This page includes links to resources to go along with my Glaciers Unit. Find the Glaciers Unit and other nature-based learning materials in my Shop!
1.) Learn more about glaciers (external links)
- The National Snow and Ice Data Center has tons of tools for visualizing snow and ice data, photographs of ice sheets over time, and more!
- Definitions of different types of glaciers and other ice bodies from the National Snow and Ice Data Center
- Learn more about crevasses and also learn about some other glacial ice features such as ice falls with this series of articles from the National Park Service
- Read about the impacts of climate change on Glacier National Park
2.) Learn more about ice cores and past climates (external links)
- Read all about ice cores – from NASA
- This educational webpage from icecores.org includes tons of photos and videos of scientists collecting and studying ice cores!
- Repeat photography project at Glacier National Park – see how glaciers in the park have changed over the past ~100 years!
3.) Glacier research project:
Suggested Glaciers to Study, and a few web resources (external links) to help get you started:
- Khumbu Glacier, Nepal
- Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, New Zealand
- Furtwangler Glacier, Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- Quelccaya, Peru
- Hubbard Glacier in Alaska, USA
- Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada
- Vatnajökull in Iceland
4.) Additional free lesson plans and activity ideas from around the web for educators and parents (external links)
- The Story of Snow lesson plan from Glacier National Park! (K-2)
- There are several Hands-on Lessons and Activities about Glaciers from Ohio State University’s Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears project. (K-5)
- Impacts of Climate Change lesson plan, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (~5th grade)
- Try out this synthetic ice cores lesson plan from Ohio State University. Plus links to several videos with background info on climate, ice, and ice cores. (~middle school, high school)
- Make your own glacier and learn about glacial landforms with this DIY glacier lesson plan from Carleton College (~upper middle school & beyond)
- Here is an introductory glaciology lab lesson plan from Carleton College. (~high school & beyond)
- Finally, here is a wonderful, hands-on climate change lesson for older students, initially developed by O’Reilly, C.M., D.C. Richardson, and R.D. Gougis as part of Project EDDIE: Climate Change. For the activity, students will graph real ice core data and use it to compare past and current trends in temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations! Requires Microsoft Excel or similar software. (~upper high school & beyond)
5.) Additional reference website links for educators and parents (external links)
- AntarcticaGlaciers.org provides information on ice shelves, icebergs, and sea ice.
- Background information on glaciers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
- Physical Geology by C.C. Plummer, D.H. Carlson, and L. Hammersley is my favorite geology textbook. They have a wonderful chapter on glaciers and glaciation (Ch 12) with beautiful photographs, illustrations, vocabulary, and more!
