Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two to three 45-minute class periods

Overview: We don’t often think about glaciers in our everyday lives, even though their effects are all around us. Glaciers have played a large role in shaping the world around us, from the large boulders in Central Park to the rolling hills of Ireland to Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes. For hundreds of thousands of years, the movement of glaciers has shaped land through erosion and deposition, creating landforms such as U-shaped valleys, drumlins, horns and arêtes, moraines, and kettle lakes. Currently, glacial retreat is implicated in the Earth’s changing climate patterns and may have a great impact on sea levels and weather cycles.

In this lesson, students learn how glaciers and glacial movement have affected the Earth through a series of Web interactives and hands-on activities. They learn fundamental information and terminology regarding glaciers and glaciation, and will then complete an activity using model glaciers to simulate effects on the landscape. Students then use video segments and satellite images to identify the effects of glaciation in various parts of the world. Lastly, they review current theories about cycles of climate change and relate them to glaciers and ice sheets existing today.

Subject matter: Earth Science\Glaciations\Erosion

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Define key terms pertaining to glaciers and glaciation;
• Describe the formation process of glaciers and glacial motion;
• Explain several ways in which glaciers erode the land;
• Describe features of glacial deposition and explain how they occur;
• Recognize features of glacial erosion and deposition on landscapes;
• Explain the relationship between glaciers/ice caps and climate patterns.

STANDARDS AND CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT:

National Science Education Standards

Earth and Space Science

CONTENT STANDARD D: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of

• Energy in the earth system
• Geochemical cycles
• Origin and evolution of the earth system
• Origin and evolution of the universe

Students find that the geologic record suggests that the global temperature has fluctuated within a relatively narrow range, one that has been narrow enough to enable life to survive and evolve for over three billion years. They come to understand that some of the small temperature fluctuations have produced what we perceive as dramatic effects in the earth system, such as the ice ages and the extinction of entire species. They explore the regulation of earth’s global temperature by the water and carbon cycles. Using this background, students can examine environmental changes occurring today and make predictions about future temperature fluctuations in the earth system.

Interactions among the solid earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, and organisms have resulted in the ongoing evolution of the earth system. We can observe some changes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on a human time scale, but many processes such as mountain building and plate movements take place over hundreds of millions of years.

NEW YORK STATE CORE CURRICULUM ALIGNMENTS

Earth Science Core Curriculum

STANDARD 1: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering designs, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

Key Idea 1: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing, creative process.

STANDARD 4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and earth science recognizing the historical development of ideas in science.

Key Idea 2: Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land.

Performance Indicator 2.1: Use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations of weather patterns, seasonal changes, and the movements of Earth’s plates.

2.1r Climate variations, structure, and characteristics of bedrock influence the development of landscape features including mountains, plateaus, plains, valleys, ridges, escarpments, and stream drainage patterns.

2.1s Weathering is the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks at or near Earth’s surface. Soils are the result of weathering and biological activity over long periods of time.

2.1t Natural agents of erosion, generally driven by gravity, remove, transport, and deposit weathered rock particles. Each agent of erosion produces distinctive changes in the material that it transports and creates characteristic surface features and landscapes. In certain erosional situations, loss of property, personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by effective emergency preparedness.

2.1u The natural agents of erosion include:

Glaciers (moving ice): Glacial erosional processes include the formation of U-shaped valleys, parallel scratches, and grooves in bedrock. Glacial features include moraines, drumlins, kettle lakes, finger lakes, and outwash plains.

Mass Movement: Earth materials move downslope under the influence of gravity.

2.1v Patterns of deposition result from a loss of energy within the transporting system and are influenced by the size, shape, and density of the transported particles. Sediment deposits may be sorted or unsorted.

MEDIA COMPONENTS

Video:

NATURE, Ireland, selected clips:

Clip 1, “Forming the Burren”

This clip describes how glaciers eroded the bedrock of Ireland’s landscape.

Clip 2, “Glaciated Landscape”

This clip shows the many different features and effects of glaciers in Ireland.

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

Web Sites:

Our Environment: Glaciers
This interactive describes valley and continental glaciers and gives an in-depth explanation of the features of the glaciers and their effects on the landscape.

Life Cycle of a Glacier
This interactive from NOVA shows how a single snowflake makes it to the bottom of a glacier.

New York Satellite Images – Satellite Photo Map
This map contains satellite image of New York State.

Milankovitch Cycles – Interactivity – MSN Encarta
This interactive explains the three periodic variations in the Earth’s orientation toward the Sun, which are believed to cause cyclical changes in climate.

Earth science reference table for Regents exam

Materials:

For each student:

• Earth Science Reference Table – page 8
• Glacier Overview Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Life Cycle of a Glacier Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Milankovitch Cycles Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• One model glacier
• Paper plate

For each pair/group:

• Computer with Internet access
• 5 oz. play dough (homemade or purchased)

For the class:

• Computer with Internet access, projector, and screen
• TV and DVD player
• Materials for model glaciers (to be constructed by teacher)
  • Dirt/gravel mixture (approximately 1 tablespoon per student)
  • Ice cube trays (enough for each student in the class to get one cube)
  • Water (enough to fill ice cube trays)

• Organizer Answer Keys:
  • Glacier Overview Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
  • Life Cycle of a Glacier Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
  • Milankovitch Cycles Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
  • Effects of Glaciers in New York State Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)

PREP FOR TEACHERS

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video clips and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Make copies of Earth Science Reference Table, page 8, for each student in your class.

Make copies of all student organizers for each student in your class.

Prepare model glaciers for students by following these steps:

1. Prepare mixture of dirt and gravel. Particles should be of different sizes. You will need approximately one tablespoon of the mixture for each student in the class.
2. Add mixture to ice cube trays. Each ice cube slot should be filled about halfway with the mixture.
3. Fill trays with water.
4. Freeze overnight.

Next: Proceed to Activities

Background:
Ireland, like much of the Northern Hemisphere, was completely covered by glaciers during the Ice Age. As the glaciers advanced and retreated over the land, they shaped and changed the surface of the landmass through the processes of erosion and sedimentation. Segments from the NATURE episode “Ireland” provide examples of the effects glaciers can have on a landscape.

Suggested Focus Questions:

Clip 1: Forming the Burren

1. How did the glaciers change the limestone outcrops?
2. How did large boulders come to rest on flat stretches of land?
3. What might the Burren look like if the glaciers covering it had been larger, and had moved at a faster pace?

Clip 2: Glaciated Landscape

1. How did frost action change the rock faces?
2. Describe Ireland’s landscape during the Ice Age.
3. What features of the landscape appear to be sculpted by glaciers? How can you tell?

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right=click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Clip 1, “Forming the Burren”

Clip 2, “Glaciated Landscape“

Background:
The earth’s landscape is naturally shaped by the forces of weathering and erosion. Weathering refers to the breakdown of rocks at or near the surface of the earth, either by chemical processes (e.g. limestone being dissolved by water) or physical processes (e.g. rocks cracking because of temperature extremes). The movement of weathered rock fragments-also called sediment-by forces including wind, water, or gravity is called erosion. Human activity may both accelerate erosion (for example by removing vegetation which stabilizes soil), or prevent it (through reinforcement of erosion-prone areas like beaches, riverbanks, and hillsides).

These video clips, excerpted from the NATURE episode “Violent Hawaii,” illustrate how erosion has dramatically shaped Hawaii’s highly weathered landscape, and explore some measures being taken there to limit the sometimes dangerous processes of erosion.

Suggested Focus Questions:

Clip 1: Hawaiian Coastal Cliffs

1. Why couldn’t these cliffs have been created by wave erosion?
2. What geologic feature offers clues that the cliffs were been formed by massive landslides?
3. What might have caused the landslides?

Clip 2: Water Erosion

1. Why might heavy rainfall accelerate erosion?
2. Is the steel mesh being draped across the hillside intended to prevent weathering or erosion?
3. What other types of erosion management can you think of?

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To downoad a video, right-click on the video title and click “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…” On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Clip 1: “Hawaiian Coastal Cliffs”

Clip 2: “Water Erosion“

(Click here for a printer-friendly version of this lesson.)

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12

TIME ALLOTMENT: Two 45 minute classes

OVERVIEW: This lesson discusses the processes of weathering and erosion and how they work together to shape the earth’s landscape. An online game introduces students to the basic modes of erosion. The processes of chemical and physical weathering that enable erosion are then explored in detail using online media and hands-on laboratory experiments. Next, video clips from the NATURE episode “Violent Hawaii” are used to revisit in greater detail the causes and effects of erosion in the real world, and human attempts to limit it. The lesson culminates with an online game that reinforces students’ understanding of the lesson’s vocabulary and concepts.

SUBJECT MATTER: Geology/Earth Science

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:

• Differentiate and describe the processes of weathering and erosion
• Differentiate and describe the processes of mechanical and chemical weathering
• Model the process of mechanical and chemical weathering, drawing conclusions from their results
• Determine which environments and climates are most likely to promote different types of weathering and erosion
• Describe various human attempts to limit erosion

STANDARDS AND CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT:

National Science Education Standards

CONTENT STANDARD D: Geochemical cycle

All students should develop an understanding of:

GEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

• The earth is a system containing essentially a fixed amount of each stable chemical atom or element. Each element can exist in several different chemical reservoirs. Each element on earth moves among reservoirs in the solid earth, oceans, atmosphere, and organisms as part of geochemical cycles.
• Movement of matter between reservoirs is driven by the earth’s internal and external sources of energy. These movements are often accompanied by a change in the physical and chemical properties of the matter. Carbon, for example, occurs in carbonate rocks such as limestone, in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas, in water as dissolved carbon dioxide, and in all organisms as complex molecules that control the chemistry of life.

New York State Regents Core Curriculum Alignments:

Physical Setting: Earth Science Core Curriculum

STANDARD 1: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.

Key Idea 1: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing, creative process.

Key Idea 2: Beyond the use of reasoning and consensus, scientific inquiry involves the testing of proposed explanations involving the use of conventional techniques and procedures and usually requiring considerable ingenuity.

Key Idea 3: The observations made while testing proposed explanations, when analyzed using conventional and invented methods, provide new insights into phenomena.

STANDARD 2: Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information, using appropriate technologies.

Key Idea 1: Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information as a tool to enhance learning.

STANDARD 4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Key Idea 2: Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land.

Performance Indicator 2.1p: Landforms are the result of the interaction of tectonic forces and the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition.

Performance Indicator 2.1s: Weathering is the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks at or near Earth’s surface. Soils are the result of weathering and biological activity over long periods of time.

Performance Indicator 2.1t Natural agents of erosion, generally driven by gravity, remove, transport, and deposit weathered rock particles. Each agent of erosion produces distinctive changes in the material that it transports and creates characteristic surface features and landscapes. In certain erosional situations, loss of property, personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by effective emergency preparedness.

Performance Indicator 2.1u The natural agents of erosion include:

-Streams (running water): Gradient, discharge, and channel shape influence a stream’s velocity and the erosion and deposition of sediments. Sediments transported by streams tend to become rounded as a result of abrasion. Stream features include V-shaped valleys, deltas, flood plains, and meanders. A watershed is the area drained by a stream and its tributaries.

- Glaciers (moving ice): Glacial erosional processes include the formation of

U-shaped valleys, parallel scratches, and grooves in bedrock. Glacial features include moraines, drumlins, kettle lakes, finger lakes, and outwash plains.

- Wave Action: Erosion and deposition cause changes in shoreline features, including beaches, sandbars, and barrier islands. Wave action rounds sediments as a result of abrasion. Waves approaching a shoreline move sand parallel to the shore within the zone of breaking waves.

-Wind: Erosion of sediments by wind is most common in arid climates and along shorelines. Wind-generated features include dunes and sand-blasted bedrock.

-Mass Movement: Earth materials move downslope under the influence of gravity.

Performance Indicator 2.1v Patterns of deposition result from a loss of energy within the transporting system and are influenced by the size, shape, and density of the transported particles. Sediment deposits may be sorted or unsorted.

Performance Indicator 2.1w Sediments of inorganic and organic origin often accumulate in depositional environments. Sedimentary rocks form when sediments are compacted and/or cemented after burial or as the result of chemical precipitation from seawater.

STANDARD 6: Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.

Key Idea 1: Through systems thinking, people can recognize the commonalities that exist among all systems and how parts of a system interrelate and combine to perform specific functions.

MEDIA COMPONENTS

Video

NATURE, Violent Hawaii, selected segments:

Clip 1: “Hawaiian Coastal Cliffs”

Explains the geologic forces beind the creation of Hawaii’s dramatic shoreline.

Clip 2: “Water Erosion”

Demonstrates the erosive action of water on the Hawaiian landscape, and human efforts to limit it.

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

Web sites:

Shape it Up!
An interactive game from the American Association for the Advancement of Science that challenges students to correctly identify geological processes that shape the Earth’s surface.

Types of Mechanical Weathering
Interactive Web site from the University of Kentucky featuring animations of the different varieties of mechanical weathering.

Graphing Tutorial
This tutorial from the National Center for Education Statistics explains the various kinds of graphs and demonstrates how to build them.

Erosion and Weathering
Web site from the National Science Digital Library describing different causes and effects of erosion, and human efforts to limit it.

Relationship between Transported Particle Size and Water Velocity
Earth Science Reference Tables from the New York State Education Department charting the relationship between sediment particle size and the velocity of water necessary to transport it.

Weathering & Erosion Jeopardy
Interactive “Jeopardy” style vocabulary game based on the New York State Regents’ Earth Science Standards, with answers to each question found by scrolling to the bottom of the page.

MATERIALS:

For each student:

• “Mechanical Weathering” student organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• “Erosion” student organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Printout of page 6 of the Earth Science Reference Tables.

For each group:

• “Weathering and Erosion Jeopardy” student organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• “Chemical Weathering” student organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• 6 effervescent antacid tablets
• 1000 ml beaker (filled with hot tap water)
• 250 ml beaker
• stopwatch
• thermometer
• graph paper

For the class:

• “Weathering and Erosion Jeopardy” student organizer answer key (PDF) (RTF)
• “Mechanical Weathering” student organizer answer key (PDF) (RTF)
• “Chemical Weathering” student organizer answer key (PDF) (RTF)
• “Erosion” student organizer answer key (PDF) (RTF)
• a hammer
• plaster of Paris (available at art or hobby supply stores, or from your art department)
• a small balloon
• two empty pint milk cartons (bottom halves only)
• a freezer
• 2 effervescent antacid tablets
• Blackboard or whiteboard

PREP FOR TEACHERS

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video clips and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Download and make copies of student organizers and handouts as outlined in “Materials.”

Next: proceed to Activities