Geography · 12th Grade

Active learning ideas

Glacial and Periglacial Landscapes

Active learning works for glacial and periglacial landscapes because students need to connect abstract processes like erosion and deposition to the landscapes they see every day. When students handle real landform photographs, debate water pathways, or analyze case studies, they transform textbook descriptions into observable, memorable evidence of Earth’s dynamic history.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Geo.4.9-12
• C3: D2.Geo.6.9-12

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: Landform Identification Challenge

Groups receive unlabeled photographs of glacial and periglacial landforms -- cirques, moraines, drumlins, eskers, kettle lakes, solifluction lobes. Using process descriptions, they match each landform to the glacial process that created it and identify the approximate geographic regions where similar features are found today.

Explain how glacial processes shape distinctive landforms.

Facilitation Tip

During the Landform Identification Challenge, circulate with a checklist of key landforms so you can quickly redirect groups that mislabel features like drumlins or kettles.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of 5-7 photographs of different landforms. Ask them to label each landform (e.g., U-shaped valley, moraine, esker) and briefly describe the primary glacial process that created it.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Whole Class

Gallery Walk: Evidence for Past Glaciations

Stations present different types of proxy evidence for past glaciations -- glacier striations on bedrock, erratic boulders, glacial lake sediment records, ice core data, pollen diagrams. Students annotate each station with what the evidence type tells us, what it cannot tell us, and one remaining question it raises.

Analyze the evidence for past glaciations and their influence on current landscapes.

Facilitation Tip

For the Gallery Walk, assign each station a colored sticky note so you can track which pieces of evidence students find most compelling about past glaciations.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are advising a government on climate change adaptation. What are two critical geographic impacts of melting glaciers and permafrost that require immediate attention, and why?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share their reasoning.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Where Will the Water Go?

Students examine current data on mountain glacier mass balance trends and regional sea level projections. Pairs estimate the volume of meltwater a specific glacial system contributes and predict the geographic consequences for coastal communities and downstream water supplies before comparing reasoning with the class.

Predict the future geographic impacts of melting glaciers and permafrost.

Facilitation Tip

In the Think-Pair-Share, provide a blank map outline of North America so students can sketch projected meltwater pathways together before sharing with the class.

What to look for

On an index card, have students define 'permafrost' in their own words and then list one specific challenge associated with its thawing for human settlements or ecosystems.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Case Study Analysis
• 50 min · Small Groups

Case Study Analysis: A Landscape That Ice Made

Each small group investigates a specific US region shaped by glaciation -- the Great Lakes basin, the Finger Lakes, Cape Cod, or the Palouse Hills. They explain which glacial processes produced the landscape, what economic activities depend on glacially produced features, and how ongoing glacial retreat or permafrost thaw might change the region's geography.

Explain how glacial processes shape distinctive landforms.

Facilitation Tip

During the Case Study Analysis, give each group a laminated satellite image with a central question to anchor their discussion and keep the conversation focused on evidence.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of 5-7 photographs of different landforms. Ask them to label each landform (e.g., U-shaped valley, moraine, esker) and briefly describe the primary glacial process that created it.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers often succeed when they start with students’ local landscapes before moving to global examples. Avoid overwhelming students with long lists of landforms; instead, focus on a few key processes and connect each landform to a real place. Research suggests that using before-and-after imagery of retreating glaciers and permafrost thaw sites sparks deeper engagement than abstract graphs. Use think-aloud modeling to show how you interpret a landform photograph or map, so students see the reasoning process in action.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying glacial landforms, explaining how ice shaped familiar regions, and linking glacial retreat to real-world challenges such as water supply and coastal flooding. Students should articulate processes like plucking and abrasion and connect them to landform evidence they observe in images or maps.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Landform Identification Challenge, watch for students who assume all glaciers are polar ice sheets.

  Use the global glacier distribution map in the activity kit to ask groups to locate mountain glaciers in the Andes, Himalayas, and East Africa, then connect those glaciers to major river systems like the Ganges or Nile.

• During the Gallery Walk, watch for students who believe Pleistocene glaciation is ancient history with no modern effects.

  Have students use the regional maps to trace how glaciers carved the Great Lakes and shaped Long Island, then ask them to explain why these features matter for agriculture, shipping, and water supply today.

• During the Case Study Analysis, watch for students who dismiss permafrost thaw as having minor consequences.

  Provide each group with a short news article about thawing permafrost damaging Arctic infrastructure, then ask them to identify the geographic feedback loops linking thaw to carbon release and infrastructure failure.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share
• Case Study Analysis