I was working with a group of 4th grade students from different schools, and asked them what types of landforms are created by glaciers. I had assumed that the term "landforms" would be a challenge, yet the real challenge was that the students truly had no concept of what a glacier is. When I asked them what a glacier was made of, responses ranged from sand to waves to "cold", but not one of the students could tell me that a glacier was made of ice, never mind that a glacier was a river of ice. One adult chaperone in the group actually asked the students to recall the movie, "Titanic", in order to "help" them figure out what a glacier was, but I had to gently remind that person that the object involved in Titanic was actually an iceberg, not a glacier.

Anyway, short of a prolonged lesson that involves watching ice cubes melt over sand and gravel, I'd love to be able to teach these young students what a glacier is, and how glaciers helped to shape our landscape.