Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Turek Jan.

I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

I will be guiding you through our lesson.

We are going to have a great time learning together today.

Let's start our learning.

Welcome to today's lesson on our unit, UK region: why is the Lake District a national park? Today's lesson is called the landscape of the Lake District.

You'll be learning to identify some of the processes that have caused this landscape of mountains and lakes.

Some of the learning is brand new, but I'm here to help you.

This links back to previous learning you might have done on mountains and lakes, human and physical features around the UK, and locating and labelling our national parks on a map.

You might have also done a little bit of learning about the Lake District itself as well.

Here are the keywords that we'll be using together in today's lesson.

Before we learn about what each one means, let's practise saying them together.

Let's do my turn, your turn.

Erosion, erosion.

Tarn, tarn.

Volcanic ash, volcanic ash.

Lava, lava.

Tectonic plates, tectonic plates.

Perfect, well done for saying each of those keywords.

Let's go through what each one means together.

Erosion, erosion is the process of the earth's surface, e.

g.

rock or soil, being worn away and transported from its original site.

Tarn, a tarn is a mountain lake or pool.

Volcanic ash, volcanic ash is made of small pieces of cool lava and rock thrown into the air when a volcano erupts.

Lava, lava is molten rock that has broken through the earth's surface.

When it is still below the surface it is known as magma.

Tectonic plates, the huge pieces that earth's crust is broken into are known as tectonic plates.

Good job everyone.

We are going to be learning more about these keywords together and using them throughout our lesson today.

These are the learning cycles that we all work through together in today's lesson.

We now know that the Lake District is a region of mountains and lakes, and we've begun to look at some of the human and physical features of the Lake District National Park.

Today we're going to focus on the landscape of the Lake District.

The first part of our lesson will concentrate on the processes that created the mountains, and the second part will explore the processes which created the lakes.

Let's get started.

The landscapes of the Lake District have been formed over millions of years.

There are three main processes that have created the mountains in this region: the collision of tectonic plates, volcanic activity, and finally, erosion by glaciers.

We'll investigate each of these processes in turn to find out how they helped form the mountains that we see in the Lake District National Park today.

The collision of tectonic plates.

The processes that we're going to be talking about in this part of the lesson happened many millions of years ago when the surface of the earth looked very different to our globe today.

500 million years ago, the tectonic plates that the Lake District was on collided with another tectonic plate.

This means that they bumped into each other.

The oceanic plate was pushed under the continental plate where the Lake District was on.

The force of this collision caused the rocks in the Lake District to be folded and uplifted.

So you can imagine that this is the oceanic plates and this is the continental plate.

And as they're coming towards each other, this one goes down and this one comes up, and this is how the mountains are formed.

The force of this collision caused the rocks in the Lake District to be folded and uplifted, creating higher areas of land and huge mountains.

Mountains like this are called fold mountains.

So I wonder if you want to practise that together.

I wonder if you can use your two hands and bring them together, like tectonic plates would've collided, and then push the oceanic plate down and the continental plate up.

See if you can do that like this.

It's time for a little check here.

What happened to the rocks after the tectonic plates moved? A, they became volcanoes, B, they folded upwards and uplifted, or C, they sank lower down.

Pause the video and complete this check.

How did you get on? Did you remember that the force of the collision caused the rocks in the Lake District to be folded and uplifted? That's correct, well done.

You can give yourselves a thumbs up for remembering that process and getting it right.

Let's continue with our learning.

The second process that we're going to talk about today helped to create the mountains in the Lake District.

This is the process of volcanic activity.

Rocks in the Lake District show evidence of how and when they were created.

Geologists, those are people who study rocks, use clues from the type of rock to explain how it was formed.

They can also date the rocks to find out when they were created.

Volcanoes produce lava and ash when they erupt.

During a period of time millions of years ago when the land that is now the Lake District was close to a volcanic area, many eruptions took place.

Lava and ash from these eruptions fell down onto the Lake District and then cooled and formed rocks.

The highest peaks and central rocks of the Lake District are very hard because they were created by the volcanic lava and ash from these volcanoes.

This doesn't mean the mountains in the Lake District are actually volcanoes, it just means that they were created by materials that came from volcanoes that were in the area close to them.

So to summarise, the rocks of the highest peaks in the Central Lake District are very hard, and that's because they were created by volcanic lava and ash.

It's time for another quick check here.

Which of these statements about the mountains in the Lake District are true? A, some are volcanoes, B, some are created by lava and volcanic ash, or C, some were made recently.

Pause the video and answer this check.

How did you get on with this check? We know that the mountains in the Lake District were not volcanoes, and we know they were created millions of years ago, so it cannot be A or C.

The correct answer is B, some of the mountains in the Lake District were created by lava and volcanic ash.

Good job everyone, well done for getting that right.

Now it's time to look at the third and last process that we're going to investigate together today.

This is the final process that we will look at together today, which helped to create the landscape of the Lake District, and that is erosion by glaciers.

Much later than the first two processes were completed, 2 million years ago, there was an ice age.

The Lake District was covered by an ice sheet, like the one in this photograph.

During that time, glaciers formed in the river valleys of the Lake District.

You might have heard about glaciers before.

Do you know what they are? Glaciers are rivers of ice that are very powerful and can erode and shape the landscape.

The rocks of the Lake District were shaped by these ice sheets and the actions of the glaciers and meltwater.

They eroded the river valleys and created the deep U-shaped valleys that we see today.

So to summarise the process of erosion by glaciers, around 2 million years ago, there was an ice age.

The Lake District was covered by an ice sheet.

The glaciers formed in the valleys.

Glaciers are rivers of ice that are very powerful and helped to shape the landscape.

The rocks of the Lake District were shaped by these ice sheets and the actions of the glaciers and meltwater.

They eroded the river valleys and created the deep U-shaped valleys that we see today.

There you can see an image of that deep U-shaped valley that we can see today.

It's now time for another check.

What did the glaciers do to the Lake District? A, they created river valleys, B, they did not change the land, or C, they created deep U-shaped valleys.

Pause the video and complete this check.

How did you get on? Did you remember that the glaciers created deep U-shaped valleys.

Good job.

Well done if you did, you can give yourselves another thumbs up.

It's now time for our first task.

What I would like you to do is to write one or two sentences to explain how each process helped to create the mountains in the Lake District.

Use the headings, illustrations, and photographs to help you Remember that the three processes are the collision of tectonic plates, volcanic activity, and erosion by glaciers.

Now I'm just going to quickly summarise each of those three processes for you 'cause we've talked about them in quite some detail and it might be a lot of information for you to remember.

So let's go through them together quickly.

Remember that for number one, the collision of the tectonic plates, about 500 million years ago the continent that the Lake District was on collided with another continent.

Remember that the force of this collision caused the rocks in the Lake District to be folded and uplifted.

Remember that for number two, volcanic activity, we talked about the highest peaks and central rocks of the Lake District being very hard and that they were created by volcanic lava and ash from volcanoes.

The third process which helped to create the mountains in the Lake District was erosions by glaciers.

The rocks of the Lake District was shaped by ice sheets and the actions of the glaciers and meltwater.

They eroded the river valleys and created that deep U-shaped valley that we see today.

Okay, so those three summaries should hopefully help you along with the illustrations, headings and images, write down and explain how each of these processes helped to create the mountains in the Lake District.

It's going to be quite a tricky task, but I know that you can all do it.

Pause the video now and complete task A.

Well done, everyone.

How did you get on with task A? Did your answers include any of the following? One, the collision of tectonic plates.

500 million years ago, the continent that the Lake District was on collided with another continent.

The force of this collision caused the rocks in the Lake District to be folded and uplifted.

Number two, volcanic activity.

The highest peaks and central rocks of the Lake District are very hard and were created by volcanic lava and ash from volcanoes.

Three, erosion by glaciers.

The rocks of the Lake District were shaped by ice sheets, and the actions of the glaciers and melt water.

They eroded the river valleys and created deep U-shaped valleys that we see today.

Well done if your answers include some of these points below.

Good job everyone.

Those processes are quite tricky to remember, but you've worked through that task really well.

Well done.

Now that we understand how the mountains of the Lake District were created and shaped from millions of years ago, we are now going to investigate the processes that created the lakes.

The Lake District has over 16 lakes and tarns, it has been compared to a wheel.

The valley and the lakes radiate out from a central hub like spokes.

You can see them represented there on that aerial photograph of the area.

Which processes made it possible for these bodies of water to form? Let's investigate these together.

The glaciers that eroded and carved out U-shaped valleys left deep troughs on the valley floor.

These hollows ran along the valley floor and eventually became ribbon lakes like Ullswater.

You can see these thin ribbon shapes on the aerial image.

They still run in between the mountains on the floor of the valley.

It's time for a quick check here.

Ribbon lakes in the Lake District were created by, A, the sea, B, rivers, or C, glaciers.

Pause the video and complete this check.

How did you get on? Did you say C, glaciers? That's correct.

Ribbon lakes in the Lake District were created by glaciers.

Well done, you can give yourselves another thumbs up.

Fantastic learning so far.

The bottom of these valleys are often made from volcanic rock that doesn't let water through it.

This means water won't drain away and will form a Lake.

Glaciers also eroded the sides of mountains to create hollows called quarries.

These then filled with water to become tarns.

This is red tarn on Helvellyn, a quarry that is now filled with water.

But where is all of this water coming from? The Lake District is one of the wettest places in the UK where winds bring rain in from the Atlantic to fill the glaciated lakes.

This is the Lake District here.

Looking at the map key, we can see it does receive a lot of rainfall compared to other places in the UK.

This Atlantic rain fills the glaciated lakes.

The high amount of rainfall throughout the year keeps the lakes and tarns filled with water.

The processes that created the lakes are similar to those that created the mountains of the Lake District.

Let's summarise these together.

In summary, lakes form because of high rainfall, that means that there's a constant supply of water, deep glacial valleys, much water can be stored in them, and volcanic rock, this stops the water from draining away and keeps it there.

Let's have another quick check here.

Which three features make it easy for lakes and tarns to form? A, high rainfall, B, deep glacial U-shaped valleys, C, steep cliffs, or D, volcanic rock that does not allow water to drain away.

Pause the video and complete this check.

How did you get on? Did you answer A, high rainfall, B, deep glacial U-shaped valleys and D, volcanic rock that does not allow water to drain away? Good job, these are all three features that make it easy for lakes and tarns to form.

Well done everyone.

You can give yourselves another thumbs up.

You're doing such great learning today.

It's now time for task B.

For your final task of today's lesson, I would like you to use the word bank to help you to explain to your geography buddy which processes created the lakes.

So remember, for task A, we talked about the processes that created the mountains.

So now you're just talking about the processes that created the lakes.

What you could do is use this sentence starter here, which says, the Lake District has so many lakes and tarns because, and then you can use all of the keywords in that box below.

So you can use glacial U-shaped valley, high rainfall, volcanic rock, erode, drain, trough, and glacier.

Now because there was a lot of information for you to remember, I'm going to quickly summarise for you to help you think about how you could explain this.

You could say the Lake District has so many lakes and tarns because glaciers created deep U-shaped valleys with troughs running along the valley floor.

This makes it possible for a lot of water to be stored.

High rainfall provides a constant supply of water and volcanic rock stops water draining away.

And if you wanted to, you could also draw some images to help you explain those processes to your partner.

You could also use actions with your hands as well.

So use all of that information, pause the video, and complete task B.

How did you get on with task? Did you use some of the same information as Sophia? She said, the Lake District has so many lakes and tarns because glaciers have created deep U-shaped valleys with troughs running along the valley floor.

This makes it possible for a lot of water to be stored.

High rainfall provides a constant supply of water and volcanic rock stops the water draining away.

Can you see how clearly she's answered that question and she's described which processes have created lakes? Good job.

I'm sure you've done something similar to Sophia as well.

We've learnt a lot today about the landscapes of the Lake District.

Thank you for working so hard today.

Let's go through a quick summary of all of the learning that we've completed together today.

Rocks in the Lake District reveal changes over millions of years.

Mountains, valleys, and lakes here have been created by colliding tectonic plates, glaciers and volcanic activity.

The rocks were shaped by ice sheets and the actions of glaciers.

High rainfall and deep glacial valleys mean much water can be stored.

Volcanic rock stops water draining away.

We've done so much brilliant learning today and you've been absolutely brilliant.

You can give yourselves one last thumbs up.

Thank you for joining me today, and I'll see you next time for more geography lessons soon.

Goodbye.