Glacial landforms resulting from erosion and deposition
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the characteristics and formation of glacial landforms.
Key learning points
- Glacial landscapes exhibit several distinctive landforms.
- Distinctive landforms formed due to erosion including corries, aretes, pyramidal peaks, truncated spurs, glacial troughs
- Distinctive landforms formed due to processes of transportation and deposition include erratics, drumlins and moraine.
Keywords
Plucking - when a glacier pulls chunks of rock from the bedrock as it moves over it
Abrasion - when rocks and debris carried by a glacier scrape and wear away the surface beneath it
Glacial trough - a valley reshaped by glacial erosion into a U-shape
Moraine - accumulation of unsorted debris, such as soil and rock, deposited by a glacier
Common misconception
Glacial erosion is the only process that creates new landscapes.
Glacial erosion does create new landforms, but as glaciers transport and then deposit the eroded material, this also creates new landscapes.
Teacher tip
It is important to understand the role of erosional processes - abrasion and plucking - in creating the glacial landforms. Previous knowledge of erosion, transportation and deposition (e.g. rivers, coasts) may help students in this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the processes to their definition.
Q2.What is a glacier?
Q3.What is freeze-thaw weathering?
Q4.The last in the UK took place around 18 000 years ago. During this time, temperatures remained low throughout the year and ice sheets and glaciers covered the north of the UK.
Q5.Glacial erosion is very powerful and has a range of effects, including:
Q6.Glaciers move slowly, transporting material called glacial in different ways depending on its position within the ice.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Match the key words to their definitions.
Q2.A is a bowl-shaped hollow found on the upper slopes of glaciated valleys, often containing a small lake (tarn/cwm) after glaciation.
Q3.How does a corrie form?
Q4.Which of the following are glacial landforms created by deposition?
To help you plan your 10 geography lesson on: Glacial landforms resulting from erosion and deposition, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 geography lesson on: Glacial landforms resulting from erosion and deposition, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 geography lessons from the Glacial landscapes unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.