1. Key question: What on earth is
glaciation?
L.O. To understand that Britain was once covered in ice
To understand how glaciers are formed

2. Glaciation
A glacial period is when
ice advances and
temperatures fall, we call
this an ‘Ice Age’.
When we have warming,
the ice will retreat. These
are called interglacial
periods.
Figure 1.
Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?

3. GCSE exam question
Describe the changes in global temperatures shown in Figure 1.
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(4 marks)
Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?
THINK GSE;G eneral – What is generally
happeningS pecifics – data from the graphs
E xceptions – what year, country
etc are the exceptions, if any?

4. Model Answer
Temperatures fluctuate, but generally they have …………………………
Specifics?
Exceptions?
Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?

5. Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?
Ice coverage
in British
Isles during
last Ice Age

6. Map showing the extent of the ice over the UK 18 000
years ago
Ice margin
ICE
MOVEMENT
Surbiton
1. Draw the
extent
of the ice,
during the
last ice age
on your map
2. Label
Surbiton too
Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?

7. Can you complete this….or write your own
• During the last ___ ___ (about 10,000 years ago)
one third of the ______ and the majority of the
_______ was covered in ___.
• Since then, the climate has become _________
and most of the ice has melted away.
UK warmer ice age
world ice

8. Present day ice coverage
Ice now covers 10% of the world’s surface. Today there are two large
areas of ice in the world. The largest is Antarctica and the other
Greenland. There are some smaller areas of ice, in Iceland and in
mountainous areas. Often these are small fingers of ice, which we call
glaciers.
Can you identify these mountain ranges??

9. What is a Glacier? Video clip (from 5.55-8.00)
• Put the
boxes
in the
correct
order!
R. All the weight of
the ice pushes the
glacier down the
mountain
C.The new layers
of snow compact
last years layer
A. It snows again
next winter
L. The spring and
summer are cold
so the snow
doesn’t melt
G. Snow collects
throughout the
winter
I. Air is therefore
squeezed out if
the snow – turning
it to ice.
E. With no air the
glacier turns a
strange blue colour
Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?

10. You’re the teacher….
• Using the mini whiteboards and this
photo, without looking at your notes, can
you describe how a glacier forms?
Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?

11. Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?

12. Make a snowflake……
The south Cascade glacier in
Washington State USA has
been monitored by
geologists for over 40 years.
Glaciers are found in every
continent in the world
Glaciers can move up
to 30cm a day during
‘surges’.
Homework cover your snow
flake in interesting facts
about glaciers and bring a
mini mars bar to next
lesson!
Lesson Objective: What on earth is glaciation?