Science Grade: 9th SCI.V.1.1 Strand V: Using Scientific Knowledge in Earth Science Standard 1: Geosphere - All students will describe and explain how the earth’s features change over time Benchmark 1: Explain the surface features of the Great Lakes region using Ice Age theory. Constructing and Reflecting: SCI.I.1.4 – Gather and synthesize information from books and other sources of information. SCI.I.1.5 – Discuss topics in groups by making clear presentations, restating or summarizing what others have said, asking for clarification or elaboration, taking alternative perspectives, and defending a position. SCI.II.1.1 – Justify plans or explanations on a theoretical or empirical basis. SCI.II.1.3 – Show how common themes of science, mathematics and technology apply in real world contexts. SCI.II.1.4 – Discuss the historical development of key scientific concepts and principles. Vocabulary Context • Moraines Local examples in Michigan of glacial formations: • Kettles • Drumlins • Relief map • Ice Age • Till • Glacial erratics • Striations • Elevation map • Topographic map • Geological map • Moraines • Kettles • Drumlins • Great Lakes Resources Knowledge and Skills Students will: • Explain moraines and till which are deposits of unsorted sediments • Explain glacial scratches (striations) left on bedrock • Explain kettle lakes: depressions in glacial deposits left by melting ice blocks, later filled with water • Explain parallel arrangement of moraines and Great Lakes’ shorelines • Explain erratics: large boulders, mostly of igneous or metamorphic origin, which are deposited in areas of mostly sedimentary bedrock • Hypothesize what climatic changes may have occurred to produce ice ages Coloma Resources: Glencoe Science Notebook CH 2 Mapping Our World CH 8.3 Glaciers CH 14.1 What Is Climate CH 14.2 Climate Classification CH 14.3 Climatic Changes CH 7.1 Weathering CH 7.2 Erosion & Depositon CH 8.1 Massmovement CH 8.2 Wind Glencoe Lab 2.1 – Modeling Topograpic Maps Glencoe Lab 8.2 – Analysis of Glacial Till Other Resources: • Michigan Teacher Network Resources • The Michigan DEQ geology page dealing with Michigan’s glacial history • Glacier Home Page: basic information on the origin, location, and characteristics of glaciers. Other Resources: (continued from column at right) • Winters, H. Uncovering Michigan. A 35-slide glacial slide show. 1999. Available from Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association ($28) • The Great Ice Age: from the USGS detailing the ice advances during the Pleistocene Epoch. • Scope Unit – Earth Changers • All About Glaciers. Videoconferences Available For more information, see www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl or call Janine Lim 471-7725x101 or email jlim@remc11.k12.mi.us V.1.HS.1 Ice Age from the Cranbrook Institute of Science (shares local examples in MI) • Links to Glacier sites, including images and the world glacier inventory – McCully Web • Dorr & Eschman, Geology of Michigan. Ann Arbor Press, 1970. • Jason: A Great Lakes Curriculum. NSTA, 1990. • Weinle, Art, “Michigan Moraines.” A classroomready worksheet with map. Available from artweinle@home.com Instruction Benchmark Question: What surface evidence found in the Great Lakes region supports Ice Age theory? Focus Question: How does the location of moraines in the Great Lakes region support Ice Age theory? The teacher will show evidence that morainal deposits are found all over the Great Lakes region, sometimes in the form of hills. By reviewing processes of erosion/deposition, students will infer that glaciers and mass wasting are the only common processes that leave unsorted deposits. Mass wasting is eliminated, because these unsorted deposits are found on the tops of hills. Students will trace moraines on a topographical map and observe that moraines have a similar shape to Great Lake shorelines. (Shorelines and glacial deposits are created by very different processes) On the same map, students will identify the position and direction of major ice lobes Assessment Using as many examples as possible, each student will prepare and deliver a speech to convince an interested friend, who hasn’t had Earth Science, that continental glaciers once covered Michigan. Corresponds to standard I.1.5, I.1.4, & I.2.1 Students may include a well-labeled illustration. Five examples of evidence supporting Ice Age theory: • The deposit of unsorted sediments (till) all over Michigan could only have been left behind by glaciers, since mass wasting cannot operate near hilltops. • Parallel scratches on bedrock were created when glaciers dragged rock against rock. • Kettle lakes are depressions formed in glacial deposits created by melting ice blocks. • Moraine ridges are generally parallel to Great Lakes shorelines, suggesting that ice advanced out of lake basins. • Large boulders of igneous or metamorphic origin left in sedimentary regions (erratics) are too large and widespread to have been moved any other way. (Give students rubric before activity.) Research Report on one the Great Lakes Criteria Apprentice Basic Meets Exceeds Explanation of relationship s between surface feature and glaciation Explains the relationship for one to three examples of evidence. Explains the relation ship for five example s of evidence . Explains and illustrates the relationship for five examples of evidence. Explains the relationship for four examples of evidence. Teacher Notes: Describe and explain how the earth's features change over time. As students gain understanding, they start to explore the dynamics of the geosphere. They come to realize that the earth's features are constantly changing, some of these changes are immediate and some take eons. Wind and water erode away mountains and hills. Ice and heat break apart rocks. Rivers cut new valleys and dams form new lakes. Volcanoes and earthquakes form new mountains and hills. Wind and water combine to build sand dunes and then turn around and erode them away. The forces that work to change the surface of the earth in this continuing dynamic are tremendous and sometime even catastrophic. A volcano can explosively form a mountain or island in a matter of hours, while rivers can take decades to carve out valleys. The evidence for these changes is abundant. By studying rock layers, and fossils, (i.e., mineralized replacements or casts of ancient life forms), students learn the history of the geosphere. They discover that these fossils are found in many places, and that rock layers can become inverted. Marine plants and animals are found on mountaintops and in limestone deposits in the Great Lakes area. Creatures from rain forests have left fossilized remains in current deserts, and plains animals are found in frozen in artic ice. From road cuts they will see how the earth is folded to a point where layers of rock are reversed. In the Great Lakes Basin they observe a history that goes from salt-water seas, to inland swamps, to high plateaus, to the largest collection of fresh water on the planet. Students will continue to gain understanding of the geosphere as they discover that similar processes form rocks and minerals. They will learn of the tremendous amount of heat and pressure involved in their formation. They will also observe how changes in temperature from melting to freezing and vise versa changes big features into little ones. Rocks are fractured through this process. Water in small cracks and crevices of rocks can freeze, expanding as it freezes and breaking the rock into small pieces. Students will notice how microorganisms help turn rocks into soil, and how they turn organic materials back into minerals, thus returning needed materials to the earth. With the help of media presentations about volcanoes and earthquakes, students will observe the movement of the Earth's crust. This will lead to an understanding of the dynamics of the earth's interior- its core, a dynamic that can build mountains. From this knowledge of the fluidity, tremendous heat and pressure that are involved in the dynamics of the earth's core, comes an understanding of what leads scientists to theorize the movement of plates in the earth, the study of plate tectonics.