a lesson on the impact of glaciation on Northeast landscapes
by Timothy McDonnell
Victor Jr. High School
Victor, New York
CONNECTIONS TO THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:
The geographically aware person knows…
Std. 1 - How to use maps and other geographic representations,
tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from
a spatial perspective.
Std. 7 - The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's
surface.
Std. 15 - How physical systems affect human systems.
CONNECTIONS TO THE NEW YORK STATE STANDARDS FOR MATH,
SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY:
Std. 4.2 - Physical Setting - Many of the phenomena that we observe
on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land.
Std. 6.2 - Models are simplified representations of objects,
structures, or systems used in analysis, explanation, interpretation, or
design.
OBJECTIVES: (to know, to do, and to be like)
1. Students will describe in general terms the process of glaciation
and the features produced by glacial erosion.
2. Students will identify glacial features on topographic maps.
3. They will convert contour maps to profile views to see what features
look like on the ground.
4. They will use Terraserver to download aereal views of glaciated regions
and compare these images to the topographic maps.
5. They will build 3-D maps of glacial landscapes out of Geodough.
6. They will relate human settlement patterns to the location of glacial
features.
MATERIALS:
Activity worksheet (in pdf format); vocabulary
list; topographic maps (See the Topozone website) of Sandwich, MA
(Cape Cod), Crawford Notch (NH), Palmyra (NY), Whiteface Mt. (NY), Jamesville
(NY), Ithaca (NY), Southwest Harbor (ME); enlarged photocopies of topographic
maps to use for profiles; computers with internet connection; geodough (homemade
clay); night photo of the Northeast.
PROCEDURES:
1. Review with students how glaciers form and move. They might need
to do some background reading first. Also go over the Geo-vocabulary list.
Students should be able to phrase these terms in their own words.
2. Place topographic maps around the room. Students should rotate from
map to map so they can observe glaciated features from each map. They fill
out the chart on the worksheet.
3. Give students enlarged photocopies of the maps. They make profiles
from at least two maps (from point A to B) on graph paper in the worksheet.
4. Students then log on to the internet (terraserver. microsoft.com).
Each student group should find a different view that matches the profiles
they drew in step 3. Comparisons should be made.
5. Back in class, they make models of glacial features using Geodough.
This homemade clay can easily made ahead of time using the recipe included
in their packet.
6. As a wrap up, have students look at a night photo of the Northeast.
Have them locate the where all the features studied are located. Are these
areas densely populated or not? Do people tend to live in areas with
glacial erosion or deposition? Why?
SUGGESTED STUDENT ASSESSMENT
1. The worksheet should be assessed for accuracy of information.
2. Make sure that each student has correctly sketched contour profiles
assigned to them.
3. Show them other topographic maps from the Northeast. Can they identify
glacial features on these maps too?
4. Show them another aereal photograph (i.e. West Point, NY). Can they
roughly sketch a profile of this view?
ADAPTATIONS AND EXTENSIONS:
1. Maps and aereal views from other parts of the Northeast can
be substituted to fit the needs of your class.
2. Instead of using Geodough, contour maps can be made by stacking layers
of cardboard on top of each other.
3. See if students can find other remote sensing views of glaciated
regions from the internet.
4. Relate this lesson to the social studies lesson on the Erie Canal.
How did the glaciers modify New York's landscape so the construction became
practical in the 19th century?
Return to the Lessons Home Page.