Disappearing Coasts (Understanding Coastal Erosion and Weathering)

This resource is aimed at Key Stage 3 students studying the topic of Coasts. The resource teaches students the difference between weathering and erosion and identifies the 4 different types of coastal erosion. A PowerPoint guides students through the lesson, which contains lesson objectives and a Starter Activity using a short film explaining coastal erosion and asking students to answer 5 questions. The main part of the lesson is split in 2 parts, each part having accompanying, differentiated worksheets aimed at 3 ability levels. In part 1 students are asked to distinguish between weathering and erosion through drawing and labeling simple diagrams. In part 2 students are introduced to the 4 different types of coastal erosion and are asked to read the story of 'Sydney Stone' and his journey from cliff face to grain of sand. They are then asked to use the story to produce a storyboard with imaginative captions to explain the different processes of coastal erosion. Again the stories are differentiated to enable less able students to identity the relevant passages to complete their storyboard. Finally there is a plenary activity matching key words to definitions.