Get permission from your principal to take a walk on the school grounds. Have students bring a sheet of paper and a pencil with them. As you walk around the grounds, students can identify structures or vegetation that have been weathered and eroded. On their paper, have students identify what type of weathering or erosion has occurred.
Divide students into pairs and give each group six sugar cubes and a jar. Place two sugar cubes in the jar, replace the lid and vigorously shake the jar 20 times. Repeat this process four more times, adding 20 shakes and two cubes to each trial. After each shake, ask students to observe the sugar cubes and the effect the other cube has. The sugar cubes should decrease in size due to physical weathering.
Have students create a stream table in groups of three. Cut a half-gallon milk carton in half for your stream table. Fill the container about halfway with a variety of sand, rocks, soil and pebbles. Set the carton at an angle using books to prop it up and set the other half of the carton at the lowest point to catch the water. Slowly pour 100 mL of water onto the container starting at the highest point and continue pouring until all the materials are wet. Continue to pour 100 mL of water onto the table four more times. Students should write their observations after each 100 mL of water is poured, noting how the materials look and reacted with the water. Ask students which material eroded or moved the most and what implications this has for future construction on different landforms.
Divide students into pairs. Each pair gets one Ziploc bag, two cups of vinegar and one piece of chalk, broken in half. One student puts the chalk in the Ziploc, breaks the chalk into pieces, and adds one cup of vinegar. The other student places the whole chalk in vinegar. Students observe the changes as the vinegar eats away at the chalk. The whole piece dissolves slower than the broken chalk due to its larger surface area.