Water Erosion

        Water erosion results from the removal of soil material by flowing water. A part of the process is the detachment of soil material     by the impact of raindrops. The soil material is suspended in runoff water and carried away. Four kinds of accelerated water erosion are commonly recognized: sheet, rill, gully, and tunnel (piping).

     Sheet erosion is the more or less uniform removal of soil from an area without the development of conspicuous water channels. The channels are tiny or tortuous, exceedingly numerous, and unstable; they enlarge and straighten as the volume of runoff increases. Sheet erosion is less apparent, particularly in its early stages, than other types of erosion. It can be serious on soils that have a slope gradient of only 1 or 2 percent; however, it is generally more serious as slope gradient increases.

     Rill erosion is the removal of soil through the cutting of many small, but conspicuous, channels where runoff concentrates. Rill erosion is intermediate between sheet and gully erosion. The channels are shallow enough that they are easily obliterated by tillage; thus, after an eroded field has been cultivated, determining whether the soil losses resulted from sheet or rill erosion is generally impossible.

     Gully erosion is the consequence of water that cuts down into the soil along the line of flow. Gullies form in exposed natural drainageways, in plow furrows, in animal trails, in vehicle ruts, between rows of crop plants, and below broken man-made terraces. In contrast to rills, they cannot be obliterated by ordinary tillage. Deep gullies cannot be crossed with common types of farm equipment.
 
 
 

I-Search Process Objectives

Content Specific Objectives

Attitude & Behaviour Objectives

Posing Questions Through:

• exposure to information and resources
• immersion in student centered activities
• discussion and collaboration with peers
• exploring background knowledge

• collaboration with their group members
• using technology to research and answer their topic question
• using guidelines and/or formats to develop an outline
• creating a draft
• participation in group and class discussions
• developing interview questions
• searching the Internet for relevant material
• utilizing traditional text based resources for references
• locating and integrating relevant audio, video and graphics sources
• consulting, revising and editing draft material
• assigning tasks to individual group members

Gather and Integrate Information Through:

• selection of material to be included in the final presentation
• recording of resources used and web sites visited for inclusion in the bibliographic component of their project
• collating their material in appropriate sections of their  portfolio or on disk
• recording of  information or data which impacts on their learning experience

Produce and Disseminate Reports Through:

• submission of a plan, either written or on audio tape, outlining the tasks of each group member
• production of a sequential plan of their proposed layout
• creation of a storyboard
• participation in editing and revision conferences with group members, peers and the teacher
• inclusion of a mandatory oral component in their final product

finalization of the product through a presentation

Tides

    Tides are periodic rises and falls of large bodies of water. Tides are caused by the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon. The gravitational attraction of the moon causes the oceans to bulge out in the direction of the moon. Another bulge occurs on the opposite side, since the Earth is also being pulled toward the moon (and away from the water on the far side). Since the earth is rotating while this is happening, two tides occur  each day.

    Isaac Newton (1642 -1727) was the first person to explain tides scientifically. His explanation of the tides (and
many other phenomena) was published in 1686, in the second volume of the Principia. Tides are periodic rises and falls of large bodies of water.
 
 
 

I-Search Process Objectives

Content Specific Objectives

Attitude & Behaviour Objectives

The learners are to:

• evaluate and reflect on the relationship between the elements
• evaluate and reflect on the relationship between Earth and the moon
• evaluate and reflect on the connection to the past through geological transformations
• evaluate and reflect on the connection to the past through  conducting interviews and dialoguing with guest speakers
• analyze the impact of Cape Forchu on the development of the fishing industry
• evaluate the role of Cape Forchu as an economic resource
• analyze the role of technology in erosion, volcanism and tide prediction
• compare and contrast Cape Forchu with other coastal land forms
• demonstrate the acquisition of technology literacy through the use of technological tools
• demonstrate the value of the research process by drafting, integrating, collating, synthesizing,  revising, reframing and editing information
• demonstrate and manage the language and social skills associated with:
bibliographies
drafting
editing
journals
notes from audio-visual sources
notes from guest speakers
note  from traditional sources
portfolios
          questioning
          revising
 
 
 

I-Search Process Objectives

Content Specific Objectives

Attitude & Behaviour Objectives


 
 

Mt. Etna, Italy

 
     All volcanoes are born when hot magma rises to the surface, infiltrates a weak spot in the Earth's outer crust, and breaks through. Most of the 600-plus active volcanoes on Earth are associated with the boundaries of the tectonic plates, the seven great plates that carry the oceans and continents.They are especially common in subduction zones, which occur when one plate dips beneath another. As the plate dives into the mantle -- the layer of hot, flexible rock on which the plates glide -- it gradually is heated. That releases fluids which heat the overlying rock, producing blobs of molten rock that rise to the surface. The molten rock -- or magma -- collects in weak patches of crust, in structures called magma chambers. If the pressure in the magma chamber builds high enough, the magma will erupt. A volcano is born.

Learners are to Demonstrate:

• critical thinking skills
• cooperation and collaboration with their peers in sharing information, performing tasks and providing feedback and offering assistance
• independent thinking
• knowledge of how the  interview process can extend and enhance their learning experience
• knowledge of how the learning experience can be furthered through the use of technology
• integration of traditional and non-traditional resources into a product that has evolved through teamwork