prompt students to use the question frame to rephrase their ideas as testable questions. Select students to share their questions. Student responses may include:
How does changing the slope/angle of a surface affect the amount of erosion that occurs?
How does changing the type of soil affect the amount of erosion that occurs?
How does changing the height that water falls from affect the amount of erosion that occurs?
How does changing the speed of water affect the amount of erosion that occurs?
Inform students that they will plan a fair test for the following question: ‘How does changing the amount of flowing water affect the amount of erosion that occurs?’ Prompt students to complete the question frame in their investigation planner.
Check for understanding of testable questions by asking:
What is being changed in this fair test? (The amount of water poured.)
What is being measured in this fair test? (The amount of erosion.)
Provide feedback or correction as needed.
Prompt students to record the factor that will be changed in the ‘Change?’ box in the investigation planner.
Read the ‘Measure?’ box of the investigation planner. Explain that students will determine the amount of erosion by measuring width of the channel formed in the sand.
Use a think-aloud to model the setup of the fair test, pointing to the relevant section of the investigation planner as it is being referenced. Ask students to listen carefully for factors which will be kept the same. For example:
‘I want to create a fair test to see whether the amount of flowing water affects the amount of erosion that occurs. I will use a model which involves pouring water on sand on a sloped tray to conduct my test. Using ‘Cows Moo Softly’ for a fair test, I know I can change one factor, measure another factor and keep all other factors the same. I have planned to change the amount of water poured on the sand and measure the width of the eroded channel that forms. I will need to keep the trays of sand the same. I will set up 2 identical trays with the same amount of sand each. I will use identical objects to prop up each tray and create the same slope. I will use my finger to mark a winding channel in the sand the same way in each tray. I will pour a small amount of water down the channel of one tray and larger amount of water down the other. After each pour, I will measure the width of eroded channel formed at its widest point.’
Students recall from the think-aloud factors in the fair test which will be kept the same. Students turn and talk to brainstorm additional factors which need to be kept the same for a fair test and record a list in their investigation planner. For example:
the amount of sand on each tray
the type of sand on each tray
the size and type of tray
the props used to elevate the tray
the slope of the tray
the shape and size of the channel drawn in the sand
the height and position the water is poured from
the container used to pour water
environmental conditions such as wind
the ruler used to measure.
Circulate to provide prompting and corrective feedback. Reminder: collect completed erosion investigation planners to use for optional assessment.
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot plan a fair test by changing one factor and keeping others the same.
Provide students with a modified investigation planner which includes examples and non-examples of factors that should be kept the same. Students circle which factors should be kept the same based on the factor chosen to be changed.
Students can plan a fair test by changing one factor and keeping the others the same.
Students plan a second fair test investigating the erosion of sand caused by moving water. Students identify a different factor that would be changed and record what would be measured and the factors that would need to be kept the same.
Assessment
What to look for
Can students describe how forces produced by moving water cause erosion ST2-SCI-01, ST2-PQU-01
Can students pose questions to test how moving water causes erosion? ST2-SCI-01,
ST2-PQU-01
Can students plan a fair test by changing one factor and keeping the others the same?
ST2-PQU-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Refer to the learning intention to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Students complete the remaining sections of their investigation planner by drawing a labelled diagram of their fair test set up and making a prediction.
Circulate to review student responses and provide prompting or corrective feedback.
Optional assessment
Collect student erosion investigation planners. Review student records of factors they will keep the same in the fair test.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to plan a fair test by changing one factor and keeping others the same.
Lesson 9 – conducting an erosion fair test
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students conduct a fair test to investigate how forces produced by moving water cause erosion.
Prior learning:
pose questions to conduct fair tests to determine the effects of soil, water and light energy on plants
describe and model how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
Key vocabulary: fair test, model, measure, cause, effect, factor, change, measure, same, erosion
Lesson preparation: prepare damp sand. Decide the amount of damp sand placed on each tray and the 2 volumes of water students will pour over each tray, for example 250 ml and 500 ml. Edit Resource 20 – erosion fair test steps to reflect decisions.
Print copies of Resource 20 – erosion fair test steps for student groups to refer to throughout the lesson. Print copies of Resource 21 – keep the same checklist and Resource 22 – erosion fair test challenge for students requiring differentiated approaches for conducting fair tests.
Prepare a demonstration tray by elevating one tray on a prop, spreading the chosen amount of damp sand in the top half of the tray, and carving a small winding channel in the sand. Refer to steps 1 to 5 of the Resource 20 – erosion fair test steps.
Prepare students’ completed erosion investigation planners from Lesson 8.
Set up a digital shared folder to store photos captured during the fair test.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains a suggested learning intention and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intention and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01, ST2-PQU-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Describe and model how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
Students are learning:
to investigate forces that shape Earth’s surface by conducting fair tests.
Students can:
create a model of erosion caused by moving water
conduct a fair test by changing one factor and keeping the others the same.
Explain the learning intention and refer to it throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of the elements of fair testing.
Ask: What makes an investigation a fair test?
Revise that in a fair test scientists change one factor, measure another factor and keep all other factors the same.
Remind students that last lesson they planned a fair test investigating the effect of the amount of moving water on the amount of erosion. Review the setup of the scientific model used to investigate erosion.
Display Resource 19 – erosion investigation factors. Students review the list of factors and turn and talk to recall what will be changed, measured or kept the same in the planned fair test.
Check for understanding by asking students to classify each factor as ‘changed’, ‘measured’ or ‘same’ using a choral response. Review student responses and provide corrective feedback if required.
The amount of sand in each tray. (Same.)
The slope of the surface. (Same.)
The amount of water poured. (Change.)
The height that water is poured from. (Same.)
How fast the water is poured. (Same.)
How windy it is during the investigation. (Same.)
The width of the channel formed by erosion. (Measure.)
The ruler used to measure width. (Same.)
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach the elements of a fair test.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Organise students into groups and provide each group with copies of Resource 20 – erosion fair test steps.
Display, read and discuss Resource 20 – erosion fair test steps.
Provide groups with the equipment listed in Resource 20 – erosion fair test steps.
Show the demonstration tray to model the setup of the erosion fair test.
Guide students to arrange the trays, props and damp sand to set up the erosion fair test (steps 1 to 5 of the erosion fair test steps).
Circulate as groups set up their tests to:
prompt students to follow each step
check for understanding by asking questions about the factors students are keeping the same
provide feedback on whether students are following the agreed steps for the fair test.
Model how to take a photo of the trays to record observations throughout the fair test. Demonstrate how to:
take a photo from a bird’s eye view
fill the frame with the tray
check the tray label is included and clearly visible
focus the image before capturing a photo.
Guide students to take a ‘before’ photo of the fair test setup (step 6 of the erosion fair test steps).
Using the demonstration tray, model how to:
carefully pour water down the sand channel
take measurements to the nearest millimetre using a ruler.
Note: students learn to measure and records lengths using millimetres in Stage 2 Mathematics Geometric measure A.
Students independently complete the remaining steps of the erosion fair test.
Circulate as groups conduct their tests to:
prompt students to follow each step
check for understanding of elements of fair tests by asking questions about the factors students are changing, measuring and keeping the same
provide feedback on whether students are following the agreed steps for the fair test.
Once completed, ensure students clean away spilled materials and wash their hands.
Students review the photos they captured and discuss their observations.
Provide students with their erosion investigation planners from Lesson 8.
Students record their observations and measurements in the ‘results’ section. Provide students with the choice to write notes, construct a table and/or draw labelled diagrams.
Guide students to save and share their photos to a digital shared folder. Reminder: photos will be retrieved for analysis in Lesson 10.
Differentiation
The table below identifies some starting points for differentiation.
Additional scaffolding
Extending and challenging
Students cannot conduct a fair test by changing one factor and keeping others the same.
Provide students with Resource 21 – keep the same checklist to monitor factors to keep the same throughout the fair test. Prompt students at various points in the investigation to refer to their checklist and check they are conducting a fair test.
Students can conduct a fair test by changing one factor and keeping others the same.
Provide students with Resource 22 – erosion fair test challenge to conduct the fair test. This less prescriptive version of the fair test steps requires students to make independent choices for changing and controlling factors.
Assessment
What to look for
Can create a model of erosion caused by moving water? ST2-SCI-01
Can students conduct a fair test by changing one factor and keeping others the same?
ST2-PQU-01
Concluding the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
Refer to the learning intention to support students in clarifying their thinking and to make connections.
Display the following reflection questions for students to discuss with their group:
Did our investigation successfully model erosion?
Did we successfully conduct a fair test?
What could we have done better?
Optional assessment
Students record a written reflection evaluating their erosion investigation as a fair test. Students use ‘Cows Moo Softly’ to explain the factors that were changed, measured and kept the same, and list ways they could improve their fair test.
This task provides evidence of student learning aligned to the success criteria. It assesses students’ ability to conduct a fair test by changing one factor and keeping the others the same.
Lesson 10 – explaining fair test results
Overview
Lesson duration: 60 minutes
In this lesson, students annotate photos of a model and fair test to explain how forces produced by moving water cause erosion.
Prior learning:
describe how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
use notes, diagrams, flow charts and annotations to support understanding and explain processes
Key vocabulary: label, annotation, annotate, explain, model, fair test, change, measure, cause, effect, factor, erosion, force, moving water
Lesson preparation: retrieve the erosion flow chart jointly constructed in Lesson 7 (refer to Figure 7 for an example) and create a modified flow chart that is out of sequence to display at the beginning of the lesson.
Select 4 exemplar photos taken by students in Lesson 9 that clearly show: the model (tray) before water was poured, evidence of erosion whilst water was being poured, evidence of erosion after water was poured in Tray 1, and evidence of erosion after water was poured in Tray 2.
Prepare a printed set of all photos and A3 paper for each student to develop annotations on.
Alternatively, provide students with a digital copy of the resources to annotate using a device and selected digital program such as Canva or Google slides.
Beginning the lesson
Duration: 10 minutes
The table below contains suggested learning intentions and success criteria.
Syllabus
Learning intentions and success criteria
ST2-SCI-01, ST2-PQU-01, ST2-DAT-01
Physical and living systems depend on energy
Describe and model how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
Use notes, diagrams, flow charts and annotations to support understanding and explain processes
Students are learning:
to investigate forces that shape Earth’s surface by conducting fair tests
to create written explanations that support scientific understanding.
Students can:
describe how forces produced by moving water cause erosion
use notes and annotations to explain processes.
Explain the learning intentions and refer to them throughout the lesson, making connections to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals.
The following steps activate prior knowledge of erosion caused by moving water.
Display Resource 11 – water weathering and remind students that these landscapes and landforms were shaped by erosion.
Display a modified version of the erosion flow chart jointly constructed in Lesson 7 showing the steps out of sequence. Ask students to correctly sequence the flow chart on an individual whiteboard.
Circulate and check for understanding of how erosion shapes Earth’s surface by reviewing student whiteboards. Provide feedback and correction as necessary.
Display the correct flow chart and revise the process of erosion.
Assess students' readiness to move on to the Core lesson or reteach erosion caused by moving water.
Core lesson
Duration: 40 minutes
Steps
Review the erosion fair test conducted in Lesson 9. Explain that in this lesson students will annotate a selection of photos taken during the investigation.
Display Resource 23 – annotated diagram. Revise:
Labels are words or short phrases pointing to parts of a photo or drawing. They identify parts of the photo or drawing, but don’t explain what they are. We can see labels in this diagram such as beetle.
Annotations are short sentences or notes added to a drawing that explain features or functions. For example, in this diagram there are annotations that explain the beetle has stripes on its body but its head has small spots, possibly for camouflage.
Labels and annotations provide extra information for the reader that may not be understood by looking at the diagram alone.
Check for understanding of annotations by asking students to think-pair-share an annotation for the diagram using the provided sentence stem, ‘the flowers have …’.
Distribute printed photo sets, glue, scissors and A3 paper to students.
Display and explain the photos and headings as set out in Figure 10. Guide students to replicate the template using their printed photos on one side of their A3 page.
Figure 10 – photo set 1