As a High School or Undergraduate Geography or Earth Sciences teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to teach about landforms. This lesson plan focuses on glaciers, glacier lakes and climate change induced glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
Use this lesson plan to teach your students about the formation and characteristics of glaciers, types of glaciers, and the effect of climate change on glaciers. Global warming is causing glaciers to melt rapidly, resulting in larger volumes of water accumulating in glacier lakes. In time, these glacier lakes burst their morainic banks resulting in GLOFs that cause widespread damage downstream of the glaciers. Globally, there are many potential hotspots for GLOFs. This lesson plan includes resources to show how the Himalayan country of Bhutan has been affected by climate change induced GLOFs and their methods of adaptation to avert disaster.
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 by Tshering Wangchuk (Dechencholing Higher Secondary School); Sangay Jamtho (Lungtenzampa Middle Secondary School); Zangmo, Tshering Pelden, and Tashi Choden (Changzamtog Middle Secondary School); and Sonal Choden and Munna Tamang (Rinchen Higher Secondary School), Bhutan.
Want to know more about how to contribute? Contact us.
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.
Video (12 min)
Use the video Types of Landforms by Learn Bright to define landforms, different types and characteristics. Use the links provided in the reading to introduce your students to landforms such as valleys, plateaus, mountains, plains, hills, loess, and glaciers.
Reading (20-30 min)
Use this reading, ‘All About Glaciers’ by National Snow & Ice Data Center, to teach your students about different aspects of glaciers. Use the tabs on the left side of the text box to navigate to different topics like how glaciers are formed, the components of a glacier, and the types of glaciers. Discuss with your students how glaciers affect people and what the dangers associated with them are. Finally, navigate to the section on ‘glaciers and climate change’ to explain to your students how warming temperatures have resulted in rapid melting of glaciers. Discuss how retreating glaciers have been documented using satellite imagery in various regions of the Himalayas, for example, the Gangotri Glacier. Explain how glacier lakes are formed due to meltwater from glaciers that gets accumulated behind fragile morainic banks at the snout of the glacier. Describe how increased snowmelt from glaciers greatly raises the level of accumulated water in glacial lakes, adding pressure to the morainic banks that are vulnerable to breaking down and causing GLOFs. Use the text to discuss the devastation caused by recent cases of GLOFs in Huaraz, Peru; Uttarakhand, India; and Lemthang Tsho, Bhutan.
Video (~6 min)
Use the video, ‘GEF -Bhutan: Silent Tsunami’ (up to 5.45 min) by Global Environment Facility to explain to your students the perceived threat of GLOFs for a largely mountainous Himalayan country like Bhutan. Use the tool to discuss past occurrences of GLOFs and the possible destruction of resources, infrastructure and livelihoods due to sudden GLOFs in the future. Use the video to discuss the urgent need for preemptive action against the buildup of glacier lake meltwater levels and explain how Bhutan has enlisted the help of international organizations to adapt to this need for action against the effects of climate change. Explain the disaster management strategies of installing early-warning systems like waterlevel sensors in remote glacial locations and the early release of water from the glacier lakes that show dangerous levels of snowmelt accumulation
Classroom/Laboratory Activity (15 min)
Use this simulation, ‘Glaciers’ by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado, Boulder, to explore how environmental conditions such as temperature and precipitation affect the thickness, velocity and the glacial mass budget of glaciers.
NOTE: This simulation is available in several languages.
Encourage your students to vary these conditions and measure changes in the glacier using the instruments from the built-in toolbox. Use the inbuilt graphs to enable your students to visualize changes in glacier-length over time, the equilibrium line altitude against time, the glacial budget against elevation and air temperature against elevation. Use the sample learning goals to encourage discussion on the given points and enhance student understanding of the topic of impact of temperature and precipitation on the dynamics and nature of glaciers. Discuss how this is related to real-life scenarios of effect of climate change induced variations in global temperatures and precipitation patterns on glaciation globally.
Optional: Use the ‘Teacher-submitted Activities’ under the tab ‘For Teachers’ to explore more activities using this simulation. This will require a login/registration to access the teacher submitted activity plans
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Reading | A resource that gives details of the UNDP-supported project, ‘Reducing Climate Change-induced Risks from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Bhutan’ by the Royal Government of Bhutan. This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Reading; “Types of Landforms” | By Learn Bright |
| 2 | Reading; “All About Glaciers” | By National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIC). |
| 3 | Video; “GEF -Bhutan: Silent Tsunami” | By the Global Environment Facility (GEF). |
| 4 | Classroom/Laboratory Activity; “Glaciers” | Developed by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado, Boulder |
| 5 | Additional Resources | A reading, ‘Reducing Climate Change-induced Risks from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Bhutan’ by the Royal Government of Bhutan. Supported |
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 (10 min)
Use the reading, ‘Landforms’ by Southern Kings Consolidated School, Prince Edward Island, Canada, to define landforms, different types and
characteristics. Use the links provided in the reading to introduce your students to landforms such as valleys, plateaus, mountains, plains, hills,
loess, and glaciers. Click on ‘Games’ at the top of the page to enable your students to test their knowledge about basic physical features of the
earth
Reading (20-30 min)
Use this reading, ‘All About Glaciers’ by National Snow & Ice Data Center, to teach your students about different aspects of glaciers. Use the tabs
on the left side of the text box to navigate to different topics like how glaciers are formed, the components of a glacier, and the types of glaciers.
Discuss with your students how glaciers affect people and what the dangers associated with them are. Finally, navigate to the section on
‘glaciers and climate change’ to explain to your students how warming temperatures have resulted in rapid melting of glaciers. Discuss how
retreating glaciers have been documented using satellite imagery in various regions of the Himalayas, for example, the Gangotri Glacier. Explain
how glacier lakes are formed due to meltwater from glaciers that gets accumulated behind fragile morainic banks at the snout of the glacier.
Describe how increased snowmelt from glaciers greatly raises the level of accumulated water in glacial lakes, adding pressure to the morainic
banks that are vulnerable to breaking down and causing GLOFs. Use the text to discuss the devastation caused by recent cases of GLOFs in
Huaraz, Peru; Uttarakhand, India; and Lemthang Tsho, Bhutan.
Video (~6 min)
Use the video, ‘GEF -Bhutan: Silent Tsunami’ (up to 5.45 min) by Global Environment Facility to explain to your students the perceived threat of
GLOFs for a largely mountainous Himalayan country like Bhutan. Use the tool to discuss past occurrences of GLOFs and the possible destruction
of resources, infrastructure and livelihoods due to sudden GLOFs in the future. Use the video to discuss the urgent need for preemptive action
against the buildup of glacier lake meltwater levels and explain how Bhutan has enlisted the help of international organizations to adapt to this
need for action against the effects of climate change. Explain the disaster management strategies of installing early-warning systems like waterlevel sensors in remote glacial locations and the early release of water from the glacier lakes that show dangerous levels of snowmelt
accumulation
Classroom/Laboratory Activity (15 min)
Use this simulation, ‘Glaciers’ by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado, Boulder, to explore how environmental conditions such as
temperature and precipitation affect the thickness, velocity and the glacial mass budget of glaciers.
NOTE: This simulation is available in several languages.
Encourage your students to vary these conditions and measure changes in the glacier using the instruments from the built-in toolbox. Use the inbuilt graphs to enable your students to visualize changes in glacier-length over time, the equilibrium line altitude against time, the glacial budget
against elevation and air temperature against elevation. Use the sample learning goals to encourage discussion on the given points and enhance
student understanding of the topic of impact of temperature and precipitation on the dynamics and nature of glaciers. Discuss how this is
related to real-life scenarios of effect of climate change induced variations in global temperatures and precipitation patterns on glaciation
globally.
Optional: Use the ‘Teacher-submitted Activities’ under the tab ‘For Teachers’ to explore more activities using this simulation. This will require a
login/registration to access the teacher submitted activity plans
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 | A policy document, ‘Global Lake Outburst Flood’ by the Department of Disaster Management, Royal Government of Bhutan that describes the strategies employed in Bhutan to reduce the risk of GLOFs in susceptible areas. This can be accessed here. |
| 2 | Reading | A resource that gives details of the UNDP-supported project, ‘Reducing Climate Change-induced Risks from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Bhutan’ by the Royal Government of Bhutan. This can be accessed here. |
| 3 | Reading | An article, ‘First global analysis of the societal impacts of glacier floods’ by Sam Inglis, GlacierHub, that describes the results of a study on the impacts of GLOFs on people world-wide. This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Reading; “Landforms” | By Southern Kings Consolidated School, Prince Edward Island, Canada. |
| 2 | Reading; “All About Glaciers” | By National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIC). |
| 3 | Video; “GEF -Bhutan: Silent Tsunami” | By the Global Environment Facility (GEF). |
| 4 | Classroom/Laboratory Activity; “Glaciers” | Developed by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado, Boulder |
| 5 | Additional Resources | A policy document, ‘Global Lake Outburst Flood’ by the Department of Disaster Management, Royal Government of Bhutan A reading, ‘Reducing Climate Change-induced Risks from Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Bhutan’ by the Royal Government of Bhutan. Supported An article, ‘First global analysis of the societal impacts of glacier floods’ by Sam Inglis, GlacierHub. |
