Melting Glaciers (Phenomenon)

Contributor
United States Geological Survey, USGS
Type Category
Instructional Materials
Types
Photograph , Image/Image Set , Phenomenon
Note
This resource, vetted by NSTA curators, is provided to teachers along with suggested modifications to make it more in line with the vision of the NGSS. While not considered to be "fully aligned," the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance using the EQuIP rubric to adapted existing resources. Read more here.

Reviews

Description

In this resource, images of glaciers from the late 1800s and early 1900s are compared to present day conditions. This is part of a project by the U.S. Geological Survey called Repeat Photography, where “photographers using photos of glaciers from the late 1800s and early 1900s rephotograph those same scenes to show how things have changed (and are changing). “ (PetaPixel.com)


 

The teacher could pose the following driving questions:

What changes do you see in the pictures?

If you were to visit these parks 10 years from now, what would you expect to see?

Intended Audience

Educator and learner
Educational Level
  • Grade 12
  • Grade 11
  • Grade 10
  • Grade 9
  • High School
Language
English
Access Restrictions

Free access - The right to view and/or download material without financial, registration, or excessive advertising barriers.

Performance Expectations

HS-ESS3-6 Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.

Clarification Statement: Examples of Earth systems to be considered are the hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, and/or biosphere. An example of the far-reaching impacts from a human activity is how an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide results in an increase in photosynthetic biomass on land and an increase in ocean acidification, with resulting impacts on sea organism health and marine populations.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include running computational representations but is limited to using the published results of scientific computational models.

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this performance expectation.

Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
Students use the images of glacial changes over the past 100 or more years to illustrate how global climate change has affected the landscape. To fully address the PE, teachers can have students analyze the data set found in the resource: Area of Named Glaciers.

Science and Engineering Practices

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this science and engineering practice.

Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice
Students analyze pictures of glaciers depicting different time periods in order to support the claim that increased global temperatures have caused rapid melting.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea
Students are able to see changes to glaciers by examining the photographs.

Crosscutting Concepts

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this crosscutting concept.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
By examining the series of photographs, students are able to identify the pattern that glacial melting is occurring. They may associate this melting with increased global temperatures based on students prior knowledge.

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this crosscutting concept.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
By comparing the images, students are able to see that change has occurred over time to the size of glaciers, rivers, and lakes due to increasing global temperatures.

Resource Quality

  • Alignment to the Dimensions of the NGSS: - none -

  • Instructional Supports: - none -

  • Monitoring Student Progress: - none -

  • Quality of Technological Interactivity: - none -