African Landforms

Overview

Students read and talk about African places and landforms, then connect what they learn in text to evidence about Earth changes over time. The lesson builds literacy skills (reading for meaning and using text evidence) while meeting science goals about patterns in landforms and Earth history.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to describe what landforms are and name examples from Africa (such as mountains, plateaus, deserts, and river valleys).
• Students will be able to explain that Earth’s surface changes over time because of water and erosion.
• Students will be able to use information from a short text to answer science questions with evidence.
• Students will be able to compare two simple rock/land pictures and describe what changed over time.

Success criteria

• I can name at least 2 landforms in Africa and tell where they are on a map.
• I can point to text evidence (a sentence or picture detail) that supports my answer.
• I can explain that moving water (rivers/rain) can wear away land and shape valleys over time.
• I can describe a “before and after” pattern using clues from pictures and layers.

Curriculum links

• 4-ESS1-1: Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time (relative time).
• 4-ESS1-1: Use patterns in layers (what comes above/below, presence/absence of fossils) to explain change over time.
• 4-ESS2-2: Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features (mountains, deserts, rivers).
• ELA literacy: Students use evidence from informational text (sentences and images) to answer questions and support claims.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Hook (Read and think). Teacher displays a picture set: Africa outline + 4 landforms (mountains, desert, plateau, river valley). Students do a quick “Turn and Talk” responding: “Which landforms do you think match these pictures, and why?”

2. 8–20 min · Mini-lesson (Rewritten unit overview). Teacher reads the adapted unit text below aloud, pausing for short check-ins. Students underline key words as the teacher models. Adapted Unit Overview (3rd grade level): In this unit, we learn about Africa and how landforms help us understand Earth. A landform is a big shape of Earth’s surface, like mountains, plateaus, deserts, and river valleys. We will look at maps and pictures to find where different landforms are. We will also explore how land can change over a long time. Water can change land by running over it, wearing it down, and carrying bits of rock away. Over many years, this can make valleys and new land shapes. We will look at clues that show “before” and “after,” like different layers in Earth materials. Sometimes layers can tell us that an area was once land and later became water (or the other way around). We will read short texts, study maps, and compare pictures. Then we will explain what likely happened over time using evidence we find in the text and images. After reading, teacher asks: “What is a landform? What are some ways Earth can change?”

3. 20–32 min · Map patterns (Guided inquiry). Teacher provides a simple map of Africa with a legend (mountains, desert, plateau, river). Students work in pairs with a Map Patterns worksheet: circle where each landform is located and write one short observation sentence (e.g., “The desert is mostly in the ____ part of Africa.”).

4. 32–48 min · Earth change evidence (Picture “layer” reasoning). Teacher shows two side-by-side “layer diagrams” (not real fossils, just symbols) labeled “Past” and “Later.” Diagram A includes plant symbols in lower layers and shell/water symbols in upper layers; Diagram B shows river marks cutting through layers with different colors. Students complete a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning organizer at a grade-appropriate level:

• Claim: “The landscape changed over time because ____.”
• Evidence: “In the picture, I see ____ above/below ____.”
• Reason: “This pattern suggests ____ happened first, and ____ happened later.”

5. 48–57 min · Literacy application (Text evidence questions). Teacher gives a short informational passage (2 short paragraphs + one image caption) about African landforms and erosion. Students answer 3 questions using sentence starters:

• “The text says ____.”
• “This shows ____.”
• “So I think ____ happened over time.”

6. 57–60 min · Exit ticket (Quick check). Students respond to: “Choose one landform from your map. Explain one way water could change land over time, using one piece of evidence from today’s pictures or text.”

Resources

• Large map of Africa (simple, with legend)
• Map Patterns worksheet (one per student or per pair)
• Two “layer diagram” cards/posters with Past/Later labels and symbols
• Claim-Evidence-Reasoning organizer (short version)
• Short informational passage about African landforms and erosion (teacher-provided)
• Highlighters/pencils, crayons or markers
• Sentence starter strips for discussion and writing
• Projector or chart paper

Assessment

• During pair work: listen for accurate map-feature language (mountains, desert, plateau, river valley).
• During layer reasoning: check that students reference a pattern (above/below, cutting/crossing) to explain change over time.
• Exit ticket: verify students can use one evidence clue to support a “first/later” explanation.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide a word bank (landform, mountain, plateau, desert, river valley, erosion, layers, before, after, evidence). Offer sentence frames for the organizer.
• Support for EAL: Allow drawing instead of full sentences for the Claim, then add one matching sentence for evidence.
• Extension: Ask students to compare Diagram A vs. Diagram B and write one sentence explaining how each diagram shows different kinds of evidence.
• SEN: Offer reduced-scaffold version of the organizer with pre-filled options (e.g., “first: land / later: water”) and allow oral responses for the exit ticket.