Format
In this program, a park ranger will describe the complicated and dramatic history of glacier advance and retreat in Glacier Bay. Students will understand the cultural and scientific importance of glaciers in Glacier Bay. Students will then learn how glaciers are made and how they sculpt the landscape. Using what students learned about glaciers, students and the ranger will discuss the future of glaciers in a rapidly warming world.
Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
1) Relate the glacial history of Glacier Bay over the last 500 years.
2) Recognize that scientific understanding of glaciers and their impact on the environment has evolved in the past two centuries.
3) Describe the process of glacial formation.
4) Understand the difference between climate and weather
5) Recognize the potential effects of a changing climate on glaciers.
6) List at least 4 geologic signs of glaciers.
7) Regard Glacier Bay (and all National Park sites) as places of inquiry, investigation, and discovery (e.g. a living laboratory).
Standards Alignment
National Standards
National Standards Addressed
NS. 5-8.1 Science as Inquiry
NS. 5-8.4 Earth Science and Space Science
NS. 5-8.6 Personal and Social Perspectives
NS. 5-8.7 History and Nature of Science
State Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
MS. History of Earth: MS-ESS2-2
MS. Earth's Systems: MS-ESS2-4
MS. Weather and Climate: MS-ESS3-5