Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Erratic Boulders - Rafted in Icebergs by the Ice Age Floods (YouTube Video)

Erratic Boulders - Rafted in Icebergs by the Ice Age Floods 


Quantitative Reading Level:  

This video would be suitable for grades 5 and up.

Qualitative Reading Analysis: 

I would rate this as Middle High on the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Informational Text”.  Although it is not a text the features of the video can be used to rate the material.  Even though the video is short the narrator does use academic language in describing the erratic boulders and how they moved to their current location.  Students would need some content knowledge in order to understand the video.

Summary:
 
This video is part of the YouTube Channel “2 Minute Geology” from HUGEFloods.com.   In this particular episode the host talks about erratic boulders.  Erratic boulders are large rocks that are different from the surrounding rock in both composition and size.  Many erratic boulders are left behind from moving glaciers.  The ones in this video however floated on top of icebergs and then either fell off or the iceberg melted leaving them stranded.  The narrator explains how the erratic boulders arrived at their location and shows many erratic boulders in Washington State.  

Content Area: Science - geology

Content area standard:
 
Knows the major characteristics of each layer (composition, thickness, physical state, and temperature) and why they are different. 

Curriculum Suggestions:

This short video and others in the 2 Minute Geology series could be shown during a study of “Earth’s Changing Surfaces” (what my district calls this unit of study in 5th grade).  It could be used as a discussion starter or to tie in with what is being discussed.  Although the series focuses on features in Washington State students in Maine could be encouraged to find similar example in their own state.
Personal Thoughts:

This was a really interesting video.  It was short and sweet with just enough information to get students’ interest but not so much as to bore them.  The narrator was a bit “geeky” but students would probably find him humorous.  The information was scientific without being too heavy.  

High Interest Annotation: How did those “erratic” boulders get there anyway?

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