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Provided by: Illinois Math and Science Academy |Published on: May 6, 2025
Lesson Plans
345
Synopsis
This lesson was designed by Illinois Math and Science Academy to educate fourth-grade students on the changes in Earth's surface, particularly in relation to flooding.
Students will examine water flow in rivers and design a solution to prevent riverbed flooding and erosion.
Local streams will be investigated using a stream gauge or via the National Weather Service website.
Background information is provided on historic flooding in Illinois.
This lesson is full of opportunities for hands-on exploration and use of NGSS Science and Engineering Practices.
Many ready-made resources to easily implement this lesson are included.
Prerequisites
Prior knowledge about erosion and weathering is necessary.
Students should have experience with the following NGSS Science and Engineering Practices: designing and developing models, and designing solutions for an engineering problem.
Students will need a device to access websites to collect data.
The Bill Nye video linked in this lesson is broken, and the Tribune News link takes you to the daily local news and no longer to the video it describes.
Some of the extension links are no longer functional.
Lesson plans, student worksheets, and presentation slides can be found here.
Differentiation & Implementation
After this lesson, students can extend the connection between flooding and climate change by examining changes in stream levels and precipitation over periods of time.
This lesson can be used with 3rd or 5th grade as well by making small changes or extensions.
Students can be arranged in groups to facilitate varying levels of learners to collaborate.
Opportunities are outlined for students to design a solution to flooding that could be applicable to their local streams.
Students can practice descriptive writing by designing a brochure or developing a descriptive text describing their solution to flooding.
Flooding in other parts of the country can be examined and compared to Illinois flood risks in this lesson.
A variety of extensions and videos for review are included in this lesson.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Related Teaching Resources
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.
