Format
1.) Students are introduced to Ohio's Serpent Mound as our 'Mysterious Earthwork'.
2.) Challenge is presented: Why do we think ancient people chose this location to build the Serpent Mound?
3.) The role of mythology in the human understanding of earth science is introduced.
4.) Students perform simple activities with paper to demonstrate various concepts in earth science, including plate tectonics and glacial erosion.
5.) Various instruments that are used to study earth science are discussed, and clues revealed about the location of the Serpent Mound.
6.) Students use this new data to present their theories on why this location was chosen.
7.) Q & A about earth science.
Objectives
•Students will be able to able to use geological data and observations to distinguish between how different landforms originated.
•Students will be able to use the concepts of erosion, weathering, deposition, and basic plate tectonics to create explanations for how unknown landforms originated.
Standards Alignment
National Standards
Please see Ohio standards below.
State Standards
Ohio’s Learning Standards-Science
Grade 3:Earth and Space Science -Earth’s Resources•3.ESS.1 Earth’s nonliving resources have specific properties
Grade 4:Earth and Space Science–Earth’s Surface•4.ESS.1:Earth’s surface has specific characteristics and landforms that can be identified. •4.ESS.2: The surface of Earth changes due to weathering•4.ESS.3:The surface of Earth changes due to erosion and deposition.
Ohio’s Learning Standards-English Language Arts
Grades 3 & 4: Comprehension and Collaboration (SL.3.1, SL.3.2, SL.4.1, SL.4.2)
Grades 3 & 4: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas (SL.3.4, SL.3.6, SL.4.4, SL.4.6)
Ohio’s Learning Standards-Mathematics
Grade 3:Measurement and Data•3.MD.5Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement.•3.MD.6Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).Grade 4:Measurement and Data•4.MD.1 Know relative sizes of the metric measurement units within one system of units. Metric units include kilometer, meter, centimeter, and millimeter; kilogram and gram; and liter and milliliter. Express a larger measurement unit in terms of a smaller unit.