Students slide time forward and watch a river slowly carve a canyon — discovering that weathering breaks rock apart and erosion carries it away, reshaping the land over long stretches of time.
Students will be able to…
The Grand Canyon is a mile deep — carved by a river. How can slow-moving water reshape solid rock into a giant canyon?
Project this and slide time forward. Watch the river weather and erode the rock, carving a deeper canyon and revealing older layers below.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
Show the Grand Canyon — what dug it?
Students investigate the model.
Teacher explains.
Connect to landforms + time.
Three quick checks.
Aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core literacy. State-standard crosswalks available on request.
Make observations and measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion.
Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
Interpret information presented visually and explain how it contributes to understanding.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students pour water down a sand or soil hill and observe how it weathers and erodes the material, then test a way to slow it (plants, rocks). A printable erosion-lab sheet is in the Science library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.