Jan 18, 2021
The Lloyd Center for the Environment has been engaging students in the fascinating processes of weathering and erosion since 2017! The Erosion Program was originally developed in collaboration with teachers at Quinn Elementary School in Dartmouth, MA, in an effort to deliver hands-on activities to students that reinforce the fourth-grade Massachusetts standards concerning weathering and erosion. This pilot program with Quinn Elementary School was so successful in helping teachers demonstrate these concepts, that is has since been adopted by all the Dartmouth Elementary Schools.
In a typical year, this in-school Erosion Program would incorporate both technology and hands-on activities to teach the concepts of weathering and erosion. The lesson begins with a power-point presentation which reviews and provides real life situations of these concepts. After the presentation, the hands-on learning begins! The class is separated into three groups, and rotates among three activities: salt dough mountain, wave in a pan, and a teacher-led weathering/erosion card game. A review of the concepts learned concludes the program.