Glaciers and Ice Sheets

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/explainer-ice-sheets-and-glaciers

This article is a great resource for introducing students to glaciers, ice sheets, and the arctic caps. Students could have the misconception that all three of these are the same and could be using each term incorrectly. This article explains what each term means and provides examples along with it. It also gives students the example of Greenland and explains how it fits into the larger subject matter. The article also introduces students to the concept that ice sheets are constantly moving even if they appear stationary.

I would begin teaching this lesson by having students discuss what they know about glaciers and ice sheets. This initial discussion allows for the teacher to see which students may have the misconception that these items are the same. If a majority of the class does seem to fall under the misconception then I would have the class read the article provided and find additional resources to explain the difference between ice sheets and glaciers. If the class does not need to address the misconception then I would move onto discussing the concept of ice sheets being constantly in motion.

I believe that using this article as a stepping stone for students to begin exploring deeper topics such as global warming is a great tool. Students may not initially understand global warming, but if we started with them understanding terms such as ice sheets and glaciers then they could then move on to asking questions such as how does global warming affect glaciers or ice sheets? This is where I would hope students would be able to have a group discussion on what to do about global warming and how us as a class can help combat the issue. This could initially lead to a class research project where students find the leading cause behind global warming and implicate a school-wide initiative to combat global warming.