GEOLOGIST'S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Produced by
Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Teacher’s Guide by
Lauren LaComb
Distributed by...
800.323.9084 | FAX 847.328.6706 | www.unitedlearning.com
This video is the exclusive property of the copyright holder. Copying, transmitting, or reproducing in any form, or
by any means, without prior written permission from the
copyright holder is prohibited (Title 17, U.S. Code Sections
501 and 506).
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Introduction to the Program . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Links to Curriculum Standards . . . . . . . . . .2
Summary of the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Instructional Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Pre-Test/Anticipation Guide and Post-Test .5
Student/Audience Preparation . . . . . . . . . .5
Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Student Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
View the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Description of Blackline Masters . . . . . . . .7
Extended Learning Activities . . . . . . . . . . .9
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Internet Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Reference Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Script of Narration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
This video is closed captioned.
The purchase of this program entitles the user to the right to reproduce or duplicate, in whole or in part, this teacher’s guide and the
blackline master handouts that accompany it for the purpose of
teaching in conjunction with this program, Geologist’s Notebook Why Land Goes Up and Down. This right is restricted only for use
with this program. Any reproduction or duplication in whole or in
part of this guide and the blackline master handouts for any purpose other than for use with this program is prohibited.
CLASSROOM/LIBRARY
CLEARANCE NOTICE
This program is for instructional use. The cost of each
program includes public performance rights as long as no
admission charge is made. Public performance rights are
defined as viewing of a video in the course of face-to-face
teaching activities in a classroom, library, or similar setting
devoted to instruction.
Closed Circuit Rights are included as a part of the public
performance rights as long as closed-circuit transmission is
restricted to a single campus. For multiple locations, call
your United Learning representative.
Television/Cable/Satellite Rights are available. Call your
United Learning representative for details.
Duplication Rights are available if requested in large quantities.
Call your United Learning representative for details.
Quantity Discounts are available for large purchases. Call
your United Learning representative for information and
pricing. Discounts, and some special services, are not
applicable outside the United States.
Your suggestions and recommendations are welcome.
Feel free at any time to call United Learning
at 1-800-323-9084.
GEOLOGIST'S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Grades 2-6
Viewing Time: 10.5 minutes with a
five-question Video Quiz
INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES
Why Land Goes Up and Down is part of the Geologist's
Notebook, which is intended to help elementary students
dig into a variety of important topics in geology and earth
science. This six-part series of 10.5 minute programs
uses 3-D animation and live-action footage to address
uplifting and erosion, the rock cycle, soil formation, minerals and crystals, Earth's interior structure, natural
resources, fossils, and landforms. A light-hearted touch
often lightens the heavy "lode" of information which each
show offers.
INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM
Why Land Goes Up and Down is an excellent presentation of the forces behind making our planet's landscape.
Land around us is rarely flat. As it stretches across mountains, valleys, canyons, plateaus, and other landforms, it
goes up and down, down and up. This show looks at the
two processes most responsible for carving our landscape: uplifting and erosion. It explains how tremendous
heat from the center of Earth powers the building of
mountains and plateaus by moving plates and pushing up
bulges in the crust. Similarly, the show examines how the
forces of erosion, especially moving water associated
with gravity, work equally hard to reduce uplifts crust sediment, and flat land. The effect of glaciers is also touched
upon. After watching this program, students will better
understand why, in terms of land, what goes up must
come down.
1
LINKS TO CURRICULUM STANDARD
According to the National Science Education Standards:
• Content Standard D (K-4): Changes in earth and sky
The surface of the earth changes. Some changes
are due to slow processes, such as erosion and weathering, and some changes are due to rapid processes, such
as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
• CONTENT STANDARD F (K-4): Changes in environments
Some environmental changes occur slowly, and others occur rapidly. Students should understand the different consequences of changing environments in small
increments over long periods as compared with changing
environments in large increments over short periods.
• Content Standard D (5-8): Structure of the Earth System
Landforms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Constructive forces
include crustal deformation, volcanic eruption, and deposition of sediment, while destructive forces include weathering and erosion.
Lithospheric plates on the scales of continents and
oceans constantly move at rates of centimeters per year
in response to movements in the mantle. Major geological
events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and
mountain building, result from these plate motions.
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM
Land is rarely flat. Landforms, such as mountains, valleys, and cliffs can be found around the world. Geologists
explain that landforms are mainly results from two
processes: uplifting and erosion.
2
Uplifting raises land. The energy that causes uplifting
comes from heat in the middle of Earth, where temperatures are thousands of degrees hotter than Earth's surface. The crust is a thin shell of solid rock that protects us
from this inner heat. The crust is divided into approximately twenty pieces, called plates. This heat moves from
the center of Earth towards the crust. Sometimes the
inner heat creates bulges in the crust. Bulges start with
giant plumes, bubbles of extra hot heat rising from deep
within Earth. Sometimes they push so hard against the
plates, they create a bulge. An example of a plume that
causes hotspots and geysers can be found below
Yellowstone National Park, in North America. The park
also sits on a plateau that was formed by the plume pushing up the surrounding countryside. Millions of years ago
the plume burst through the crust, creating volcanoes.
This inner heat also causes Earth's plates to slowly move
in different directions. This is a slow process causing
plates to move very little each year. We usually don't feel
this unless it creates an earthquake. Some plates pull
away from one another and others collide. Over millions
of years, plate edges crinkle, twist, and break. This pushes up the land, creating mountains. Pieces that tilt down
can make mountain valleys. Together hot plumes, volcanoes, and colliding plates have uplifted a large portion of
the planet starting a long time ago and continuing in
recent times.
Erosion transports rocks and soil. Wind and water both
cause erosion, but water is the main force. Water pushes
pieces of rock and soil ranging in size. Water lubricates
rock and soil so they slip down; water can also dissolve
them. Billions of drops of water together have huge
power! Gravity assists water in the process of erosion.
Together they transport material downhill. Erosion works
hardest at the highest, steepest areas with softened sur3
faces. Unequal erosion can produce interesting results,
such as rock towers. Over time erosion flattens land. It
transports material from high places and deposits it in low
areas. For example, mountains erode downward and fill
up valleys. Eventually ending up at the bottom of the
ocean.
Glaciers have also helped to shape land. Over 10,000
years ago, great sheets of ice moved from the poles. As
they moved, they flattened the land they crossed in the
process. They also left behind countless lakes, including
the great lakes. Small glaciers still survive in many of the
world's high mountains.
In conclusion, landforms will change in the future because
uplifting and erosion never stop working. Earth's inner
heat will continue to rise to the surface and move the
plates around, causing uplifting. Gravity and water will
continue to erode land above sea level. What goes up
must come down.
INSTRUCTIONAL NOTES
Before presenting these lessons to your students, we
suggest that you preview the program, review the guide,
and the accompanying Blackline Master activities in order
to familiarize yourself with their content.
As you review the materials presented in this guide, you
may find it necessary to make some changes, additions
or deletions to meet the specific needs of your class. We
encourage you to do so; for only by tailoring this program
to your class will they obtain the maximum instructional
benefits afforded by the materials.
4
PRE-TEST/ANTICIPATION GUIDE AND POST-TEST
Pre-Test/Anticipation Guide, is an assessment tool
intended to gauge student comprehension of the objectives prior to viewing the program, excite students about
the topic they are studying, and prepare students to learn
the information surrounding the topic of the program.
Explain that they are not expected to get all answers correct, but they are expected to try their best. Remind the
students that these are key concepts that they should
focus on while watching the program. The PreTest/Anticipation Guide should be administered prior to
viewing the program. Answers should be reviewed immediately after the program. Hint: It is helpful when the students use different colored pens for the before and after
work on the Pre-Test/Anticipation Guide.
Blackline Master #7, Post-Test, is an assessment tool to
be administered after viewing the program and completing additional activities. The results of this assessment
can be compared to the results of the Pre-Test/
Anticipation Guide to determine the change in student
comprehension before and after participation in this lesson.
STUDENT/AUDIENCE PREPARATION
Geology has vocabulary words that students need to
experience and practice. It is important to familiarize your
students with vocabulary presented in the program prior
to viewing the program. Blackline Master #4, Vocabulary Graphing, is a vocabulary activity that focuses on
the following vocabulary words: erosion, landforms, uplifting, plates, gravity, and plumes. Present the vocabulary
words to the students after viewing the program. Pass
out copies of Blackline Master #4, Vocabulary
5
Graphing. Instruct students to complete a graph for each
word.
Listed below are vocabulary words presented in the program. These words have been identified to help students
understand the content of the program. These words can
be worked on at any time during the lesson.
VOCABULARY
geologist
erosion
canyons
water
gravity
heat
volcanoes
geysers
surface
natural
energy
plumes
deposits
erode
earthquakes
hills
crust
colliding
hotspots
landforms
plateau
mountains
valleys
plates
Earth
glacier
uplifting
wind
STUDENT OBJECTIVES
After viewing the program and completing the follow-up
activities, students should be able to:
• Explain how plates move and their effect on Earth's surface.
• Identify different landforms such as mountains, valleys,
canyons, and cliffs.
• Explain how erosion and uplifting create different landforms.
• Explain the period of time it takes for these processes to
change Earth's surface.
• Identify the meaning of key vocabulary words in relation
to the make-up of Earth.
6
VIEW THE PROGRAM
Running Time: 10.5 minutes
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Blackline Master #2, Discussion Questions, are useful
both before and after the program has been viewed by the
students. By discussing prior to viewing the program, you
may assess the students' comprehension and misgivings
before beginning the lesson. Discussion Questions can
be presented to the whole class or given to small groups
to research and report back to the class. Students should
be encouraged to creatively present the information they
have learned. For example, they could create a game, do
a dramatization, a news show, PowerPoint® presentation
with visuals, design a timeline, write a story and read it to
the class. By providing creative solutions that encourage
teamwork, research skills, and options for presentations,
the more excited and interested the students will become.
Answers can be found in the Answer Key section of this
guide.
DESCRIPTION OF BLACKLINE MASTERS
Blackline Master #1, Pre-Test/Anticipation Guide, is a
pre-assessment tool intended to gauge student comprehension of the objectives prior to viewing the program.
Blackline Master #2, Discussion Questions, are useful
both before and after the program has been viewed by the
students. By discussing prior to viewing the program, you
may assess the students' comprehension and misgivings
before beginning the lesson. Discussion Questions can
be presented to the whole class or given to small groups
7
to research and report back to the class. Students should
be encouraged to creatively present the information they
have learned. For example, they could create a game, do
a dramatization, a news show, PowerPoint® presentation
with visuals, design a timeline, write a story and read it to
the class.
Blackline Master #3, Video Quiz, is intended to reinforce
the key concepts of the program immediately following
the presentation of the program. The Video Quiz can be
used as a tool to outline salient points before viewing the
program.
Blackline Master #4, Vocabulary Graphing, is a vocabulary activity that focuses on the following vocabulary
words: erosion, landforms, uplifting, plates, gravity, and
plumes. Present the vocabulary words to the students
after viewing the program. Then pass out copies of
Blackline Master #4, Vocabulary Graphing. Instruct
students to complete a graph for each word.
Blackline Master #5, Graphic Organizer, is an activity
that can be completed after the program is viewed, discussion questions are answered and the video quiz has
been completed and discussed. Students are asked to fill
the graphic organizer in with information they learned
from the program. Once they have put forth their best
effort, they are allowed to go ask two students for their
input or use other classroom resources.
Blackline Master #6, Landforms Cloze Activity, is a
comprehension activity. Students are given a passage
relating to the information viewed in the program. The
passage has blank space in which the students are to fill
in missing words.
8
Blackline Master #7, Post-Test, is an assessment tool to
be administered after viewing the program and completing additional activities. The results of this assessment
can be compared to the results of the Pre-Test/
Anticipation Guide to determine the change in student
comprehension before and after participation in this lesson.
Blackline Master #8, Make a Volcano, is an activity in
which students can actually build their own volcano.
Materials: salt dough, plastic soda bottle, baking pan, red
food coloring, liquid detergent, baking soda, and vinegar.
EXTENDED LEARNING ACTIVITIES
SCIENCE EXTENSIONS: Make a volcano, Blackline
Master #8, Make a Volcano
ART CONNECTIONS: Instruct students to pick a landform identified in the program. Have them illustrate it and
explain on an index card how that landform was created.
MATH CONNECTION: Instruct students to research different mountain ranges around the world. Compare their
heights. Have students create graphs representing the
information they discovered.
CREATIVE WRITING CONNECTION: Instruct students to
write a historical fiction short story from the perspective of
a child who recently survived a volcano or earthquake.
Encourage students to use library resources, such as old
papers, to research the most recent event that has happened around the world.
SOCIAL STUDIES CONNECTION: Students can
research different parts of the world that are affected by
plates moving. Instruct them to include its effects on people who live in the area, the economy, and their way of living.
TECHNOLOGY CONNECTION: Create a scavenger hunt
for students to find answers on the web.
9
ANSWER KEY
Blackline Master #1, Anticipation Guide
1. True
2. False, they are created mainly through the natural
processes of erosion and uplifting.
3. True
4. False, plumes are giant bubbles of extra hot heat
rising from deep within Earth.
5. True
6. True
7. False, erosion is caused by wind, water, and gravity.
8. False, water has a lot of energy.
9. True
10. True
11. True
Blackline Master #2, Discussion Questions
1. Brainstorm a list of landforms in the area in which you
live as well as around the world.
A: Answers may vary. Make a list for students to view and
possibly use for extended activities.
2. How are these landforms created?
A: Answers may vary. Students should discuss how it is
a natural process. Answers from after viewing the program should include uplifting, erosion, and glaciers.
3. Has anyone ever studied or visited Yellowstone
National Park? What was unique about the landforms in
this park?
A: There are geysers, hotspots, plateau, and plumes.
4. What is a plume?
A: A plume is a giant bubble of extra hot heat rising up
from deep within Earth.
5. Describe the Earth's crust.
A: The crust surrounds Earth, protecting us from Earth's
inner heat, as well as providing us with a hard surface on
10
which to live. It is broken into roughly 20 plates that move
in various directions at an extremely slow rate.
6. What forces the plates to move around?
A: Inner heat rising to Earth's surface forces these plates
to move.
7. When plates collide, what type of landforms can be created?
A: When plates tilt upwards they create mountains. When
plates tilt down, mountain valleys can be made.
8. How can geologists help people who live in areas that
plates are known to be moving?
A: Answers may vary. Geologists can predict when plates
may move in a dangerous direction (earthquake). They
can also predict the eruption of volcanoes.
9. What is erosion?
A: Erosion transports rock and soil. Both wind and water
are responsible for erosion. Water is the main mover.
10. How does erosion help shape our landscape?
A: Erosion can flatten land, create rock towers, steep valleys, and more.
11. How does gravity help erosion?
A: Gravity pulls everything towards the ground. Gravity
helps water and wind carry material form high areas to
low areas.
12. What are glaciers?
A: Glaciers are great sheets of moving ice.
13. How have glaciers changed Earth's landscape?
A: More than 10,000 years ago, glaciers traveled from the
poles and scraped the land flat as they moved. They left
behind countless lakes.
14. Explain how long it takes to form a mountain or valley.
A: Answers may vary. It is important for students to understand that it is a long process.
15. What do you imagine Earth looking like in another
10,000 years?
A: Answers will vary. Encourage students to use their scientific minds. Think of Earth's landscape and use what
they have learned from the program.
11
Blackline Master #3, Video Quiz
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. False
5. True
Blackline Master #4, Vocabulary Mapping
It is suggested that this activity is modeled for students
prior to asking them to complete it independently. Look for
logical connections and complete sentences.
Use the vocabulary word in two original sentences.
synonyms
antonyms
moving
transportation
stagnant
still
erosion
word
noun
parts of speech
exam ples
her forms
ot
A river bank erodes
erosive
erode
into the river.
Illustrate the word here.
12
Blackline Master #5, Graphic Organizer
Students should use landforms identified in the program
and discussed during Discussion Questions.
Resources should be made available to the students to
find the location of different landforms.
Landform
plateau
How is it formed?
a plume pushing land up
Where can it
be found?
Yellowstone
National Park
Blackline Master #6, Cloze
Geologists say landforms result mostly from two processes. One is uplifting, which raises land. The second is erosion, a process that carries away land. The energy for
uplifting starts as heat from the middle of Earth and reaches the crust. The heat creates bulges in the crust. These
bulges start with giant bubbles of extra hot heat rising
from deep within Earth, called plumes. Plumes push so
hard against a plate they create a bulge. The inner heat
also causes the plates to move. Some plates pull away
and others collide. Pieces of land that tilt up create mountains. Pieces of land that tilt down can create mountain
valleys. Erosion works with gravity to move rock or soil,
transporting materials downhill. Erosion can form steep
valleys or flatten land. Glaciers have also helped form the
land on Earth. As it moved slowly more than 10,000
years ago, land was flattened and lakes were created.
Landforms around us will change the future because erosion and uplifting are ongoing processes. It is an endless
cycle, what goes up must come down.
Blackline Master #7, Post-Test
1. Plates move from the heat rising from the inner core of
Earth. This heat energy moves plates slowly. Plates can
collide and pull away from one another.
2. flat land
13
3. True
4. Plate edges crinkle, twist, and break. Pieces of land
that tilt up create mountains. Pieces that tilt down can
create valleys.
5. moving rock or soil
6. both A and B
7. Erosion carries rock and soil downhill. Wind and
water can cause erosion, but water is the main force.
Water can carry away material, lubricate rock and soil so
they slide, and dissolve rock and soil. Erosion can create steep valleys, interesting rock formations, and flattens land.
8. False
9. lakes
10. Answers will vary.
INTERNET SITES
For Teachers:
US Geological Survey, Education
http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/index.htm
K-12 website, dedicated to lifelong learning about the
earth. This site has specific examples of the three types
of rocks presented in the program. There are sections for
teachers, students and explorers.
Exploring the Environment
www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/rock.html
Exploring the Environment™ (ETE). The ETE online
series, which features an integrated approach to environmental earth science through modules and activities, is
developed at the NASA Classroom of the Future™. Has
a section on plate tectonics.
14
For Students:
US Geological Survey, Education
http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/students/index.htm
K-12 website, dedicated to lifelong learning about the
earth. This site has specific examples of the layers of
Earth, the history of Earth, volcanoes, earthquakes and
more. There are sections for teachers, students and
explorers.
The Museum of Innovation
http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/quakes/his
tory/
This is an awesome site with an online museum. This site
provides simple explanations about the make-up of Earth.
Great earthquake information.
Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/pl
anets/earth/
There are science pages and activities that provide a lot
of information about the inside of Earth, plates, movements, and more.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Rocks and Minerals, Challoner, J., & Walshaw, R. New
York: Anness Publishing Limited, 2000. ISBN: 0-75480457-7.
This book discusses the inside of Earth. It also provides
easy to follow science experiments with rocks and minerals. Excellent visual presentations.
Rocks & Minerals, Eyewitness Books, London: Dorling
Kingdersley, 1988. ISBN 0-394-89621-1.
This book covers all types of rocks, as well as the inside
of Earth. This book has interesting pictures of each type
of rock and easy-to-understand text as well.
15
Geology Crafts for Kids, Anderson, A., Diehn, G., and
Krautwurst, T, New York: Sterling Publishing Company,
1996. ISBN 0-8069-8156-3.
This is a fun book that can enhance any study of geology.
The crafts are clearly explained, visual cues, and interesting information presented with each craft.
I Can Be a Geologist, Sipiera, Paul, Chicago: Childrens
Press, 1986. ISBN 0-516-01897-3.
This is easy-to-read book discusses the different types of
geologists and what their specific jobs are.
Exploring Soil and Rocks, Catherall, Ed. Austin, Texas:
Steck-Vaughn Co., 1990. ISBN 0-8114-2595-9.
This book covers the concepts presented in this program,
along with easy to follow experiments.
Rocks and Minerals, Shaffer, Paul & Zim, Herbert,
Racine, Wisconsin: Western Publishing Co, INC., 1957.
ISBN 0-307-63502-3.
This is an old book but is a valuable resource for the
classroom. The book provides pictures of different rocks
along with detailed descriptions. It is a good resource to
that can help students identify rocks and minerals.
Make it Work! Earth, Baker, Wendy & Haslam, Andrew,
New York: Thomas Learning, 1992. ISBN 1-56847-468-7.
This hands-on text has experiments that are easy to follow with excellent pictures. There are great lessons on
Earth's layers, shifting plates and how to make a volcano.
Atlas of Earth, by Stace, Alexa, Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
Cartographic Publishers Ltd., 1999. ISBN 0-8368-2505-5.
This is a good resource to have handy in the classroom.
It is an oversized book with excellent graphics and photos
of Earth. Earth movements, building mountains, and volcanoes are discussed.
16
SCRIPT OF NARRATION
Land around us is rarely flat. Valleys and hills roll out into
the distance. Strange rock shapes tower overhead.
Steep cliffs challenge our footing. We call these hills, valleys, canyons, and other natural features of Earth's surface landforms.
What causes the surface of Earth to be so varied, to have
mountains, valleys, and so many other remarkable
shapes?
Geologists, scientists who study Earth from its soil to center, say landforms result mostly from just two processes.
One is uplifting. Uplifting raises land. Mountains are
uplifted. The second is erosion. Erosion carries land
away. This canyon and this plain are both results of erosion. How do uplifting and erosion work?
Uplifting
All the bulldozers in the world would have trouble making
just a single mountain range, but Earth has mountains
and hills almost everywhere. Where does Earth get the
energy to uplift mountain ranges?
Energy for uplifting starts as heat in the middle of Earth,
where temperatures reach thousands of degrees. Earth
is hottest at its center and cools slightly towards the crust.
The crust is a thin shell of solid rock that gives our planet
a hard surface and protects us from its inner heat.
Sometimes the inner heat creates bulges in the crust. A
bulge starts with a giant bubble of extra hot heat rising
from deep within Earth. The bubble, called a plume, may
push hard enough against the plate to uplift part of it. One
such plume lies below Yellowstone National Park. Heat
seeping from it helps create the parks famous hotspots
17
and geysers. The park sits on a bulge called a plateau,
or platform of raised land, that has been uplifted from the
surrounding countryside by the plume.
Millions of years ago the plume also burst through the
crust, creating volcanoes that covered huge areas with
thick layers of lava. The lava, which quickly hardened into
rock, added even more height to the plateau.
Rising internal heat not only causes bulges, it moves
huge pieces of crust. Earth's crust is broken into about 20
pieces called plates. Heat currents slowly move the
plates in various directions. We cannot feel the plates
move because they travel so slowly, about half the length
of a pencil per year.
Some plates pull away from one another, others collide.
Over millions of years colliding plate edges crinkle, twist
and break just like fenders in a car wreck. While this goes
on, earthquakes are common. Pieces of land that tilt up
create mountains. Pieces that tilt down can make mountain valleys.
Plates collide in several places around the world right
now, including along the west coast of North America and
in central Asia where the Himalayas push skyward. The
Himalayas grow taller about an inch/2.5 centimeters per
century.
Together, hot plumes, volcanoes, and moving plates have
uplifted a large portion of the planet in the recent or distant past.
Erosion
No matter how land gets uplifted, as soon as it rises, it
gets attacked by the second major land shaping process,
erosion. Erosion transports - or moves - rock and soil.
18
Most erosion results from three causes: wind, water, and
ice. Wind erodes by picking up and carrying loose soil.
Dust storms are wind erosion in progress. Wind blown
sand also grinds even the hardest surfaces, such as
rocks.
Water is erosion's most active force. Water pushes
pieces of rock and soil ranging in size from tiny specs of
mud to huge boulders. Water also lubricates rock and soil
so they simply slide down. Water even weathers, or
breaks down, rocks to carry them away. A single drop of
water is gentle, but billions of drops have huge power.
Water is always helped by gravity. Together, water and
gravity transport materials downhill, in the opposite direction of uplifting.
Ice helps erosion in a couple of ways. First, it breaks
rocks into smaller pieces that are easier to move.
More importantly ice forms glaciers, which are huge
sheets of moving ice. As recently as 10,000 years ago,
glaciers several miles or kilometers thick reached far from
the poles. They acted like immense bulldozers, scraping
everything flat, and moving huge amounts soil and rock.
The effects of these heavy sheets of ice are visible today.
Huge areas still remain flat. In other places, stand hills
called moraines that got left behind when glaciers
dumped the soil and rocks they carried. Glaciers also
created countless lakes, including the five Great Lakes.
Small glaciers still survive in some of the world's coldest
areas.
At first, erosion may seem to make land rugged.
Landforms we see here have been carved by erosion.
19
But over time, erosion flattens land. Erosion transports
material from high places and deposits - or drops - it in
low areas. Mountains erode down, valleys fill up.
Eventually, if it were not for uplifting, erosion would level
the Earth to a flat surface.
Conclusion
Landforms around us will change in the future because
uplifting and erosion never stop working. The middle of
Earth will send heat to the crust for billions of years more,
and all the while the crust will fold, move and break.
Gravity and water will continue to erode all land that is not
flat. And the two forces of uplifting and erosion will work
together to form an endless cycle, where what goes up
must come down.
Questions: True or False
1. Energy for uplifting starts as heat in the middle of Earth.
2. Colliding plates can uplift mountains.
3. Erosion transports rock and soil.
4. Water is the only cause of erosion.
5. Uplifting and erosion will take place in the world tomorrow.
20
1
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Pre-Test/Anticipation Guide
Directions: Circle the best answer to the following questions before viewing the program. Don't
worry; you may not know all of the answers. The answers will be reviewed following the program.
1. Canyons are one type of landform.
True
False
2. Landforms are created only by people.
True
False
3. Heat rising from Earth's center creates bulges in Earth's surface.
True
False
4. Plumes are fun favors you get at a party.
True
False
5. Yellowstone National Park lies on top of a plume.
True
False
6. Plates collide in North America and central Asia.
True
False
7. Erosion is caused by plates colliding.
True
False
8. Water is not very forceful.
True
False
9. Erosion can flatten land.
True
False
10. Glaciers acted like giant bulldozers thousands of years ago.
True
False
11. What goes up must come down.
True
False
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.
2
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Discussion Questions
Directions: Research and report back to the class. Creatively present the information you have
learned. For example, you could create a game, do a dramatization, a news show, PowerPoint®
presentation with visuals, design a timeline, or write a story and read it to class.
1. Brainstorm a list of landforms in the area in which you live, as well as around the world.
2. How are these landforms created?
3. Has anyone ever studied or visited Yellowstone National Park? What was unique about the landforms in this park?
4. What is a plume?
5. Describe the Earth's crust.
6. What forces the plates to move around?
7. When plates collide, what type of landforms can be created?
8. How can geologists help people who live in areas that plates are known to be moving?
9. What is erosion?
10. How does erosion help shape our landscape?
11. How does gravity help erosion?
12. What are glaciers?
13. How have glaciers changed Earth's landscape?
14. Explain how long it takes to form a mountain or valley.
15. What do you imagine Earth looking like in another 10,000 years?
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.
3
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Video Quiz
Directions: Now that you have learned so much from viewing Why Land Goes Up and Down, it is
now time to test what you have learned. Answer each question by circling the correct response
by circling either true or false. Do your best!
1. Earth's thin shell of hard rock is called the crust.
True
False
2. The asthenosphere has soft rock that lacks strength.
True
False
3. Both layers of the mantle are mostly rock; both layers of the core are metal.
True
False
4. The middle of Earth is soft and spongy.
True
False
5. Heat rising from deep inside Earth can move the crust's plates.
True
False
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.
4
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Vocabulary Graphing
Directions: Use the information you learned in the program. (Use additional resources if you
need to.) Complete the graph by filling in each section correctly. Work neatly!
Use the vocabulary word in two original sentences.
tonyms
an
ny
syno ms
word
part of speech
mp
exa les
er forms
oth
Illustrate the word here.
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.
5
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Graphic Organizer
Directions: Complete the graphic organizer below by including landforms of your choice. Use
the information you learned in the program as well as classroom resources.
Landform
How is it formed?
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Where can it be
found?
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.
6
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Landforms Cloze Activity
Directions: Read the paragraph once, before filling in the blanks with key vocabulary words.
Once you have read it, fill in the blanks using the key vocabulary.
Key vocabulary: bubbles, bulges, energy, flatten, geologists, gravity, heat, lakes, mountains, ongoing,
processes, plates, plumes, uplifting, valleys.
_________ say landforms result mostly from two ___________. One is ________, which raises land.
The second is erosion, a process that carries away land. The __________ for uplifting starts as
________ from the middle of Earth reaches the crust. The heat creates __________ in the crust.
These bulges start with giant __________ of extra hot heat rising from deep within Earth, called plumes.
_________ push so hard against a plate they create a bulge. The inner heat also causes the
____________ to move. Some plates pull away and others collide. Pieces of land that tilt up create
___________. Pieces of land that tilt down can create mountain _________. Erosion works with
__________ to move rock or soil, transporting materials downhill. Erosion can form steep valleys or
___________ land. Glaciers have also helped form the land on Earth. As it moved slowly more than
10,000 years ago, land was flattened and _________ were created. Landforms around us will change
the future because erosion and uplifting are ___________ processes. It is an endless cycle, what goes
up must come down.
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.
7
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Post-Test
Directions: Answer the following questions with your best effort. All written answers should be
in complete sentences.
1. Explain how plates move?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. Which of the following are not landforms:
A) lakes
B) mountains
C) flat land
D) geysers
3. The core of Earth is extremely hot.
A) True
B) False
4. Explain how plates moving can create landforms.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. Erosion is the process of
A) moving rock or soil.
B) uplifting land.
6. Uplifting can create which of the following:
A) mountains
B) valleys
C) both A and B
C) the current in a river.
D) neither A nor B
7. Explain how erosion works and how it can change the surface of Earth.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
8. Landforms are created quickly.
A) True
B) False
9. Glaciers created
A)
mountains.
B) lakes.
C) rivers.
10. Choose one landform and explain how it was created.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.
8
Name ____________________
GEOLOGIST’S NOTEBOOK
WHY LAND GOES UP AND DOWN
Make a Volcano
Materials:
salt dough: 6 cups flour, 2 cups salt, 4 tablespoons oil, 2 cups warm water
plastic soda bottle (one liter)
9" X 9" baking pan
red food coloring (a few drops)
liquid detergent (6 drops)
baking soda (2 tablespoons)
vinegar (2-8 ounces)
Directions: Now we're going to get a little messy. In this experiment you will build a real working
volcano. After mixing just the right amount of ingredients together, add the final item to make
your volcano spew red lava down the sides.
1. First you need to create the "salt dough." Mix the ingredients a large bowl. Work the ingredients with
your hands until smooth and firm. Add more water to the mixture if needed.
2. Stand the soda bottle in the baking pan. Mold the salt dough around the bottle making sure you don't
cover up the bottle mouth or drop any dough into the bottle. Take your time on this step and build your
volcano with as much detail as you like.
3. Fill the bottle most of the way with warm water mixed with a little of the red food coloring.
4. Put six drops of the liquid detergent into the bottle.
5. Add two tablespoons of baking soda.
6. Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle and jump back quickly!
Notice the red "lava" that flows out of your volcano. This happens because of the baking soda and vinegar mixture. Mixing baking soda and vinegar produces a chemical reaction in which carbon dioxide gas is
created - the same gas that bubbles in a real volcano. The gas bubbles build in the bottle, forcing the liquid "lava" mixture from the bottle and down the sides of your volcano.
© 2003 Maslowski Wildlife Productions
Published and Distributed by United Learning
All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution.