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ScienceHistoryStorytelling

Erosion Storyboards

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Grades 3-545-60 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Kids run a simple stream table to watch water reshape land in real time, then draw a comic that traces one pebble's journey downstream and connects it to how real rivers carved famous landmarks.

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Prep: 10 minActivity: 45 min1 session~$2/groupOne table or a clear section of floorBeginner-friendly

Setup

Place common or recycled supplies for Erosion Storyboards on one work surface and choose a safe area for the test. Read the four activity directions aloud; drawings, paper models, and household substitutes may replace specialized materials, and no digital tool is required.

Activity

  1. Build a small hill of sand in one end of the tray and predict what will happen when water flows over it.
  2. Slowly pour cups of water at the top of the hill and observe where the sand moves and how channels form.
  3. Repeat with the hill built at a steeper angle, measuring which slope erodes fastest.
  4. Draw a four panel comic showing one pebble's journey from the hilltop to the bottom, and add a caption connecting it to a real place, like the Grand Canyon, shaped by the same process over millions of years.

Done when: The group produces the Erosion Storyboards solution, completes the described test, makes the revision called for by the evidence, and supports its final explanation with an observed or measured result.

Materials

Aluminum baking tray, sand or dirt, small rocks, cups of water, paper for drawing

Shown for the Quick Start version — switch tabs above to see what changes.

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Steps

  1. Build a small hill of sand in one end of the tray and predict what will happen when water flows over it.
  2. Slowly pour cups of water at the top of the hill and observe where the sand moves and how channels form.
  3. Repeat with the hill built at a steeper angle, measuring which slope erodes fastest.
  4. Draw a four panel comic showing one pebble's journey from the hilltop to the bottom, and add a caption connecting it to a real place, like the Grand Canyon, shaped by the same process over millions of years.

Standards it satisfies

  • NGSS · 4-ESS2-1

    Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.