As a High School or Undergraduate Geography or Earth Sciences teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to teach about mountains that comprise one of Earth’s major landforms and the factors that affect their climate.
This lesson plan will teach your students about geomorphic characteristics of mountains, orogeny- formation of mountains through tectonic processes in the Earth’s crust and enable them to describe different types of mountains (such as fold and fault-block mountains) and major mountain systems of the world. This lesson plan also includes a resource to explain how global climatic factors affect mountains and how mountains in turn, affect regional climate
Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Geography or Earth Sciences
The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:
Teacher-contributed lesson plan idea by Smita Kalvey, Vidya Valley School, Pune, India.
Want to know more about how to contribute? Contact us.
| Grade Level | High School, Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Geography, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Earth’s Layers, Earth’s Climate, Lithosphere, Orogeny, Tectonic Processes, Fold Mountains, Fault-Block Mountains, Volcanism, Crustal Shortening, Heating and Thermal Expansion, Alpine-Type Mountain Belts, Andean-Type Mountain Belts, Intracontinental Mountain Belts, Climate Factors: Latitude, Elevation and Continentality |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Lithosphere |
| Location | Global |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online / offline |
| Approximate Time Required | 50-60 min |
| Share | |
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Reading (25 min)
Use the reading, ‘Mountain- Landform’ by Peter H. Molnar, Encyclopedia Britannica, to introduce the topic of mountains and their geomorphic characteristics. Use the text to explain the tectonic processes that are involved in the formation and degradation of mountain belts. Describe different types of mountains such as fold and fault-block mountains giving suitable examples and explain the processes involved in their formation.
Video lecture (~23 min)
Play the video lecture, ‘Global Climate Drivers’ by Coursera to introduce your students to the role of mountains in global climatic conditions. Use the video lecture to first describe various global climate drivers such as the Hadley Cells and the Coriolis Force that can cause imbalances in 2 Step-by-step User Guide temperature, wind and precipitation on the Earth’s surface. Extend this understanding by using the lecture and the quoted examples to explain how factors such as latitude, elevation and continentality of mountains influence the climate of different regions across the globe. Discuss how these factors affect mountain climate and in turn, how regional or local climates are affected by mountain belts.
Reading (15 mins)
Use the reading, ‘Mountains and Climate Change- From Understanding to Action’, pages 68-70, by Thomas Kohler and Daniel Maselli, Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), Bern, to briefly discuss the global geo-physical, biological and socio- economic effects of climate change on mountains.
Use the tools and the concepts learned so far to discuss and determine answers to the following questions:
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Reading and Associated Video | A reading that describes fold mountains and includes an embedded video that shows how fold mountains are formed due to tectonic forces.
This can be accessed here. |
| 2 | Video | A song-based video that describes fold mountains and their characteristics.
This can be accessed here . |
| 3 | Video | A short film that shows the life cycle of mountains
This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Reading; ‘Mountain- Landform’ | By Peter H. Molnar, Encyclopedia Britannica . |
| 2 | Video lecture; ‘Global Climate Drivers’ | Part of the course ‘Mountains 101’, offered by University of Alberta. Hosted by Coursera. |
| 3 | Reading; ‘Mountains and Climate Change’ | Kohler T. and Maselli D. (eds) 2009. Mountains and Climate Change – From Understanding to Action. Published by Geographica Bernensia with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and an international team of contributors. Bern. This publication is available from the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, FAO. |
| 4 | Additional Resources | National Geographic |
| Grade Level | High School, Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Geography, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Orogeny, Tectonic Processes, Fold Mountains, Fault-Block Mountains, Volcanism, Crustal Shortening, Heating and Thermal Expansion, Alpine-Type Mountain Belts. Andean-Type Mountain Belts, Intracontinental Mountain Belts, Climate Factors- Latitude, Elevation and Continentality |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Lithosphere |
| Location | Global |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online / offline |
| Approximate Time Required | 50-60 min |
| Share | |
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Reading (25 min)
Use the reading, ‘Mountain- Landform’ by Peter H. Molnar, Encyclopedia Britannica, to introduce the topic of mountains and their geomorphic characteristics. Use the text to explain the tectonic processes that are involved in the formation and degradation of mountain belts. Describe different types of mountains such as fold and fault-block mountains giving suitable examples and explain the processes involved in their formation.
Video lecture (~23 min)
Play the video lecture, ‘Global Climate Drivers’ by Coursera to introduce your students to the role of mountains in global climatic conditions. Use the video lecture to first describe various global climate drivers such as the Hadley Cells and the Coriolis Force that can cause imbalances in 2 Step-by-step User Guide temperature, wind and precipitation on the Earth’s surface. Extend this understanding by using the lecture and the quoted examples to explain how factors such as latitude, elevation and continentality of mountains influence the climate of different regions across the globe. Discuss how these factors affect mountain climate and in turn, how regional or local climates are affected by mountain belts.
Reading (15 mins)
Use the reading, ‘Mountains and Climate Change- From Understanding to Action’, pages 68-70, by Thomas Kohler and Daniel Maselli, Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), Bern, to briefly discuss the global geo-physical, biological and socio- economic effects of climate change on mountains.
Use the tools and the concepts learned so far to discuss and determine answers to the following questions:
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Reading and Associated Video | A reading that describes fold mountains and includes an embedded video that shows how fold mountains are formed due to tectonic forces.
This can be accessed here. |
| 2 | Video | A song-based video that describes fold mountains and their characteristics.
This can be accessed here . |
| 3 | Video | A short film that shows the life cycle of mountains
This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Reading; ‘Mountain- Landform’ | By Peter H. Molnar, Encyclopedia Britannica . |
| 2 | Video lecture; ‘Global Climate Drivers’ | Part of the course ‘Mountains 101’, offered by University of Alberta. Hosted by Coursera. |
| 3 | Reading; ‘Mountains and Climate Change’ | Kohler T. and Maselli D. (eds) 2009. Mountains and Climate Change – From Understanding to Action. Published by Geographica Bernensia with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and an international team of contributors. Bern. This publication is available from the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, FAO. |
| 4 | Additional Resources | National Geographic |
