New
New
Year 6
The changing coastline
I can use geographical vocabulary to describe coastal processes.
New
New
Year 6
The changing coastline
I can use geographical vocabulary to describe coastal processes.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Coastal communities at risk are deeply affected by changes caused by erosion, flooding or sea level rise.
- The sea transports sediment such as mud, sand and stones: these can create coastal patterns of erosion and deposition.
- Sediment patterns on beaches reflect wave energy and wind direction.
Keywords
Sediment - Sediment is material that is moved by water or air and settles in another place.
Erosion - Erosion is the process of Earth’s surface, e.g. rock or soil, being worn away and transported from its original site.
Deposition - Deposition is when sand, mud and rocks are dropped by the river.
Common misconception
Children may believe prevailing wind is the direction of wind on any particular day.
The prevailing wind is the most frequent wind direction that a location experiences.
Demonstrate how the sea transports materials by adding a teaspoonful of mud, sand and small stones to a jar of water. Slowly move the jar like a calm sea, only the small mud sediments move. Increase energy by rocking the jar - the sand moves. Mimic a stormy sea by turning the jar over.
Teacher tip
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
Loading...
Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
are formed by the wind blowing over the surface of the sea.
Q2.
Arches that collapse become
a cave
a cliff
Q3.
Put the coastal features in the order they would form.
Q4.
Harder rocks, like granite, erode
quickly
extrmely fast
Q5.
Harder rocks erode more than softer rocks.
quickly
often
Q6.
Coastlines made of hard rock will create:
a beach
a bay
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
is material that is moved by water or air and settles in another place.
Erosion
Deposition
Q2.
is when sand, mud and rocks are dropped by the river.
Sediment
Erosion
Q3.
Which process creates coastal features such as cliffs, caves and arches?
transportation
deposition
Q4.
creates sediment in the sea.
Q5.
is the process of moving material from one place to another.
Erosion
Deposition
Q6.
Calm seas can only transport particles of sediment.