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Preventing Erosion

Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land

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What a learner can do afterwards

  • Describe how wind and water can change the shape of land (erosion)
  • Compare at least two design solutions for reducing erosion (e.g. retaining walls, plants, windbreaks)
  • Evaluate which solution works best based on evidence from tests or observations

The lesson

Wind and water can slowly change the shape of land. Waves wash sand away. Rain can carry soil down a hill. This slow wearing away and moving of land is called erosion.

Try it together

Sam builds a sandcastle at the beach. Wave after wave hits it, and soon the walls crumble into the sea. Sam wants to find a way to protect it next time.

No wall2Wall8Plants5
The wall kept the most sand safe. Plants helped too, more than no protection at all.
Good to know

No single fix works everywhere. A wall blocks water head-on. Plants use roots to grip soil. Windbreaks slow the wind down. Testing each one shows which fits the job best.

Erosion slowly reshapes land, but walls, plants, and windbreaks can each slow it down, so test them to see which works best.

Watch it

Where it sits

Where this leads

Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.

Preventing Erosion · Science, ages 7 to 8 · LightMySky