Read "The Magic School Bus Rocks and Rolls" and then take your class outside for a hands-on activity about erosion. Divide students into groups of four. Give each group a flat, wooden board, a paper cup, straw and modeling clay. Instruct them to poke a hole near the bottom of the cup. Insert the straw into the hole and seal the hole around the straw with clay. Prop up the board and cover it with soil. Place the cup at the top of the board with the straw pointed toward the bottom. One child should hold his finger over the end of the straw while another pours water into the cup. Instruct each child with his finger over the hole to move his finger and let the water run down the board. Observe what happens to the soil. Raise the board higher and repeat the exercise.
For a simple-but-effective activity on erosion, fill two pans with sand. Build the sand up in the middle of each pan to form a mound. Gently blow on the sand in the first pan and observe what happens. Fill a watering can with water and pour water slowly onto the sand in the other pan. Watch as the sand is moved by the water. Discuss with the class what happened in each case and brainstorm ideas about how the sand could be protected.
After discussing erosion, have students brainstorm places they see everyday that might show evidence of erosion. If the class does not list the school grounds, add it yourself, noting the specific areas around the school that would be affected by erosion. Take the class to the playground to search for signs of erosion. Instruct each student to bring a notebook and pencil. As you tour the playground and surrounding areas, ask children to write and draw the signs of erosion they see. Note the erosion around trees and shrubs.
Divide students into groups of three or four. Give each group 250 ml of sand tinted red, 250 ml of sand tinted blue and 500 ml of uncolored sand. Each group also needs a cardboard box top and a hairdryer or small fan. Tear the corners at one end of the box so the flap on that end lays flat. Pour the red sand in a straight line across the open end of the top. Create a blue sand dune by pouring the blue sand in a line behind the red. Make two dunes of uncolored sand behind the blue. Using the wind source, begin blowing the sand horizontally across the box top. Lead students in a discussion about how the different colored sand particles were distributed and what effect the wind had on the sand.