Global Ups & Downs: Changing Sea Level (6-12)
Overview of the box
Concepts and Standards
Lessons:
1 Consequences
of global warming
2 Experimenting
with ice melt
3 Glacial evidence
Activities:
1 How glaciers shape land-1
2 How glaciers shape land-2
3 North American glaciation
4 Fossil evidence
5 Impacts of topography
6 Impacts on ecosystems
Online resources
Student Web Page
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Lesson 3: Glacial Evidence

Glacial Evidence for Sea Level Change

This lesson consists of three activities. Students become familiar with the signatures of glacial activity and then use these signatures as evidence of previous glacial activity in areas no longer covered by ice. They investigate the results of the melting of the North American ice sheets.

Concepts and learning outcomes

 Students will understand that:
  • The geologic record provides evidence of past glaciations.
  • Many features of today's landscapes are the result of past glacial activity.
  • Temperature fluctuations in the past have resulted in the formation and melting of ice sheets.


Time requirements


Four 50-minute classes


Vocabulary


Pleistocene, Quaternary, Holocene, Miocene, Eocene, striations, moraine, valley glaciers, erratics, U-shaped valleys, fjords, terminus, till, hanging glacier


Teacher background
The following website is an excellent resource for glacial terminology: Glossary of Glacier Terminology
Be sure to explore the great images in the above site!

The first activity comes from Prairies in the Prairie State : How Glaciers Shape the Land, which has some good background information about glaciers and the sediment they carry.


Activities


1. How Glaciers Shape the Land (Part 1): Students conduct a hands-on activity to discover the signatures of glacial activity.
2. How Glaciers Shape the Land (Part 2): Students view a series of images on the web to discover how glacial signatures provide evidence that glaciers existed in areas no longer covered by ice.
3. North American Glaciation: Students use web-based animations to investigate the results of the melting of continental ice in North America and they map the resulting changes in sea level


Resources used