In the fluvial systems, sediments, flowing water, and vegetation form the stream channels. It’s important to understand these processes to save the ecological order and restore natural resources. A stream table is an excellent resource to facilitate practical and simulation-based learning of vital fluvial processes.
From point bar formation to bank erosion, you can explain these phenomena with these model streams. If you want to introduce these concepts in your science classes, here’s what you can do.
Create the Learning Goals
Over time, streams flow within predictable corridors and create meanders while passing through the valleys. Before explaining this process to the students at the high school level, set the learning objectives to facilitate systematic understanding.
Ask the students to carefully monitor the patterns of flow and movement of sediments in the course of this flow. Also, they can learn the human impact on the flow of the streams and other fluvial processes.
Set up the Model Stream
After setting the objectives of the study, set up the stream model or table in the classroom. It starts with the right selection of a table that meets your requirements. Use models with a movable bed river set in optimized sizes. Sturdy aluminum boxes and epoxy bases with support help the model to sustain heavier loads, including water and sediments as well.
Electronic controllers in the models can manage the flow of the stream and plastic modeling media in varied colors. They facilitate a fundamental understanding of sediment transport. Here, you also need to select the right volume of water flowing through the table. The best types of stream tables allow as much as 25 gallons of water to flow in the model.
Create the Lesson Plans
Once you set up the stream tables, explain the processes of a river system that may include sediments, meandering, and soil erosion. Since every river system drains the land basin from the highest elevation to the valleys below. You can incorporate these processes into your lesson plan, along with other activities.
Ask the students to find their location on the watershed map and understand the hydrologic cycle of the area accordingly. Important points to be included in this lesson plan are:
Understanding the Channels and Corridors
When explaining the fluvial systems to the students, it is essential to understand the formation of channels in the course of river systems. With a stream table, it becomes easier to explain how the flowing water can erode channels and create meanders. You can use snowy slopes to model the meandering patterns, and also understand the factors creating them.
Understanding the Anatomy of Rivers and Streams
Every stream has components like point bar, stream channel, banks, stream bed, mouth, floodplains, groundwater, headwater, surface water, and meanders. When your students can differentiate and identify each part of the stream’s anatomy, it enhances their understanding of the fluvial systems and processes as well.
Understanding the Impact of Sediments on Stream Water
Since the streams move faster, they carry along a lot of suspended soil particles in its course. These particles become sediments when they are deposited in the stream bed. Use stream models to explain gravel mining and stream banks.
With these processes and stream tables, you can enhance the learning experiences for your students in a classroom setting.
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