Brrrrr... Water and Ice!

Mrs. Gage gathered her 2nd grade students in a circle to have a discussion. In a circle seemed like a great way to talk to them about their science topic of the week.

"Gather round!" Said Mrs. Gage.

She continued, "Ok class today we are going to discuss some pretty cool water and ice features which may make you feel a little chilly!"

The class chatted with excitement and slight confusion.

"As we have been studying in class we have been learning all about water on the earth, how it flows, different bodies of water and erosion. Today I want to talk about caves! Have any of you been to a CAVE before?

"I have!" Shouted Amy.

"What cave have you been to Amy?" Mrs. Gage asked.

"I have been to the Mammoth Cave."

"A CAVE is formed underground when acidic water dissolves limestone. This happens along joints plains. Does anyone know what those cool long creepy things hanging from the ceiling that are made from dripstone? They're called STALACTITES. What about the ones that come from the floor?

"STALAGMITES!" yelled Tracy.

"Correct!" Answered Mrs. Gage.

"Stalagmites grow from the floor and are thicker. And what is it called when the two connect? Columns!" She explained.

"So what is the main source that build these cool features in caves that are referred to as SPELEOTHEMS? Water that deposits Calcite. On the outside of a cavern a SPRING can develop, the water comes right out of the cracks!"

Mrs Gage continued on, "Now remember I mentioned ice? I also want to talk about different formations of GLACIERS and the erosion of ice on the earth. A glacier is a large formation of ice that lasts a long time and moves! Did you know that there are differnet types of glaciers? A VALLEY GLACIER goes from high to low and you guessed it, forms in a valley! An ICE SHEET is a little different it covers a very large piece of land that is not in a valley. ICE CAPS are in specific mountain highland areas. They are similar to ICE SHEETS, but are smaller. We have these different glaciers in various places around the world. Sometimes you can go on a cruise in Alaska and you would be able to see come of these amazing glaciers. The THEORY OF GLACIAL AGES claims that the earth had many more glaciers in the past compared to now when the climates used to be much colder."

Mrs. Gage ended with this statement, "Now who wants to go see a cave or a glacier?!"

"Me!" yelled the whole class.