Lauren Marchelletta
Hailey Burnett
EED 305, 11/2/2014
Science Inquiry Conference Lesson
MDSTA SCIENCE LESSON/ACTIVITY
1. Activity Name or Title:
2. Purpose of Activity:

The purpose of this activity is to provide students with inquiry based opportunities
to explore the effects of glaciers on land by allowing students to model the way a
glacier changes Earth’s surface by using clay as a model for Earth’s crust, and an
ice cube with various materials frozen in it as a model for a glacier. This activity
will teach students what glaciers are made of, how they cause surface changes on
Earth’s crust, and how they can even shape our states.

Misconceptions: Students may believe that glaciers have no part in shaping our
land, or further falsely believe that glaciers are simply only composed of ice.
Further misconceptions that exist may be that glaciers do not move t all, because
they move so slowly.
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Inquiry Question: How can glaciers shape our Earth?

Objectives:
o Students will be able to identify materials commonly found within glaciers
that can affect the land as glaciers move.
o Students will be able to understand that glacial movement can have a
lasting impact on the surrounding land.
o Students will be able to demonstrate through observations and predictions,
their understanding of glaciers, and how glaciers can shape our Earth.
3. Target Learning Group: 4th Grade
4. Approximate Time Involved:

Teacher Preparation: 20-25 minutes
 Student Involvement: 30-40 minutes
5. Science Content Background Information for Teacher:
Definitions:
What are glaciers?

“Glaciers are moving masses of ice and snow that change the land” (GLCE CD,
p.11).

Glacial Ice – layers of snow accumulated over years and years are gradually
compressed, forming the ice that makes up glaciers

Glacial Sediment – materials such as rock and dirt entrapped within glaciers
making them look very dirty

Glacial Movement – when the pressure from the layers of ice cause the glacier to
move and flow, despite it looking like a solid block of ice, meltwater assists in
this process

Meltwater – the water that is melted off of a glacier and left behind, it assists in
glacial movement and carries sediment and other debris away from the glacier

Till – the mixed sediment made up of dirt, clay, sand, and mud that is left behind
from a glacier melting

Erosion – the wearing away of the Earth’s surface by wind, water, and ice, it is
also the movement of weathered rocks and soil, it is a slow process
Facts:

Glaciers are formed when new snow falls on top of old snow year after year, until
eventually it is compressed into glacial ice (OneGeology). Dirt, trees, and rocks
also contribute to glaciers so they look very dirty sometimes.

Surface Changes: “The surface of Earth changes. Some changes are due to slow
processes, such as erosion and weathering, and some changes are due to rapid
processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.” (GLCE CD,
p.10)

Glaciers are a slow change occurring to Earth’s surface.

As glaciers move they pick up and carry materials such as rock, dirt, and trees.
These materials scratch the surface of the Earth causing erosion. As glaciers melt,
they leave behind some of these materials and water.

The water that melts under the glaciers helps them move and glide over the
Earth’s crust (OneGeology).
OneGeology Kids. (2013). Earth processes- glaciers. Retrieved from
http://www.onegeology.org/extra/kids/earthprocesses/glaciers.html
6. Framework:
Crosscutting Concepts:
1. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation. Events have causes, sometimes
simple, sometimes multifaceted. A major activity of science is investigating and
explaining causal relationships and the mechanisms by which they are mediated.
Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts and used to predict and
explain events in new contexts.
2. Scale, proportion, and quantity. In considering phenomena, it is critical to
recognize what is relevant at different measures of size, time, and energy and to
recognize how changes in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system’s structure
or performance.
3. Systems and system models. Defining the system under study—specify- ing its
boundaries and making explicit a model of that system—provides tools for
understanding and testing ideas that are applicable throughout science and
engineering.
4. Stability and change. For natural and built systems alike, conditions of stability
and determinants of rates of change or evolution of a system are critical elements
of study.
Disciplinary Core Ideas:
1. ESS2.A Earth’s major systems are the geosphere (solid and molten rock, soil, and
sediments), the hydrosphere (water and ice), the atmosphere (air), and the
biosphere (living things, including humans). These systems interact in mul- tiple
ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes. The ocean supports a
variety of ecosystems and organisms, shapes landforms, and influences climate.
Winds and clouds in the atmosphere interact with the landforms to determine
patterns of weather. Rainfall helps shape the land and affects the types of living
things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, living organisms, and gravity break
rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller particles and move them around. Human
activities affect Earth’s systems and their interactions at its surface.
7. Materials: For a class of 25, students will be in tables of 5

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(5, 1 per table) Sharpies to label student’s ice cube
(5, 1 per table) Ice trays
Enough clay for 25 students
(25) Plastic Plates
(25) Glacier Activity Worksheets
A variety of rocks, small sticks, and dirt
8. Safety Considerations:


Warn students not to expose their hands for the ice too long.
Ask students not to place the ice in, or around their mouths, as it is dirty, and
could cause them to get sick.
9. Lesson References:
Michigan Department of Education , (2013). K-4 science grade level content
expectations: Companion document 1(9), 10-11.
National Research Council (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices,
crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington DC: The National Academics
Press.
OneGeology Kids. (2013). Earth processes- glaciers. Retrieved from
http://www.onegeology.org/extra/kids/earthprocesses/glaciers.html
SCIENCE ACTIVITY
1. Procedures (step-by-step):

(Engage) Show students the glacier video by National Geographic. After
the video, ask the following questions.

Ask students: What do you know about glaciers? How might they cause
surface changes? What might the composition of these glaciers have to do
with their impact on the land?

Distribute Glacial Ice Cube Activity worksheet to students, and introduce
the activity by informing students that they will be attempting to shape
Earth’s surfaces (clay) by using glaciers. Ask the students to make
predictions as to how they might shape the Earth’s surface, and how
different materials might have different impacts. Ask the students to fill
out the prediction section of the worksheet that was passed out.

(Explore) Once students have completed the prediction section of the
worksheet, ask them to fill out the procedure portion of the worksheet, to
describe how they plan to create their glaciers. Once the students have
completed both of these sections, allow the students to create their very
own glaciers. (Ice cubes (glaciers) will be created a day prior to the
activity). Ask students to record their observations on their worksheet.

(Explain) Ask students how accurate their predictions were in
comparison with their observations. Ask students what might have
impacted the formation of the land, and what factors played a role in
creating such different land forms amongst students.

Ask: How does our model compare to how glaciers in the real world,
shape land forms?

Explain to students that during this activity, we used ice that is on a much
smaller scale than glaciers, and used a much smaller time frame, as
glaciers cannot move/melt as fast as we observed in class.

(Elaborate) Ask students to consider how glaciers might have shaped
Michigan, ask them to consider the Great Lakes in this process.

(Evaluate) Based on what students have found throughout the activity,
ask them which type of glacier would shape the land most dramatically,
considering the use of water, rocks, dirt, and sticks.