Today is rung 3 of 5 on this topic
Erosion, rocks and reading the landscape
Can do: Explains how water, ice and wind change land over time, and what fossils and rock layers tell us.
Why it matters
It's the first time children reason about timescales far beyond a human life, and the evidence is visible on any walk.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Assumes landscapes have always looked as they do, and that fossils are just old bones with no meaning about layers.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"How did that valley get there? If a fossil is in a lower rock layer, is it older or younger?"
Solid looks like: Water or ice over a long time, and older.
The full activity for this topic · 25 minutes
Erosion in a Tray
- 1Build a slope of soil in the tray and pour water slowly down it. Watch the channels form.
- 2Rebuild it, plant grass or moss on the slope, and pour the same water.
- 3Compare how much soil moved. That's exactly why deforestation causes landslides.
- 4Layer sand, soil and gravel in a jar with water and let it settle — that's sedimentary rock forming.
- 5On a walk, find one thing water has clearly shaped.
If it's too hard
One pour, one observation, one sentence.
If it's too easy
Vary the slope angle and measure the sediment moved each time as a fair test.
Say this
"Same water, different slope. Which one lost more soil — and what does that tell farmers?"