Bryant 1

Sugar ShakeDo Mountains Last Forever?

Class: Science-4th Grade
Date/Period: May 19, 2016/ 10:00AM Morning Lesson
Standard:
NGSS 4-ESS1-1: Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers
for changes in a landscape over time to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over
time.
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.
NGSS 4-PS3-3: Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur
when objects collide.
Objective: Students will explore how solid rock breaks apart into smaller pieces through a
process called weathering (including root-wedging and ice-wedging.). Students will model the
process of weathering that occurs when rocks tumble and crash into each other using sugar cubes
in a container.
Anticipatory Set/ Building Background:
1. Teacher explains that today we are going to gain a deeper understanding of the term
weathering by solving the mystery, do mountains last forever?
2. Watch 3-minute Mystery Science video that discusses pyramids and how the Mayan
pyramids got lost when the Mayan people abandoned them because they became covered
with trees. Discuss the opening question, Heres a close-up of one of the trees before
they removed it. What do you think is going on here? What do you think happened to the
pyramid?
Direct Instruction:
1. Teacher uses PowerPoint as a visual aid to show how root-wedging and ice-wedging
break down large rocks.
2. After the mystery is solved, and students understand that a mountain will not last forever
due to root- and ice-wedging, they are instructed to take out a pencil and a marker, and
are given ten seconds to find a partner to work with for the experiment.
3. Classroom clerks pass-out copies of the Sugar Shake Data Sheet, one to each student.
Teacher and classroom helpers pass out the rest of the experiment materials (one paper
plate per group, one plastic container with a lid, and five sugar cubes)

Bryant 2
Guided Practice:
1. Teacher instructs students to fill out questions one (draw a picture of one of the sugar
cubes) and two (draw a picture of what you predict it will look like after 200 shakes).
2. Using the document camera, the teacher demonstrates how the students will color the
edges of two of the sugar cubes, and answer question number three (how many edges
does the sugar cube have?)
3. Teacher explains the roles of shaker and counter. Students decide who will be the first
shaker and counter and explains that roles will switch for every trial of the experiment.
4. Shaker is instructed to place only one of the colored cubes into the container with the
rest of the un-colored cubes. (The colored cube not in the container will act as the control
group.)
5. Trial #1Shaker shakes the container 40 times while the counter counts the number of
shakes out loud.
6. Shaker opens the container and pours the cubes onto the plateboth students record how
the cubes have changed and count how many edges still have color onto their data sheets.
7. Shaker returns the cubes back into the container with the lid on tight, students switch
roles, and complete questions 5-10 on the data sheet.
Small Group Practice: Students complete the experiment, alternating roles for each trial, and
complete questions 5-10 on the data sheet.
Assessment/ Check for Understanding:
1. As a closing check for understanding the teacher asks the students why rocks at the top of
a mountain are rough and jagged, but the ones at the bottom are smooth? Why do they
look different? How do they change? If you did this experiment with rocks instead of
sugar cubes, what do you think you would get instead of loose sugar?
2. Students will be informally assessed based on participation (individually and within in
their collaborative groups), following directions, and staying on task.
3. Students will receive a grade on their data sheets, and I will complete a formative check

for understanding by having students complete a three question written assessment during
the next science period.