Sculpted by Floods Learning Resource Guide Overview: KSPS s Sculpted by Floods tells the story of the ice age floods in the Pacific Northwest. It is a story of the earth's power, scientific discovery and human nature - one touted by enthusiasts as the greatest story left untold. During the last ice age, floods flowing with ten times the volume of all the world's current rivers combined inundated the Northwest. What they left behind was a unique landscape that citizens of the Pacific Northwest call home. Subjects: Earth Science, Geology, History, Pacific Northwest History Grade Levels: 6-8 Materials: Lesson handouts, laptops/computers Learning Guide Objectives: Define the following vocabulary terms and use them orally and in writing: glacier, flood, cataracts, landform, canyon, dam. Analyze how floods can create landforms and shape a region s landscape, using the Missoula Floods as a case study. Next Generation Science Standards MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth s surface at varying time and spatial scales. Washington State History Standards EALR 4: HISTORY: 3.1. Understands the physical characteristics, cultural characteristics, and location of places, regions, and spatial patterns on the Earth s surface Common Core English Language Arts Anchor & Literacy in History/Social Studies Standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
Lessons & Handouts
Before the Film 1. Warm-up Mapping Activity: Students locate and color Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana on a U.S. map that displays landforms. Tell students where Missoula, Montana is located and have them label the city on the map. Next, students answer the following questions about the landform map and share their responses with a partner: What do you notice about the map? What things do the four states have in common? Why do you think they have these things in common? Do you think the geological features of these states were formed quickly or slowly? 2. Vocabulary: Ask students if they are familiar with landforms in the region (i.e., Palouse Falls, Lake Missoula, Grand Coulee, etc.). Explain that the class will soon watch segments from a documentary entitled Sculpted by Floods and explore how glaciers formed during the last ice age period and the floods they caused helped shape the landforms of the Pacific Northwest. Add that before viewing the documentary, the class will define and analyze key vocabulary terms. Using classroom dictionaries and/or online dictionaries, students complete vocabulary charts to preview and define six key vocabulary words: glacier, flood, cataracts, landform, canyon, dam. To extend this activity, have students create posters of their vocabulary charts and post them around the room for students to refer to in future lessons. 3. Pair Reading: In pairs, students read Background on Glacial Missoula, an informational text from the Montana Natural History Center. Afterward, they write 5 important facts they learned. Students then share their findings in a class discussion, novel ideas only. Write students findings on a chart paper or flip chart and post in the room for future reference. 4. Wrap-up: On sticky notes, students write the most interesting/important thing they learned in today s lesson.
Name: Date: Sculpted by Floods: Before the Film A. Warm-up: Mapping Activity Below is a landforms map of the United States. Locate the following states and color them red: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. In Montana, label the city of Missoula. 1. What do notice about this map? 2. What do the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana seem to have in common?
3. Why do you think they have these things in common? 4. Do you think the geological features of these states were formed quickly or slowly? B. Vocabulary For each vocabulary word below, complete a vocabulary analysis chart. After, write a definition of each vocabulary word in your own words. 1. Glacier: 2. Flood: 3. Landform: 4. Cataract: 5. Canyon: 6. Dam: C. Pair Reading Read Background on Glacial Lake Missoula with your partner. Then, write 5 important facts.
Name: Date: Vocabulary Charts
Name: Date: Vocabulary Charts
During the Film Provide students with laptops or computers. In pairs, students view the video segments for Sculpted by Floods and work together to complete the comprehension questions. Encourage students to view the segments multiple times if needed to form their responses. Rather than having pair groups answer all questions, you could have groups focus on a specific number of questions. They could then share their responses with groups who answered a different set of questions. Comprehension Questions 1. When did the last ice age occur? (12-15,000 years ago) 2. At its peak, how many cubic miles of water did Glacial lake Missoula hold? (520 cubic miles of water) 3. With how much force did the flood waters of Glacial Lake Missoula burst through the valley above Lake Pend Oreille? (Ten times greater than all the world s present rivers combined) 4. How high did the flood waters rise? What did the waters look like? (2,200 feet, dirty filled with sediment, ice, & jumbles of rock) 5. Where did the flood waters crash through? How many miles of land did this cover? (Northern Idaho, Washington, Columbia Gorge, Portland, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Vancouver, Oregon, Astoria, Oregon to the Pacific Ocean; 1,000 miles) 6. What are three specific ways that the ice age floods left a unique signature on the landscape of the Northwest? (Creation of cataracts, carving of new channels, creation of dry falls, quarried gullies and canyons i.e., the Grand Coulee). 7. Who was J Harlen Bretz? What theory did he develop? 8. Why didn t Bretz s colleagues support his theory? 9. In geology, what is the difference between uniformitarianism and catastrophism? What category did Bretz s theory fall under? 10. Who was Joseph Pardee? How is he connected to J Harlen Bretz and the story of the Missoula ice age floods? 11. How long did it take for Bretz s theory of the floods to be accepted in the scientific community? Why did it take so long for the scientific community to accept his theory? 12. Based on your viewing of Sculpted by Floods, describe how Glacial Lake Missoula caused the flooding in the Pacific Northwest and shaped the region s landforms.
Name: Date: Sculpted by Floods: During the Film Comprehension Questions 1. When did the last ice age occur? 2. At its peak, how many cubic miles of water did Glacial lake Missoula hold? 3. With how much force did the flood waters of Glacial Lake Missoula burst through the valley above Lake Pend Oreille? 4. How high did the flood waters rise? What did the waters look like? 5. Where did the flood waters crash through? How many miles of land did this cover? 6. What are three specific ways that the ice age floods left a unique signature on the landscape of the Northwest? 1. 2. 3.
7. Who was J Harlen Bretz? What theory did he develop? 8. Why didn t Bretz s colleagues support his theory? 9. In geology, what is the difference between uniformitarianism and catastrophism? What category did Bretz s theory fall under? 10. Who was Joseph Pardee? How is he connected to J Harlen Bretz and the story of the Missoula ice age floods? 11. How long did it take for Bretz s theory of the floods to be accepted in the scientific community? Why did it take so long for the scientific community to accept his theory? 12. Based on your viewing of Sculpted by Floods, describe how Glacial Lake Missoula caused the flooding in the Pacific Northwest and shaped the region s landforms.
After the Film Suggested Activities 1. NOVA classroom activity: In this activity from PBS NOVA, students will use everyday items to calculate the length, width, height, and speed of different features related to the Spokane Flood. 2. Timeline: Students create a timeline that includes the ice ages that occurred during 1) the late Proterozoic (between about 800 and 600 million years ago), 2) the Pennsylvanian and Permian (between about 350 and 250 million years ago), and 3) the late Tertiary and Quaternary periods of the Cenozoic era (the past 4 million years). For additional context, have students include the age of dinosaurs and the ascent of humans on their time lines. 3. Compare and Contrast Essay: Students pick a scientist whose theory was initially rejected like J Harlen Bretz s. Students conduct further research on Bretz and their chosen scientist and compare and contrast the obstacles they faced in garnering support and approval for their theories. 4. Map poster: Working in small groups, students create a large map of Glacial Lake Missoula and the Ice Age Floods. The map should include the following: a. Compass: Indicating direction b. States: Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Canada c. Rocky Mountains, Lake Missoula, Clark Fork River, Bitterroot Mountains, Snake River, Cascade Range, Columbia Gorge, Pacific Ocean d. The Channeled Scablands e. Cordilleran Ice Sheet f. Ice Dam on Clark Fork River g. Color key h. Explanation of how the floods have not only shaped the landscape of the Pacific Northwest but how people live in these regions. 5. Ice Age Animals Research: Students research one or more animals from the last Ice Age. http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/ice_age_animals.html http://www.historylink.org/file/10746 https://uwaterloo.ca/earth-sciences-museum/resources/ice-age-mammals Students create a poster or Power Point presentation including the following information then present to the class. a. Picture of animal b. Name Animal c. Scientific name d. Animal s size (height, length and weight) e. Diet f. Habitat g. Behavior