CHANGING LANDFORMS UNIT OVERVIEW THE BIG IDEA. Other topics SPARK. Materials

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1 CHANGING LANDFORMS UNIT OVERVIEW Ladforms are costatly formig ad chagig. The Chagig Ladforms uit helps studets uderstad what ladforms are, how they form, ad how differet forces shape them over time. It itroduces studets to Earth s structure, icludig the crust, matle, ad core. Hotspots ad earthquake patters are also addressed, as well as how weatherig, erosio, ad people shape the lad. The uit addresses the three major categories of rocks igeous, sedimetary, ad metamorphic ad explais how oe rock type may chage ito aother. Certai readig resources are provided at three readig levels withi the uit to support differetiated istructio. Other resources are provided as a set, with differet titles offered at each readig level. Dots o studet resources idicate the readig level as follows: low readig level middle readig level high readig level THE BIG IDEA SPARK Earth chages every day. Sometimes these trasformatios are quite small, ad at other times they are extraordiary. While may of the chages to Earth s ladforms are brought about by atural forces, others are caused by people. Over the course of this uit, studets will lear about how ladforms chage ad, i the process, they may cosider the effects of chagig ladforms o Earth s eviromet ad its livig creatures. Studets may also cosider the role they play i shapig Earth s surface. Other topics This uit also addresses topics such as: ew lad formatio i the Hawaiia Islads, ope pit miig, differet types of ladforms caused by erosio, ad the deepest poit o Earth s crust the Mariaa Trech. The spark is desiged to get studets thikig about the uit s topics ad to geerate curiosity ad discussio. Materials lightweight area rugs or bathroom rugs (without oslip backig) thi woode boards of similar legth to rugs Learig A Z All rights reserved. 1

2 Chagig Ladforms Activity This activity is meat to illustrate how ladforms chage as Earth s plates move. Explai to studets that durig this uit, they will lear that Earth is covered with plates. The woode board will represet the plates uder the ocea, which are heavy ad strog. The rug will represet the plates uder the cotiets, which are lighter ad weaker. Set a rug ad a board dow flat o a smooth tiled floor or o top of a large table. A loger edge of the rug should be touchig a loger edge of the board. Ask several studets to go to the far ed of the rug ad spread out alog its legth. Ask several other studets to go to the far ed of the board ad also spread out. Whe cued, each group should start slowly pushig the rug ad board toward each other. The groups should stop pushig oce they observe chages occurrig. The stroger board may cause the weaker rug to buckle, fold over, ad chage shape. The board may slip beeath the rug. All these chages model realistic possibilities whe Earth s plates collide. Studets might also observe shapes i the rug that could symbolize ladforms foud o cotiets, such as moutais ad valleys. Try this activity agai with variatios, such as makig two rugs or two boards collide or makig two rugs slide past each other to represet fault lies. Ivite studets to share their observatios with the class. Below are questios to spark discussio. How do you thik rugs ad boards are like Earth s surface? What kids of ladforms were modeled whe the rug ad board collided? What might have happeed if the rug ad board had actually bee huge pieces of Earth s surface? Do you thik Earth s plates actually move faster or slower tha the rug ad board were moved i this activity? Use this activity to begi a itroductory discussio about chagig ladforms. Explai that ladforms chage as huge pieces of Earth s crust move o top of the semi-solid matle. Some of Earth s crust is softer ad some is harder. As differet types of crust collide, ladforms are created, altered, or destroyed. These collisios ca also result i dramatic evets such as earthquakes ad volcaic eruptios. Ulike this activity, chages i ladforms usually happe very slowly over may thousads or millios of years. Throughout the uit, studets will lear more about chagig ladforms. May of the uit s vocabulary terms are related to the spark activity ad ca be itroduced durig the spark. For vocabulary work, see the Vocabulary sectio i this Uit Guide. Learig A Z All rights reserved. 2

3 PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Chagig Ladforms Ivite studets to explai their uderstadig of what a ladform is, ad ask them to ame ladforms they kow. Discuss how ladforms might chage over time ad why. Probig Questios to Thik About Use the followig questios to have studets begi thikig of what they kow about chagig ladforms. What is our plaet like uder the surface? What are some examples of differet ladforms? Do these ladforms chage over time? How? How do moutais form? Do moutais ever chage or disappear over time? What causes a volcao to form? What happes whe a volcao erupts? Why do earthquakes happe? How are islads made? How have glaciers affected Earth s surface? What might occur if two ladmasses collided? Has the map of Earth always bee the same? Do ay of the cotiets o a world map look as though they oce fit together? How are differet types of rocks created? Do rocks chage over time? How? Why are there differet layers i some areas of Earth s surface? Tell studets they will lear more about these topics soo. UNIT MATERIALS VOCABULARY Each uit provides a wide variety of resources related to the uit topic. Studets may read books ad other passages, work i groups to complete hads-o experimets ad ivestigatios, discuss sciece ideas as a class, watch videos, complete writig tasks, ad take assessmets. Resources are available for pritig or projectig, ad may studet resources are also available for studets to access digitally o. Selected uit resources are available i more tha oe laguage. For a complete list of materials provided with the uit, see the Chagig Ladforms uit page o the Sciece A Z website. Use the terms below for vocabulary developmet throughout the uit. They ca be foud i boldface i the Nofictio Book, the Quick Reads, ad/or other uit resources. These terms ad defiitios are available o Vocabulary Cards for studet practice. Additioal vocabulary lists are provided i the teachig tips for Ivestigatio Packs ad FOCUS Books. Learig A Z All rights reserved. 3

4 Chagig Ladforms Chagig Ladforms Chagig Ladforms (ou) WORD CARD (ou) WORD CARD (ou) WORD CARD Cut or Fold Chagig Ladforms Chagig Ladforms Chagig Ladforms DEFINITION CARD DEFINITION CARD DEFINITION CARD Learig A Z All rights reserved. UNIT GUIDE Chagig Ladforms $ cotiet oe of the mai ladmasses o Earth, such as Africa, Asia, or North America Core Sciece Terms These terms are crucial to uderstadig the uit. $ covectio curret core a series of circular motios that occur i substaces whe heatig ad coolig happe together Earth s ceter, made up of a liquid outer core ad a solid ier core cotiet core crust erosio igeous rock ladform magma matle metamorphic rock plate oe of the mai ladmasses o Earth, such as Africa, Asia, or North America Earth s ceter, made up of a liquid outer core ad a solid ier core the thi outer layer of Earth s surface the process of trasportig ad wearig away rocks or soil as loose particles are moved by water, wid, ice, or gravity rock formed by the hardeig of hot, molte magma a atural formatio o Earth s surface, such as a valley, plateau, moutai, plai, hill, or glacier melted, liquid rock beeath Earth s surface the semisolid layer of Earth that lies betwee the crust ad the core rock formed by exposig igeous or sedimetary rock to extreme heat ad pressure a large sheet of rock that makes up part of Earth s crust plate tectoics the theory that the plates of Earth s crust move due to the movemet of magma i Earth s matle rock cycle sedimetary rock volcao weatherig the series of chages that rock udergoes as it shifts betwee differet forms rock formed whe sedimet is compacted a place i Earth s crust where gases, ash, ad lava spew oto the surface the process of wearig away or otherwise chagig Earth s surface from exposure to atural forces Other Key Sciece Terms The followig vocabulary is ot essetial for comprehedig the uit but may erich studets vocabulary. covectio curret delta a series of circular motios that occur i substaces whe heatig ad coolig happe together a triagle-shaped area of lad formed by sedimet at the mouth of a river Learig A Z All rights reserved. 4

5 due moraie delta 4 2 UNIT GUIDE Chagig Ladforms depositio due earthquake fossil glacier islad ladmass levee moraie sedimet the act or process by which wid or water sets dow sedimet a moud of sad formed by the actio of wid or water a sudde shakig of the groud due to plate movemet the remais or traces of a plat or aimal that tured to stoe over time a large body of accumulated ice ad compacted sow that is foud year roud ad that slowly moves dowhill a area of lad, smaller tha a cotiet, that is surrouded by water a large area of lad, such as a cotiet a ridge or raised area of lad that prevets a river from overflowig a pile of soil ad rocks scraped up ad deposited by a glacier as it recedes particles of dirt ad rock that are carried by water, wid, or ice ad deposited elsewhere CHANGING LANDFORMS Crossword Name Date Materials: o scissors o glue sticks 9 10 Across 3. a place i Earth s crust where gases, ash, ad lava spew oto the surface 5. oe of the mai ladmasses o Earth, such as Africa, Asia, or North America 6. melted, liquid rock beeath Earth s surface 8. a atural formatio o Earth s surface, such as a valley, plateau, moutai, plai, hill, or glacier 9. a large sheet of rock that makes up part of Earth s crust 10. rock formed by the hardeig of hot, molte magma Name Date Dow 1. the process of trasportig ad wearig away rocks or soil as loose particles are moved by water, wid, ice, or gravity 2. the thi outer layer of Earth s surface 4. the process of wearig away or otherwise chagig Earth s surface from exposure to atural forces 7. the semisolid layer of Earth that lies betwee the crust ad the core Learig A Z All rights reserved. Learig A Z All rights reserved. CHANGING LANDFORMS Directios: Match each term o the left with its defiitio o the right. Write the letter of the correct defiitio o the space i frot of the term. 1. cotiet 2. covectio curret 3. igeous rock 4. ladform 5. magma 6. metamorphic rock 7. plate 8. plate tectoics 9. rock cycle 10. sedimetary rock Credits: top left: Patrick Poedl/iStock/Thikstock; top right: Daiel Prudek/iStock/Thikstock; bottom left: Zirafek/iStock/Thikstock; bottom right: SaderStock/iStock/Thikstock CHANGING LANDFORMS moutai A. a series of circular motios that occur i substaces whe heatig ad coolig happe together B. rock formed whe sedimet is compacted C. rock formed by the hardeig of hot, molte magma D. a large sheet of rock that makes up part of Earth s crust E. the series of chages that rock udergoes as it shifts betwee differet forms F. a atural formatio o Earth s surface, such as a valley, plateau, moutai, plai, hill, or glacier G. rock formed by exposig igeous or sedimetary rock to extreme heat ad pressure H. oe of the mai ladmasses o Earth, such as Africa, Asia, or North America I. melted, liquid rock beeath Earth s surface J. the theory that the plates of Earth s Word Sort crust move due to the movemet of magma i Earth s matle Directios: Below are some vocabulary terms from the Chagig Ladforms uit. Cut apart the words with scissors. The glue them ito the correct group o the ext page. Use the book for evidece to support your choices. The last box has bee left blak for you to write a vocabulary term of your choice related to chagig ladforms. # core crust delta depositio due erosio glacier igeous matle metamorphic moraie moutai sedimetary volcao weatherig Learig A Z All rights reserved. Credit: Natalia Lukiyaova/iStock/Thikstock Matchig WORD WORK Chagig Ladforms Word Sort Name Date Types of Forces that Earth s layers ladforms chage Earth s surface Directios: Glue the words you cut out ito the groups where they best belog. Types of rocks Paste your ow vocabulary term here: If your vocabulary term belogs i oe of the groups, write which oe (if ot, leave blak). Use your vocabulary term i a complete setece. Learig A Z All rights reserved. Vocabulary Activities You may choose to itroduce all the terms that will be ecoutered i the uit before assigig ay of the readig compoets. Vocabulary Cards with the key sciece terms ad defiitios are provided. Dots o the cards idicate the readig levels of the Nofictio Book or the Quick Reads i which each term ca be foud. If all level dots appear, the term may come from aother resource i the uit. Studets ca use these cards to review ad practice the terms i small groups or pairs. The cards ca also be used for ceter activity games such as Cocetratio. The Word Work activity sheets offer fu puzzles ad practice with key vocabulary terms from the uit. For further vocabulary practice ad reiforcemet, you ca choose from the vocabulary Graphic Orgaizers. To build customized vocabulary lessos with terms related to the topic, see. Studets ca use the Word Smart vocabulary Graphic Orgaizer to orgaize iformatio o the sciece terms. You may wat to assig each studet oe to three words to share his or her Word Smart kowledge with classmates. Studets who have the same word should first compare their Word Smart sheets with each other ad the report to the larger group. The sciece terms ca be used i oral practice. Have studets use each term i a spoke setece. Learig A Z All rights reserved. 5

6 A Sciece A Z Earth Series Word Cout: 2,606 Visit Writte by Celeste Fraser UNIT GUIDE Chagig Ladforms As studets read, ecourage them to create a sciece dictioary by recordig ew vocabulary terms ad defiitios i their SAZ Joural. BACKGROUND ad MISCONCEPTIONS Use this sectio as a resource for more backgroud kowledge o uit cotet ad to clarify the cotet for studets if miscoceptios arise. Refer to Usig the Iteret below for more ways to exted the learig. Earth s Chagig Face Earth s Chagig Face Q: What is iside Earth? A: Earth has three primary layers: the core, the matle, ad the crust. The core is i the ceter of Earth. The other layers of Earth are squeezig it tightly, so it is uder extreme pressure. It is also itesely hot as hot as the surface of the Su! The ier core has so much pressure that it caot melt, eve with temperatures as great as 5000º Celsius (more tha 9000ºF)! The outer core, which is liquid, spis aroud the ier core, creatig Earth s magetic field. Movig outward, the ext layer is the matle. The matle is the thickest layer of Earth. It is 2,900 kilometers (1,800 mi.) thick ad makes up almost 80 percet of Earth s volume. The matle is made of weak rock that is kept hot by the heat of Earth s core ad that has the texture of playdough. O top of the matle lies the thi, outermost layer of Earth the crust. The crust is Earth s hard outer shell. It is where ladforms are foud. There are two types of crust: cotietal ad oceaic. Cotietal crust is thick up to 100 kilometers (62 mi.) uder huge moutai rages compared to oceaic crust, which is about 5 kilometers (3 mi.) thick. Cotietal crust is also softer tha oceaic crust. Q: Ca people really travel to the ceter of Earth, as they do i books ad movies? A: No. The deepest hole that ayoe has ever drilled ito Earth s crust is the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which is located i orthwest Russia. After drillig slightly more tha 12 kilometers (7.5 mi.) ito the crust, it became impossible to go ay deeper due to extreme temperature. At this depth, the crust registered a temperature of 180º Celsius (356ºF). At this temperature, the rocks were so hot that they actually acted like liquid wax, fillig i parts of the hole oce the drill was removed! (Remember, water boils at just 100º Celsius.) So, ot oly could people ot travel to Earth s ceter, they would ot eve be able to get far ito the thi shell of Earth s crust! Below the crust, it oly gets much hotter with much more pressure from the weight above. Q: How do scietists kow about Earth s layers if we ca t see or go iside the plaet? A: Scietists have gathered iformatio about Earth s desity, seismic activity, ad magetic field. The crust ad the upper matle are kow to ot be very dese i compariso with Earth s total bulk desity. Therefore, the middle of Earth must be extremely dese. This suggests that Earth has a solid core. Seismic activity offers more clues. Whe a earthquake occurs i oe area, a tool called a seismograph ca measure seismic waves, eve o Learig A Z All rights reserved. 6

7 Chagig Ladforms the other side of the plaet. Depedig o the compositio ad desity of what they travel through, seismic wave vibratios ca go faster, go slower, stop, or be deflected. By recordig which seismic waves reach differet locatios, scietists have bee able to determie that Earth has a semi-solid matle ad a solid core. Fially, Earth s magetic field helps decipher its structure. A high cocetratio of metallic elemets is eeded i order to geerate the magetic field. These elemets do ot appear i high cocetratios i Earth s crust or upper matle, so scietists kow that they must be preset i the core. Because of the itese pressure geerated by Earth s gravity, these metallic elemets (mostly iro) are pushed ito a solid state i the very ceter of Earth. Q: What did the ladforms i my area look like log ago, ad what will they look like i the future? A: This depeds o where you live. Most ladforms chage very slowly over may, may years. New moutais have formed as the plates of Earth s crust slowly collided, ad others have bee wor away by weatherig ad erosio. Glaciers may have gradually scraped ice over the lad, evetually leavig behid lakes or valleys oce the ice receded. Studets may be able to coduct research to lear about the geologic history of their local area. While scietists ca predict what certai areas will look like i the future, oly time will tell. Q: Ca I see ladforms chagig? A: Most chages to Earth s ladforms happe very gradually over millios of years. However, some chages are abrupt ad drastic. Floods ad ladslides ca chage ladforms i a matter of secods. Volcaic eruptios ca also chage ladforms quickly. O the largest islad of Hawaii, visitors ca watch the islad grow as molte lava reaches the ocea ad solidifies ito ew lad. I the state of Washigto, Mout St. Heles blew its top whe it erupted o May 18, 1980, ad lost two thousad feet of elevatio i a matter of secods. A example of ew oceaic crust formatio is foud at the Mid-Atlatic Ridge, where magma rises ad cools as tectoic plates pull away from each other. At the same time, other parts of the crust are destroyed as they are subducted uder movig plates. Earthquakes, weatherig, ad people chage ladforms much more quickly tha plate movemets, ad these chages ca ofte be observed. Q: How do scietists kow that Earth s cotiets are movig? A: Whe Alfred Wegeer proposed the idea of a supercotiet called Pagaea i the early 1900s, he had to piece together cotiets usig maps of the world. Today, we ca use satellite techology to moitor plate movemet. Three of the most commo systems are satellite laser ragig (SLR), very log baselie iterferometry (VLBI), ad the global positioig system (GPS). Learig A Z All rights reserved. 7

8 Chagig Ladforms The iformatio gaied from these satellites tells us that the cotiets are movig betwee 1 ad 10 cetimeters (0.4 ad 4 i.) each year. This is about as fast as your figerails grow. There is also geological ad biological evidece to suggest that certai cotiets coastlies were oce coected. Q: I live very far from the ocea, so why are seashells ad fossils of water creatures foud i the soil here? A: Over millios of years, geologic ad climatic chages ca cause bodies of water to recede or dry up, ad the lad udereath, which cotais sigs of past aquatic life, may ow be exposed. Scietists ofte use shells ad fossils as idicators of the age of soil layers. I North America, some ilad seashells ca be explaied by the Wester Iterior Seaway, a huge body of water that oce split the cotiet ad coected what we ow kow as the Pacific ad Atlatic Oceas. Q: Should I be cocered because I live ear a volcao? A: It would be better to be prepared for a volcaic eruptio tha to be scared. Livig ear a volcao is much like livig i other areas, such as earthquake zoes, that have a higher chace of atural disasters. It is importat to have a emergecy pla, just i case. However, scietists alert commuities whe they thik a volcao is highly likely to erupt. These scietists are called volcaologists. They measure volcaic gases, seismic activity (earthquakes ad tremors that occur before a volcao erupts), steam vets, ad ew cracks or other chages i Earth s surface. Volcaologists ca ofte alert people of a possible eruptio i time for evacuatio. Bear i mid, however, that may volcaoes are dormat, ad others are cosidered extict or dead. Q: If people kow that their area gets earthquakes, ca they do aythig to prevet them? A: While there have bee some proposed ideas to prevet catastrophic earthquakes such as itetioally triggerig smaller oes to prevet a big oe people have ot developed a way to cotrol whe a earthquake will occur. Istead, scietists (seismologists) help the public by moitorig geologic activity ad by tryig to forewar people as early as possible. Commuities ca icrease their chaces of beig safe durig a earthquake by costructig buildigs to withstad strog tremors ad by regularly practicig earthquake drills. Q: Rocks are so strog that I fid it hard to believe they ca be broke by ice or wid. Is this true? A: Defiitely. Ice is a very powerful aget of weatherig. Whe water freezes, it udergoes thermal expasio. Have studets ever put a plastic water bottle or soda ca i the freezer? The plastic bottle or metal probably stretched to cotai the ice, or it may have eve broke or exploded! The Learig A Z All rights reserved. 8

9 Chagig Ladforms same thig happes with water as it flows aroud ad ito rocks. Small cracks may form after may years of thermal expasio. Whe water gets ito these cracks ad freezes, the expadig ice pushes the cracks farther apart util the rock evetually breaks. Wid is aother aget of weatherig. Over may years, a exposed rock ca be wor away as wid blows small particles of rock ad soil agaist it. Over time, cracks may form, ad the rock may chage shape or break apart. Q: If the Grad Cayo formed because of a river ruig through it, why are t similar cayos foud everywhere that large rivers exist? A: The Grad Cayo formed due to a combiatio of factors. Yes, the Colorado River rus through it. But it was the great upliftig of the lad (the Colorado Plateau), the steep agle of the river as it desceds from the Rocky Moutais to the Sea of Cortez, ad the may distictive layers of earth cut by the river, that together made this amazig ladform develop the way it did. Millios of years of erosio have give it its distictive side cayos, mesas, plateaus, cliffs, ad colors. Jupiterimages Corporatio EXTENSION ACTIVITIES Usig the Iteret Most search egies will yield may results whe the phrase chagig ladforms is etered. You ca also search for iformatio o plate tectoics or geology. Be aware that some sites may ot be educatioal or iteded for the elemetary classroom. More specific iquiries are recommeded, such as: ladform diagrams Earth s structure weatherig ad erosio seafloor maps rock types glacial valleys subductio Pagaea Pacific Rig of Fire volcao ad earthquake patters Below are some liks with excellet resources for studets ad/or teachers. The Natioal Sciece Teacher s Associatio has a site for teachers that icludes tutorials, satellite images, maps, illustratios, ad articles o plate tectoics. The U.S. Geological Survey has high-quality resources for teachers ad studets. The followig site provides liks to USGS pages that provide teacher ad studet iformatio, activities, ad games. Scroll dow to Geology. Other useful iformatio may be foud uder the Geography headig. Learig A Z All rights reserved. 9

10 Chagig Ladforms This NASA site provides teachers with a aimatio library to supplemet classroom istructio o chagig ladforms. It also provides further iformatio about space-satellite trackig of Earth ad questios for studets who are iterested i coductig i-depth research. The KidsKowIt Network, fouded by a classroom teacher i Utah, icludes resources to teach geology ad geography. Geology for Kids ad Geography for Kids are studet-friedly sites that allow users to click through pages to read ad lear about sciece topics. The ASPIRE Lab (Astrophysics Sciece Project Itegratig Research & Educatio) website from the Uiversity of Utah provides studets with i-depth iquiry-based cotet. Follow the Seismic Waves lik to a page where studets ca read about the compositio of Earth ad take a olie quiz. Studets ca use a iteractive, aimated model to geerate waves ad observe how they might move through the plaet, causig earthquakes. Projects ad Activities Arts: After studyig diagrams of diverget ad coverget plate movemet, volcaoes, earthquakes, ad glaciatio, allow studets to choose oe or more of these topics ad create a techical illustratio complete with accurate labels. Project: Have studets create a pop-up book demostratig differet kids of ladforms. ELL/ESL: Have studets create a word wall usig vocabulary from the Chagig Ladforms uit. Field Trip: Brig studets to a mieral museum to observe may differet kids of rocks from all over the world. They ca keep a joural of the most iterestig rocks ad mierals they observed. Guest: Ivite a seismologist, volcaologist, or paleotologist to class to share his or her kowledge. Iquiry Sciece: Allow studets to research ad ivestigate how the ladforms i their local area actually formed. The have groups preset their fidigs i a writte, oral, ad/or multimedia presetatio. Math: Have studets research the depth of each of Earth s layers ad calculate what percetage of Earth s total volume is take up by each layer. Research: Help studets track ad map global earthquakes over a oe-week period. Compare the locatio of the earthquakes to kow fault lies. Learig A Z All rights reserved. 10

11 Chagig Ladforms Techology: Usig a slideshow applicatio, allow studets to create their ow dictioary of vocabulary terms from the uit complete with images ad preset it to the class. Project/Home Coectio: Ivite studets to brig a variety of rocks to school, ad have groups ivestigate whether each rock is primarily igeous, metamorphic, or sedimetary. Research/Home Coectio: Studets ca coduct research as a family/home project or i the library/ media ceter to exted the learig about a topic i oe of the Quick Reads or other uit resources. Learig A Z All rights reserved. 11