Save the Lighthouse
A STEAM Activity
Many educators coming to our Seedlings Summer Workshop are teaching in coastal communities, and so students will have familiarity with beaches, and perhaps even lighthouses.
Studying changing landscapes is often a curriculum requirement for 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms and erosion is a natural land changer. The goal of this activity is to explore how landscapes are impacted by different natural and man-made influences. Students will be able to see erosion’s impact on the land and look at how we might prevent it and discover that there are reasons why we have jetties and seawalls, and also the role that natural vegetation plays in keeping erosion at bay.
You can bring in math by taking a dry erase marker and tracing the sand hill on the outside of the plastic tub. Students will be able to see how much land change (erosion) is happening as a result of the waves, tides, and other forces impacting the shore. By taping a transparency sheet with gridlines, students can measure the area of beach that has been lost through erosion.
If time allows, you can introduce grasses, “boulders” and smaller rocks one at a time for further exploration and observation.
Studying changing landscapes is often a curriculum requirement for 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms and erosion is a natural land changer. The goal of this activity is to explore how landscapes are impacted by different natural and man-made influences. Students will be able to see erosion’s impact on the land and look at how we might prevent it and discover that there are reasons why we have jetties and seawalls, and also the role that natural vegetation plays in keeping erosion at bay.
You can bring in math by taking a dry erase marker and tracing the sand hill on the outside of the plastic tub. Students will be able to see how much land change (erosion) is happening as a result of the waves, tides, and other forces impacting the shore. By taping a transparency sheet with gridlines, students can measure the area of beach that has been lost through erosion.
If time allows, you can introduce grasses, “boulders” and smaller rocks one at a time for further exploration and observation.
Supplies:
(You can get creative, too!)
- Clear plastic tub
- Pool filter sand
- Rocks (different sizes)
- Aquarium grass (with grid at bottom)
- Clipboard or other paddle for wave making
- Dry erase marker
- Transparency with grid lines (optional)
- light house optional
More STEAM Integration Activities
Socks & Seeds: An Adaptation Exploration
The objective of this activity is to help students understand the different ways that seeds adapt in order to be transported for dispersal and species survival.
Fiddler Crabs: Science, Observation & Inquiry
This activity asks students to make observations and inquiries about animal behavior and can be adapted for a wide range of grades, from kindergarten through middle school.
Earthquake! A STEAM Activity
In this architecture and engineering activity, students will be tasked with using index cards to form a construction that will withstand an “earthquake.”
