1 Exploring Earth Science: Mysterious Mounds and Planetary Puzzles 60 Minute Earth Science Lesson Interactive Video Conference Program Teacher’s Guide Grades: 3 - 4

Mysterious Mounds and Planetary Puzzles

Description Objectives Through processes far too slow for our • Students will be able to able to use feeble human eyes to perceive, the world geological data and observations to has been changing for 4.6 billion years. The distinguish between how different evidence for this is all around us in our landforms originated. rocks, dirt, & soil—if you only know the right • Students will be able to use the concepts clues to look for. Starting with the of erosion, weathering, deposition, and mysterious Serpent Mound in Ohio, and basic plate tectonics to create ending with an extraterrestrial encounter, this program will familiarize your students explanations for how unknown with the ways we understand and recognize landforms originated. various landforms.

Ohio’s Learning Standards- Science Grade 3: Earth and Space Science - Earth’s Resources • 3.ESS.1 Earth’s nonliving resources have specific properties Grade 4: Earth and Space Science – Earth’s Surface • 4.ESS.1: Earth’s surface has specific characteristics and landforms that can be identified. • 4.ESS.2: The surface of Earth changes due to weathering • 4.ESS.3: The surface of Earth changes due to erosion and deposition Ohio’s Learning Standards- English Language Arts Grades 3 & 4: Comprehension and Collaboration (SL.3.1, SL.3.2, SL.4.1, SL.4.2) Grades 3 & 4: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas (SL.3.4, SL.3.6, SL.4.4, SL.4.6) Ohio’s Learning Standards- Mathematics Grade 3: Measurement and Data • 3.MD.5 Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement. • 3.MD.6 Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).

Grade 4: Measurement and Data • 4.MD.1 Know relative sizes of the metric measurement units within one system of units. Metric units include kilometer, meter, centimeter, and millimeter; kilogram and gram; and liter and milliliter. Express a larger measurement unit in terms of a smaller unit.

Produced and published by the Education Division 1 Wade Oval Dr., University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106 9/14/20 2 How You Can Help Us Make This Virtual Program A Success…

• Please ask your students to have two pieces of paper and a pencil ready to use during our program. We will be using one for notes and math, and the other to demonstrate the formation of various landforms. • If your students are joining us from your classroom computer, please arrange your room and projection screen so everyone can see us clearly. • If you and your students are joining us from your homes, we will have an educator monitoring the Chat feature for questions. We request that you or another staff person serve as a Co-Host to help monitor students for any inappropriate Chat or camera behavior. • If you will have a hybrid class (some at school, some joining from home), our educator will monitor the Chat and camera behavior, and we reserve the right to temporarily move any disruptive students to our Waiting Room so we or school staff can correct the undesired behavior. • If you prefer, we can turn off all cameras and interact solely via the Chat feature.

Vocabulary breccia- (n) rock consisting of angular fragments cemented together. If the fragments are rounded (usually by water weathering), then the rock is called a conglomerate instead. crater – (n) a large, bowl-shaped cavity in the ground or on the surface of a planet or the moon, typically one caused by an explosion or the impact of a meteorite or other celestial body. deposition – (n) the settling out or placement of rock, particles of rock, or organic matter, generally referred to as sediments, after transportation by wind, water, ice, or gravity. dirt – (n) a substance, such as mud or dust, that gets on someone or something and makes them not clean. erosion – (n) the process of being worn away or being slowly removed by wind, water, or other natural agents. fulgurite – (n) vitreous (clear and glassy) material formed of sand or other sediment fused by the heat of a lightning strike. geology - the science that deals with the earth's physical structure and substance, its history, and the processes that act on it. hoodoo- (n) a column or tower of weathered rock, often in an unusual form. landform – (n) a natural feature of the earth's surface. lava – (n) molten rock that flows out of a volcano or other crack in the crust; also the name for the rock formed this way. magma – (n) naturally occurring molten rock or liquid rock below the surface of the earth. metamorphic rock – (n) a rock that has been changed by heat, pressure or heat and pressure together. mineral – (n) a naturally occurring inorganic solid composed of an orderly arrangement (crystalline structure) of one or more chemical elements, OR a necessary chemical nutrient. mound – (n) this term, used in Archaeology, means a raised mass of earth, stones, or other compacted material, sometimes created artificially for purposes of defense or burial.

Produced and published by the Education Division 1 Wade Oval Dr., University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106 9/14/20 3 myth – (n) a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events. Plate Tectonics – (n) a theory explaining the movement of Earth’s plates. pyroclastic – (adj) composed chiefly of rock fragments of explosive origin, especially those associated with explosive volcanic eruptions. Volcanic ash, obsidian, and pumice are examples of pyroclastic materials. rock – (n) a solid natural collection or aggregate of one or more minerals. sedimentary rock – (n) a type of rock formed by weathering or chemical buildup as mineral particles are deposited, buried and squashed into layers by water, wind or ice and cemented together. sediments – (n) particles eroded or broken from rocks or minerals, or produced by plant, animal or natural chemical activity. soil – (n) Soil is composed of pieces of rock, organic material, water and air and has characteristics that can be measured and observed. shatter cone – (n) a fluted conical structure produced in rock by intense mechanical shock, such as that associated with meteoritic impact. weathering – (v) the chemical or mechanical breakdown of rocks into sediments by water, wind, ice and/or the action of plants and animals.

Extension Activities

Mini-Volcano Mayhem • You will need: 2 film canisters (use a hammer and nail to poke a small hole in the lid of one canister), effervescent antacid packets, water and dish soap (several small drops). • Conduct this experiment on a table that can get wet. Have paper towels ready! o Fill one film canister halfway with water, and add a few drops of dish soap. o Open effervescent antacid packet and break one tablet in half. o Place the half tablet into the soapy water and, using the lid with a hole poked in it, seal canister tightly. o Observe! Foamy “lava” will come oozing out of your tiny volcano. This is similar to the bubble-filled lava that forms pumice rocks, on what is called a shield volcano. o Repeat same steps for a tiny exploding stratovolcano, but switch to the film canister WITHOUT a hole on the lid. Once the lid is placed tightly on the canister the trapped gas will cause the lid to pop off with a loud “BANG!”, similar to the explosions from volcanoes that result in “bomb” lava rocks. Make sure no students are standing near the canister once you put the lid on! Weathering vs. Erosion Demonstration • You will need: large bucket of soil, box fan, small hose attached to classroom sink or a bucket of water, camera (video and/or regular) for recording "before" and "after" image. o Dump the bucket of soil on a table or countertop so that the resulting pile is strategically placed between teacher and the students.

Produced and published by the Education Division 1 Wade Oval Dr., University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106 9/14/20 4 o The teacher should dramatically place one hand on the power switch of the electric fan and pick up the garden hose with the other (or pick up the bucket of water) o Pose the following questions to the students:

§ “What would happen if I turned on either of these items?” (Or: “Would me turning on the fan or dumping the water on this soil have the same effect?”) § “If this was a hill where people lived or farmed, can you identify any problems that may result?” § “Are there any processes in nature that produce similar results/problems?” • THE BIG PICTURE: While weathering and erosion are similar processes, they are not synonymous. Weathering involves the breakdown of rocks and minerals on Earth, whereas erosion involves the removal of soil and rock materials.

Online Resources for Teachers and Students Click the link below to find additional online resources for teachers and students. These websites are recommended by our Museum Educators and provide additional content information and some fun, interactive activities to share with your class. CMNH Educators regularly review these links for quality. Web addresses often change so please notify us if any links have issues. Cleveland Museum of Natural History https://cmnh.org/edlinks

Produced and published by the Education Division 1 Wade Oval Dr., University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106 9/14/20