Glaciers and how they form
KS3: Geography
Learning objectives:
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to ask geographical questions and to identify issues
to evaluate information sources, and investigate main physical features of Antarctic
glaciers
This set of resources is about glaciers in the Polar regions, and especially Antarctica. You
probably already know quite a lot about Antarctica. With a partner, write down 5 words or
phrases that come into your mind when you think about Antarctica. Share these with another
pair. What is similar about the words/phrases you have selected? What is different?
Teacher’s note: perhaps as a pre-task, get students to prepare a “mood board” of images of
Antarctica collected from a variety of sources, including the internet. Annotate the mood
board. Try to classify all the images collected by the group into themes.
Okay, here are some facts: true or false? Discuss what is unusual or unlikely about these facts.
• Glaciers are one of the most important features of the world’s physical landscape.
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About 10 % of the world’s entire landmass is covered in glaciers.
Glaciers both advance and retreat, carving the earth as they do so.
• Glaciers have an impact on the weather affecting the entire world.
Teacher’s note: all the facts above are true.
An interesting question:
• How much of the world’s fresh water is locked up inside glaciers? 10%? 24%? 52%? 75%?
Teacher’s note: the correct answer is 75% and, in fact, it could be as much as 80%!
How do glaciers form?
In places with cold climates, when more snow falls than can melt, the snow builds up. Its
weight, over time, forces a change in the structure of the snow lower down from the surface.
What may start as light and fluffy becomes more dense and granular, more like the texture of
coarse sugar. At this stage it is called ‘firn’. This eventually becomes compressed even further
and becomes solid ‘glacial ice’. It is this ice mass that begins to force its way down hill and,
through friction, starts to carve out valleys from the rock. The process is very slow and takes
many hundreds of years.
Activity: using the information in the paragraph above, create a diagram - or a series of
diagrams like a comic strip - to show how a glacier forms. Use labels.
EDS
T h e L ea rni n g O rg an i sa ti on
Extension: find out the names of the most famous glaciers in the Antarctic. Draw a map of
Antarctica and indicate where the glaciers are located.