Description for Land and Water
Land and Water Interactions between Land and Water
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Science and Technology Concepts (STC)
Students investigate the interactions between land and water. Using a stream table as their model, students observe how runoff causes stream formation; how groundwater forms; how soil is eroded, transported, and deposited; and how water shapes land. Students create hills, build dams, and grow vegetation. Miniature valleys, waterfalls, and canyons form in the stream tables as water flows over the soil. Students also deepen their appreciation for the vastness of stream systems by creating aerial diagrams of their stream table results. The stream table also serves as a basis for investigations of the water cycle. Through observing the model, manipulating certain parts of it, and testing interactions under various conditions, students discover how water changes the shape of land and how land formations, in turn, affect the flow of water. They connect the models to real-world examples and apply the concepts they have learned to photographs of land and water on earth. Through these applications, students are encouraged to observe land and water each day and search for evidence of interactions between land and water in the world around them.
GEMSNET Land and Water