Cryosphere Introduction

Essential Question: How are Arctic sea-ice, climate, and culture all connected?

 image from nsidc.org

Explain:  What new learning or reflections have you taken from this module?

As a Earth Science teacher most of the information in the module is not new to me.  However, the way it was presented was.  For example the Teacher Domain videos on Shishmareff, and on hunting got me thinking about how the science is played out in the daily lives of people.  The following image is of Shishmareff by NOAA.  I had the opportunity to visit this community many years ago when I was still a biologist.  These images are amazing.

I have had an informal conversation with my students and the word cryosphere seems to be new to them.  As I was researching this topic I found this diagram on the Global Greenhouse Warming website.  I plan to use this with my students to show them how important our cyrosphere is.

This class has really taught me how important it is to apply the scientific concepts that we are learning to the lives of the people in our schools, communities, state, and world.


Extend:  How might you use this week's information and resources in your lessons?  What other resources can you share?

To begin, I really like the career connection video with Steve McLean.  I think the more role models, and career paths that we can show our students the better.  This made me want to research the local elders and natives here in Juneau and bring them into the class.  We have many wonderful people resources here in Juneau that would be happy to come in if we only remember to call upon them.  It also got me to go back and look at some of the other people we have learned about during this course.  One of my favorites is the geologist Richard Glenn.

While I was learning about the cryosphere I found this great website called national snow and ice data center.  There are lessons on what the cryosphere is as well as studying it.  I was also excited because this is from the University of Colorado where I grew up.  Next time I am in Boulder I will have to go and visit them.

Another resource that I found was a video tour of the cryoshpere on the NASA website. The education link in the nasa.gov site has many other place to explore.

http://www.igospartners.org/cryosphere.htm

Evaluate:  How useful, insightful, or relevant are this module's information and resources?

Although I have not necessarily taught about the cryosphere I think this information is very relevant.  In the spring I do an ecology unit where I am going to spend some time discussing and discovering the cryosphere with my students.  I am looking forward to adding this exciting information to the unit.

Final Project

As most of you know I currently teach 8th grade Earth Science in Juneau.  Currently we are working on a unit titled Earth's Changing Surface.  The main emphasis of this unit is mapping the earth's surface, weathering and soil formation, and when we return from Christmas break erosion and deposition.  Because of the topics that I teach I have already been able to incorporate many of the Teachers' Domain videos and other resources that we have used in class as well as many of the resources that I have found during the work on the modules.

For my final project I am going to focus my attention on the erosion and deposition part of this unit.  I will also be writing it using student learning objectives and developing common formative assessment that will be used by the other Earth Science teacher here at Floyd Dryden.  The idea of these common formative assessments  is a big part of the direction the Juneau School District is moving in forming professional learning communities.



Alaska Grade Level Expectations (GLE's)

The student demonstrates an understanding of the forces that shape Earth by:

SD2.1(7) identify strategies for minimizing erosion
SD2.1 (9) recognizing the dynamic interaction of erosion and deposition including human causes.
SD2.3(7) describing how the surface can change rapidly as a result of geological activities.

Changing Earth's Surface

Learning Objectives:

1.  Student's will be able to describe the process that wear down and build up Earth's surface.
2.  Student's will be able to identify the force that pulls rock and soil down slopes.

Key Terms: erosion, sediment, deposition, mass movement (landslide, mudslide, creep, and slump)

Resources:

1.  Natural forces on Earth that cause erosion and deposition  can be constructive and destructive.
2.  This discovery education experiment shows students how different soils affect the type of landslides that occur.
3.  This quest video called looks at landslides in the San Fransico Bay area.
4.  This Teachers' Domain video will show the the connection between the melting of the permafrost, the increase in mudslides, and the effect on Native cultures.

Water Erosion

Learning Objectives:

1.  Students' will explain how water erosion is mainly responsible for shaping Earth's land surface.
2.  Students will describe land features formed by water erosion.
3.  Students will describe land features formed when rivers and streams deposit sediment.

Key Terms:  runoff, rill, gully, tributary, drainage basin, divide, flood plain, meander, oxbow lake, alluvial fan, delta stalactite, stalagmite, karst topography.

Resources:

1.  A Teachers' Domain Nature documentary on water erosion and the Hawaiian islands.
 2.  Thinkquest for students by students on water erosion.  This site has information and activities that are appropriate for middle school students.
3.  A Teachers' Domain interactive site on cave formation which includes the biogeochemical processes that lead to the formation of stalactites and stalagmites.
4.  A Teachers' Domain site from the National Park Service that includes not only cave formation like the site above but also has information on Karst Topography.
5.  The website geology for kids has many great ideas for kids.

Glaciers

Learning Objectives:

1.  Students will name and describe two kinds of glaciers.
2.  Students will describe two processes that erode land.
3.  Students will explain how glaciers deposit sediment.


Key Terms:  glacier, valley glacier, continental glacier, ice age, plucking, till, moraine, kettle.

Resources:

1.  This Teachers Domain site  by the National Park Service has good basic information on the formation of Glaciers.
2.  This Thinkquest site has many a great deal of information and activities on Valley Glaciers.
3.  This Teachers' Domain video by NOVA  looks at the formation and movement of ice in Antarctica.
4.  This NOVA Teachers' Domain site looks at how this glacier that is suspected to be the fastest moving glacier is changing the surface of the earth.

Waves

Learning Objectives:

1.  Students will identify what gives oceans their energy.
2.  Students will describe how waves shape a coast and create landforms.

Key terms: beach, longshore drift, spit

Resources:

1.  Here is a quick wave demonstration shows that the water is not really moving.
2.  This Teachers' Domain video shows how the coastal processes including waves, tides, and currents work together to form our coasts.
3.  This Teachers' Domain video shows the constructive and destructive forces working together to build our sandy coasts.

Wind

Learning Objectives:

1.  Students will describe the process by which wind causes erosion.
2.  Students will identify features resulting from deposition from wind.


Key terms: deflation, sand dune, loess

Resources:

1.  This article on wind erosion is more geared for high school, but I will go through this with my class.  Non-fiction reading is a point of focus for us as a building this year and this is a great article to help with this focus.
2.  This activity from Lesson Planet looks at the the great dust bowl.  Lesson Planet is a good site but it takes a great deal of time to sift through and find good ideas.
3.  This website called Earth Facts has a great deal of information on many different  topics.  There are also many great images associated with this site.