Georgia S5E1.a
The Standard
Construct an argument supported by scientific evidence to identify surface features (examples could include deltas, sand dunes, mountains, volcanoes) as being caused by constructive and/or destructive processes (examples could include deposition, weathering, erosion, and impact of organisms).
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science · Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to identify surface features on the Earth caused by constructive and/or destructive processes.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify how weathering, erosion, deposition, and organisms shape Earth’s surface. They use observations, models, or images as evidence to support a claim about how a landform formed.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can examine a landform and name one or more processes that shaped it. They explain whether material was broken down, moved, or deposited and cite visible evidence.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often confuse weathering, which breaks material down, with erosion, which moves it. They may think constructive means helpful and destructive means harmful. They may also assume each landform is shaped by only one process.
How to Assess It
- Show a photo of a river delta and ask: Which process formed this feature, and what evidence in the photo supports your claim?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Run water through a tilted sand tray, then label where erosion removed sediment and deposition built a new feature.
Use two landform photos to answer: Which process shaped each feature, and what visible evidence supports your claim?
Sort landform, process, and evidence cards, then defend one match while classmates challenge it with another possible process.
Compare aerial images of Georgia’s Altamaha River delta, then explain how moving water and deposited sediment changed the coastline.
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Printable S5E1.a Worksheet
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Related Standards
- S6E5.g
Construct an argument using maps and data collected to support a claim of how fossils show evidence of the changing surface and climate of the Earth.
- S5E1.b
Develop simple interactive models to collect data that illustrate how changes in surface features are/were caused by constructive and/or destructive processes.
- SKE2.b
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how rocks can be grouped by physical attributes (size, weight, texture, color).
- S5E1
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to identify surface features on the Earth caused by constructive and/or destructive processes.
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