SCIENCE

Planning
Document
Primary & Secondary
University of
Notre Dame
 English
(ACELY1690)- Write a report on the problems
with erosion that have been created by humans.
(ACELY1694)- Write a letter to the local
government about their ideas to reduce erosion
along the Swan River.
(ACELY1694)-Write up a scientific report on
one of the soil investigations.
Technology & Enterprise
(ACTDEK019)- create an erosion barrier to prevent soil from eroding.
(ACTDEK022)-Students create their own fertile soil. They will use their
knowledge of the components of soil to create suitable soil for plants to grow
in.
(ACTDEK022)- create a compost tumbler
Geography
(ACHASSK087) – the main vegetation
and landforms in the Perth area.
(ACHASSK088)- Importance of soil in
providing life for animals and humans.
Explore how to use soil being a natural
resource sustainably.
CONCEPT MAP Maths
(option 1)
(ACMMG090)- locate different landforms and
where different soils are located on a map.
Science
- Create a legend and a key
(ACSSU073) -Living Things: (ACMMG084)- measuring the amount of soil that
- A unit of work on earthworms and how they improve erodes down a hill because of different factors.
soil quality.
- How fertile soil helps plants grow and choosing certain (ACMSP096)- recording data in tables and on
soils for particular plants. graphs.
Sustainability:
- effect of fertilisers going into the ocean because of
erosion.
Concept: Soil and erosion Term: 2 Weeks: 6-10
©The University of Notre Dame 2010 developed by C McGunnigle
Health & Physical Education
(ACPPS036)- Safety when using soil, making sure that your using gloves and
in some cases a mask depending on what type of soil it is.
(ACPPS036)-Learning how to create your own vegetable garden and keep the
soil rich in nutrients.
History The Arts
(ACAVAM111)- Use different coloured sand on top of
(ACHASSK085)- discovering the changes to the
water colours to create an image of a landform in Perth.
- The swam river
landscape of Perth because of erosion.
- Students can look at paintings of what - Ocean
Perth looked like when explorers first - Darling ranges etc.
came to Western Australia (ACAVAM111)- Create a model of how erosion
- Compare and contrast them to Perth now. occurs.
 FORWARD PLANNING DOCUMENT

TERM/WEEKS: 2 (6-10) YEAR LEVEL: 4 LEARNING AREA/TOPIC: Science/ Earth and Space
AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM
General Capabilities:
Literacy Numeracy ICT Critical and creative Ethical Behaviour Personal and social Intercultural Understanding
thinking Competence
Cross-curriculum priorities:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and Cultures Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia Sustainability

5E’s- ENGAGE (1-2 lessons)

 To capture student interest and find out what they know about Soil
 To elicit students’ questions/ prior knowledge about soil
 Diagnostic assessment used- in this lesson you will find out what the students already know about soil. This will allow you to take account of students’ existing ideas when planning learning
experiences

WEEK/ AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM SPECIFIC LESSON ASSESSMENT TEACHING & LEARNING KEY RESOURCES
LESSON LINKS OBJECTIVE (what & how) EXPERIENCES QUESTIONS
(include learner diversity)
Science Science as Science
Understand a Human Inquiry
ing Endeavour Skills

DIAGNOSTIC
Week (ACSS (ACSI Students will be able Introduction Soil Jars
6 U075) S071) to: 1. The teacher will show the students a jar that is What can you - Jars/lids
Sticky note
filled with soil and water. Students will identify see inside this
Identify how soil is
brainstorming
jar?
- Soil
what the lesson topic will be, from the contents of - Water
formed.
the jar. - Gloves
What do you
Informal
List four different already know
observation 2. In two different places around the room, place a
components of soil. about soil? Brainstorm
-identifying
sheet of butcher’s paper on the wall with a question Bucher paper
components of
in the middle. The students will be given sticky Questions: Sticky notes
soil.
notes to write down their answers, they will then How is soil
-observation grids
formed? Components of
stick them on the brainstorming sheets. Discuss the
What is soil soil
student’s answers; the teacher should look for made up of?
misconceptions. Small stones,
clay, sand,
Lesson Body organic
3. Explain to students how soil is formed, using Prior material, small
pictures to help. Explain that rocks break down knowledge- organisms
into small parts to become soil. Then it mixes with What is this
organic and inorganic materials. process called?
Weathering Observation
sheets
4. Before this lesson students are required to bring
soil from home in a glass jar. The students will put
 one cup of water into the jar and securely put the
lid back in.
Safety/Ethics
- Hold the jar from the outside, don’t put their
hands inside the jar.
- The soil and water will be poured back into the
garden

5. The students will be given an observation grid to

draw diagrams of their jar on four separate What will
occasions. The teacher will first model how to fill happen when
in the grid. They will draw a picture in the box, the jar is
shaken?
label it and record the time of observation

6. Students shake up their jars. The students will

observe what is happening to the soil. The
students will write down their observations on the
observation grid. Discuss their findings as a class.
Put the jars aside to settle on their desks.

7. One student from each desk collects jars,

containing small samples of the different
components of soil. These will include small
stones, clay, sand, organic material, small
organisms. Students need to guess what they are
in groups of four. Discuss.
What is
happening to
8. Students will observe what is happening so far to the contents of
the contents of their soil jars. The soil should be the jar?
beginning to separate into parts. Fill out another
box on the observation grid. What are the
components in
Extension-try to label the components of the soil as it the soil that
separates. you can see?

Conclusion
9. Ticket to lunch- Each group comes up with one
interesting point that they learnt about soil and
one prediction about what the jars will look like
 the following day.

5E’s- EXPLORE (2-3 lessons)

 To provide hands on, shared experiences of Soil
 To support students to investigate and explore ideas about Soil
 Formative assessment

WEEK/ AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM SPECIFIC LESSON ASSESSMENT TEACHING & LEARNING KEY RESOURCES
LESSON LINKS OBJECTIVE (what & how) EXPERIENCES QUESTIONS
(include learner diversity)
Science Science as Science
Understand a Human Inquiry
ing Endeavour Skills

FORMATIVE
Week (ACSS Students will be able Introduction What has Soil jars
7 U075) to: 1. Students will collect their jars and draw a picture happened to - Jars from
of what the jar looks like now. the soil? week before.
List the different Landscape and - The jars will have separated into different
types of soil that is soil labelling in Map of Perth
layers. Gravel, sand, clay and top soil-
located around Perth. Perth.
organic materials. - laminated
Use their senses to Work sample- pictures
The students will label their diagrams.
describe the (use a checklist to - coloured
characteristics of assess it) stickers
soil. -students 2. Along the floor of the classroom have a long piece
observations of of paper with a rough drawing of a map of Perth Soils
different soil from the Indian Ocean to the Darling Ranges. - sand, clay,
characteristics stones,
3. Show students laminated pictures of different Where are
these fertile soil.
landscapes and landforms in Perth. - Magnifying
landforms
- Sand Dunes located in glasses
- The Darling Ranges Perth? - Observation
- Swan River sheets
- Indian Ocean
As a class place the pictures on the map in
approximately the right places. Word wall
-strips of
Lesson Body coloured paper
4. Show students four samples of different types of
soil. Ask two students to place the soil samples on
each desk. The types of soil they will look at are;
sand, clay, stones, fertile soil.
 5. The students will begin the activity. The students What colour it
will look at the samples with magnifying glass. is?
They will observe the characteristics of the soil. What is the
texture of the
The students will place their hands inside of the
soil?
container and feel the soil and notice any noises the Can you move
sample makes. They will write down their it easily?
observations and draw a picture on the activity
sheet they will be given.
Safety considerations
- Wash hands after the activity
- Soil should not come in contact with any
mouths
- Place newspaper down on the desks

Enable-have some sentence starters on their sheet to

give them questions to think about.

The students will move in a clockwise direction to each

table.

6. Discuss the observations that the students made.

7. The students will use their knowledge about the

characteristics of the soils they have just found out
about for the next activity. Each group will be How do you
know that sand
given a different soil to analyse. They will have to is found near
try and work out where in Perth you would find the beach?
that particular soil.
What type of
8. Each group will come up the front of the room and soil do you
place stickers in on the Perth landscape map in the have at home?
location they think they would find their soil. The
Which one
students need to explain their reasoning behind would you
choosing that particular location. plant plants
in?
9. Look at where they have placed the types of soils.
See if they are correct and explain the reasons why
the soils are located in each place.
 Conclusion
10. Begin a word wall- in pairs the students will write
down one word of terminology they have learnt
from the past two weeks and a definition for it on a
strip of coloured paper. All the words will be
placed on the wall.

5E’s- EXPLAIN (1 lesson)

 To support students to develop explanations for experiences and make representations of developing conceptual understandings
 Formative assessment

WEEK/ AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM SPECIFIC LESSON ASSESSMENT TEACHING & LEARNING KEY RESOURCES
LESSON LINKS OBJECTIVE (what & how) EXPERIENCES QUESTIONS
(include learner diversity)
Science Science as Science
Understand a Human Inquiry
ing Endeavour Skills

FORMATIVE
Week (ACSS (ACSH Students will be able Introduction
8 U075) E081) to: 1. On a table at the front of the room the teacher will Model
Observation-
Define what erosion demonstrate how erosion works using a model. - Plastic tray
Venn-diagrams
is. There will be a mountain of soil on one side of a - Soil
Checklist tray. The teacher will pour water onto the soil and - Water
Discuss one of the
-book creator the students will watch as the soil moves down the
causes of erosion. Video
-presentation mountain of soil onto the other side of the tray.
- PMI sheets
What did the
- Sheets for
2. Have a discussion about what is happening to the water do to the
soil? Venn-
soil and why. Write their ideas on the board.
What is this diagram
Explain to students that this process is called
process called?
erosion. Research
activity
Lesson Body
3. Watch the following video on how erosion occurs
- laminated
sheets
and its relationship with weathering (prior
- QR codes
knowledge). Students will fill in a PMI (positive,
- iPads
minus, interesting) sheet when watching the video. - book creator
app
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Iak3Wvh9c
-smartboard
What are the
4. In their desk groups students will fill in a Venn- similarities
Word wall
diagram looking at the similarities and differences and
- Strips of
between weathering and erosion differences
between coloured
 weathering paper.
5. Place on the board laminated pictures of where soil and erosion?
erosion occurs. Get students to identify what each
of the pictures are and discuss the reason why
erosion occurs at those locations.

6. Each group will be given one of the erosion

locations to research. These locations include; hills,
rivers, sand dunes/coast line, farms and urban
areas. They will be given their erosion location
picture because it will have QR codes on the back
that they can use to find information.
Is erosion the
7. The students will start to investigate their type of cause of a
erosion. The students will have one iPad between natural process
two, they can scan the codes to find information or or cause by
find their own. They will investigate; what type of humans at
your location?
erosion occurs, the reasons why it occurs, if it has
changed the surface or shape of the location. They What type of
can also investigate if there are any problems erosion is it?
because of erosion at their location.
Does erosion
8. The students will present their ideas using book affect humans?
creator. The students will draw a diagram of their How?
type of erosion, they can take pictures of their
diagrams and upload them.
Extension activity-
- Students find a case study of where erosion
has dramatically changed the shape of a
landform over time.

9. After all the groups have finished the activity, one

group at a time will come up and present their
findings. Each groups book creator will be
airdropped into the smartboard and they will show
their peers the information that they gathered.

Conclusion
10. Add to the word wall that the students began in
 previous week and add to it.

5E’s- ELABORATE (1-2 lessons)

 To challenge and extend students’ understandings in a new context or make connections to additional concepts through a student planned investigation
 To use investigative/ inquiry skills
 Summative assessment of science inquiry skills

WEEK/ AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM SPECIFIC LESSON ASSESSMENT TEACHING & LEARNING KEY RESOURCES
LESSON LINKS OBJECTIVE (what & how) EXPERIENCES QUESTIONS
(include learner diversity)
Science Science as Science
Understand a Human Inquiry
ing Endeavour Skills

SUMMATIVE-
Week (ACSS (ACSI Students will be able Introduction
9 U075) S065) to: 1. Begin with a class discuss about how soil erodes Investigation
Hypothesise the Science Inquiry What would - three water
and the factors that affect the rate of erosion. Write
(ACSI results of the soil Skills the students answers on the board. Circle the
increase the bottles
S064) investigation Rubric rate of
factors that the class will be investigating in the - Soil
- The erosion?
investigation. - Plants-in
Compare the investigation
variables that affect - Plants - soil
sheet that the - Water
the rate of erosion. - Rocks
students
- Cleared land - Three trays
completed.
- Gloves
2. Discuss as a class which of these factors they think - Shovel
will make the soil erode the most and why. Which factor - Measuring
will prevent cup
Lesson Body erosion from
3. The students will be given an investigation sheet occurring? Investigation
which explains how to conduct the experiment. Sheet
The teacher will model how to fill in the planning
Laminated
component of the investigation on the smartboard.
pictures from
previous lesson
4. Before conducting their investigation, the students
need to complete the following:
 Their hypothesis based on the class How can we
discussion. make this
 Variables investigation
reliable and a
  How to set up the experiment. fair test?
 Table

Enable- go through the terminology with a particular

group of students on the ground.

5. They students will be in groups of four. They will

be given a role in the group. There will be two
managers, director, and a speaker. The managers
will go and collect the equipment that is needed.

6. Students conduct the equipment.

 Firstly students need to set up the equipment.
Cut out the top of the water bottle, no lids are
required.
 Put soil in each of the water bottles.
 Each water bottle will have a different
variable- one will be plants, rocks and nothing
in the last one.
 Place the water bottles in individual trays.
 The students will pore three cups of water into
each of the water bottles; the water will pour
into the tray.

Safety considerations
- Gloves and masks are required
- Instruct students not to taste or smell the
soil.
- Wash hands after completing the
experiment.

7. The students will observe the quality of soil in Which tray has
each of the bottles. The bottles which have the most soil
eroded the most will be murkier than the soils in it? Why?
that did not erode. The students will write down
their results.

8. Discuss as a class the results. Was it the same as

 your hypothesis? How could
you solve
Conclusion these erosion
9. Students are given back the laminated sheets on problems?
erosion from the previous lesson. Ask students to
think about how they could solve erosion
problems using the results from this investigation.

5E’s- EVALUATE (1 lesson)

 To provide opportunities to review and reflect on their learning about Soil and erosion, and represent what they know about soil and erosion
 Summative assessment of science understanding

WEEK/ AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM SPECIFIC LESSON ASSESSMENT TEACHING & LEARNING KEY RESOURCES
LESSON LINKS OBJECTIVE (what & how) EXPERIENCES QUESTIONS
(include learner diversity)
Science Science as Science
Understand a Human Inquiry
ing Endeavour Skills

SUMMATIVE-
Week (ACSS (ACSH Students will be able Introduction How has your Brainstorming
10 U075) E062) to: 1. Revisit the sticky note brainstorm from the first knowledge -Sticky notes
Justify the location Science week. Students will be given different coloured changed from -Questions from
of their house and the Understanding sticky notes and add any new information to the the beginning week 6
soil it is built on. of this unit?
brainstorms.
Work sample – Assessment
List ways to prevent summative -activity sheet
erosion from assessment sheet. 2. Look at the answers students have written down on
occurring. Rubric: same one the sticky notes. Self-assessment
from the week sheet.
before Lesson Body
3. The students will complete a summative
Peer evaluation assessment activity. The students will have to use
their knowledge from the past few weeks and their
creative thinking to answer the following
questions:

Where would be a suitable place to build a

house in Perth? How will you prevent erosion
from occurring?

Extension activity
Come up with an erosion barrier to protect the house
from erosion.
 4. Students can first brainstorm the question in their Where will
groups, students will write down their answers on a you build?
one sheet in the middle of the table. Each person What type of
soil is located
will use a different coloured pencil, so that the
there?
teacher can identify what each student has written.

5. The students will be given an activity sheet to write

their ideas down on. The students will draw a
picture of their house and label any important parts
explaining the design. The students will answer the
questions below their design.

6. Students will partner up with another person. They

will evaluate the suitability of their design and
evaluate one another.

Conclusion
7. Students will all get a scrap of paper. They need
to write on the sheet something they have learnt
about soil and erosion. They will scrunch them
and throw them. Each student picks up someone
else’s and the teacher asks for students to read
them out.