Geology
How the Blue Ridge Came to Be
Students learn how the Blue Ridge Mountains were formed and how they are still changing. Key concepts/vocabulary: formations, fault, geomorphology, geologic time, plate tectonics, metamorphic/igneous/sedimentary, and geologic processes such as volcanism and erosion.
- 3 hours
- Ideal for 3rd-8th graders
- Has been adapted successfully for older students
From the South Carolina Standard Course of Study
Go back to SC class list.
| 4th Grade | TOP |
English
4-C1.4
Demonstrate the ability to participate in and contribute to conversations and discussions by responding appropriately.
4-C1.11
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
4-C1.15
Begin expressing and explaining ideas
orally with fluency and confidence.4-C1.14
Continue making appropriate statements to communicate agreement or disagreement with others' ideas.
4-C2.1
Demonstrate the ability to follow multistep oral directions.
4-C2.2
Demonstrate the ability to listen for meaning in conversations and discussions.
4-C2.3
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
4-C2.5
Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, comparing and contrasting information and ideas, and making inferences with regard to what he or she has heard.
| 5th Grade | TOP |
Science
III. Earth Science
Unit of Study: Changes in the Earth's Surface: Landforms and Oceans
A. Structure of the Earth System
1. Land forms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces.
a. Define constructive forces, which include crustal deformation (folding and faulting), volcanic eruptions and deposition of sediment.
b. Describe how landforms are created as a result of constructive forces.
d. Model how constructive forces change the surface of the Earth.
e. Define destructive forces, which include weathering and erosion.
f. Describe how landforms change as a result of destructive forces.
g. Model how destructive forces change the surface of the Earth.
h. Investigate and describe how the Earth's surface is constantly changing by weathering, erosion, deposition and human impact.
2. The ocean floor is a part of the Earth's lithosphere. Lithospheric plates on the ocean floor move.
a. Identify that the lithosphere includes the crust and parts of the upper mantle, and is broken into large sections known as plates.
b. Recognize how plate movement produces volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountains on the ocean floor.
c. Identify and create a model of the geological features of the ocean floor (continental shelf/rise/slope, mid-Atlantic ridges, rifts, and trenches).
English
5-C1.4
Demonstrate the ability to participate in and contribute to conversations and discussions by responding appropriately.
5-C1.11
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
5-C1.15
Demonstrate the ability to express and explain ideas orally with fluency and confidence.
5-C1.15
Demonstrate the ability to make appropriate statements to communicate agreement or disagreement with others' ideas.
5-C2.1
Demonstrate the ability to listen for meaning in conversations and discussions.
5-C2.2
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
5-C2.4
Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, to compare and contrast information and ideas, and to make inferences with regard to what he or she has heard.
| 6th Grade | TOP |
English
6-C1.4
Demonstrate the ability to express and explain ideas orally with fluency and confidence.
6-C1.5
Demonstrate the ability to participate in conversations and discussions by responding appropriately.
6-C1.13
Demonstrate the ability to make appropriate statements to communicate agreement or disagreement with others' ideas.
6-C1.17
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
6-C2.1
Demonstrate the ability to listen for meaning in conversations and discussions.
6-C2.2
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
6-C2.3
Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, to compare and contrast information and ideas, and to make inferences with regard to what he or she has heard.
| 7th Grade | TOP |
Science
III. Earth Science
Unit of Study: Ecology - The Abiotic Environment
A. Structure of the Earth System
1. Landforms are the result of a combination of constructive forces (e.g., deposition of sediments) and destructive forces (e.g., weathering and erosion).
a. Distinguish among weathering, erosion, and deposition.
b. Examine how physical weathering and chemical weathering break rocks into fragments.
c. Investigate and examine how the earth's surface is constantly changed by weathering, erosion, deposition and human impact.
2. Soil consists of weathered rocks and decomposed organic material from dead plants, animals, and bacteria. Soils are often found in layers, with each having a different chemical composition. Living organisms have played many roles in the Earth system, including affecting the composition of the atmosphere, producing some types of rocks, and contributing to the weathering of rocks.
a. Discuss how climatic conditions affect the development of soils.
b. Analyze soil properties that can be observed (soil profile, composition, texture, particle size) and measured (permeability, temperature, pH, moisture) to predict soil quality.
c. Explain why soil (sediments) can be a major pollutant of streams.
d. Evaluate ways in which human activities have affected soil and the measures taken to control the impact (silt fences, ground cover, farming, land use, nutrient balance).
English
7-C1.3
Demonstrate the ability to express and explain ideas orally with fluency and confidence.
7-C1.4
Demonstrate the ability to participate in conversations and discussions by responding appropriately.
7-C1.13
Demonstrate the ability to make appropriate statements to communicate agreement or disagreement with others' ideas.
7-C1.6
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
7-C2.1
Demonstrate the ability to listen for meaning in conversations and discussions.
7-C2.2
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
7-C2.3
Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, to compare and contrast information and ideas, and to make inferences with regard to what he or she has heard.
| 8th Grade | TOP |
Science
II. Life Science
Unit of Study: Classification, Diversity, and Adaptations of Organisms Over Time
A. Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms
5. The Earth's processes we see today including erosion, movement of lithospheric plates, and changes in atmospheric composition, are similar to those that occurred in the past. Earth's history is also influenced by occasional catastrophes such as the impact of an asteroid or comet.
a. Illustrate the principle of uniformitarianism (the concept that Earth processes over time are consistent).
b. Explain how the geologic time scale is divided into units (e.g., era, period, and epoch).
c. Group different life forms according to the geologic time scale.
III. Earth Science
Unit of Study: Earth Processes
B. Structure of the Earth System
2. Some changes in the solid Earth can be described as the "rock cycle." Old rocks at the Earth's surface weather, forming sediments that are buried, then compacted, heated, and often recrystallized into new rock. Eventually, those new rocks may be brought to the surface by the forces that drive plate motions, and the rock cycle continues.
c. Explain how igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks are related in a rock cycle.
3. Major geologic events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building result from lithospheric plate motions. Landforms and sea-floor features are the result of a combination of constructive (crustal deformation, volcanic eruptions, deposition of sediment) and destructive (weathering, erosion) processes.
a. Illustrate and summarize what causes a volcano to erupt.
b. Compare and contrast how volcanoes are formed at mid ocean ridges, within intra-plate regions, at island arcs, and along some continental edges.
c. Examine how earthquakes result from forces inside Earth (tension, shearing, and compression).
n. Explain the modern distribution of continents to the movement of lithospheric plates since the formation of Pangaea.
English
8-C1.2
Demonstrate the ability to express and explain ideas orally with fluency and confidence.
8-C1.3
Demonstrate the ability to participate in conversations and discussions by responding appropriately.
8-C1.11
Demonstrate the ability to make appropriate statements to communicate agreement or disagreement with others' ideas.
8-C1.14
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
8-C2.1
Demonstrate the ability to listen for meaning in conversations and discussions.
8-C2.2
Demonstrate the ability to summarize conversations and discussions.
8-C2.3
Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, to compare and contrast information and ideas, and to make inferences with regard to what he or she has heard.
