Curated OER
March of the Polar Bears: Global Change, Sea Ice, and Wildlife Migration
Students study global change and how these changes impact wildlife. In this polar bears lesson students analyze maps and data to understand climate change.
Curated OER
Top to Bottom
Marine science classes read about the 2005 North Atlantic Stepping Stones Expedition and review climate change. They use maps to locate the seamount chains. In collaborative groups, they research how climate change may be altering the...
NASA
Earth's Global Energy Budget
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
Curated OER
Currently Warm
Seventh graders investigate how ocean currents affect climate. In this earth science activity, 7th graders draw and label the current in their assigned ocean. They discuss how currents from the poles differ from the equator.
National Wildlife Federation
Wherefore Art Thou, Albedo?
In the sixth lesson in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to the...
Curated OER
Weather and Climate Around the World
Students explain the difference between climate and weather. They gain concepts of currents and discuss how the currents have an affect on climate and weather. Students gain knowledge of the instruments that meteorologists use to predict...
Curated OER
Ocean Layers
Students investigate how temperature and salinity causes ocean layering. In this ecology lesson, students observe and sketch their experimental result. They report their findings in class.
Curated OER
Weather Olympics
Students consider the effects of topography on climate patterns. In this earth science instructional activity, students research weather patterns and make inferences of how the land forms may create different climates. Students compare...
Curated OER
Math and Climate Worksheet
In this math and climate worksheet, students complete a set of 10 word problems, all related to math and climate. A reference web site is given for additional activities.
Curated OER
Weather & Climate
Sixth graders differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, 6th graders complete a KWL chart about the two. They complete a worksheet by identifying whether a certain statement describes weather or climate.
Curated OER
Temperature Changes: Atmosphere & Ocean
Students observe temperature differences of water and air in sunlight and darkness. They determine that the sun warms the Earth's surface, which controls global currents and climate, keeping the earth habitable. They discover water and...
Curated OER
Wind Circulation, Surface Currents and Climate
Students describe connections between wind patterns, surface currents, and ocean climate zones. In small groups, they color the ocean climate zones in four different shades of blue. Students then answer questions like what four...
Curated OER
Climate Patterns across the United States
Students articulate differences between climate and weather using examples in a written statement. Using climate data from across the country, they describe climate patterns for various parts of the United States on a map. Students...
NOAA
Where Have All the Glaciers Gone?
What happens when ice melts? Well ... water happens. When that melting ice is a glacier, the amount of water that results produces change throughout the world. Middle school science sleuths uncover the truth about global warming, the...
Curated OER
How Does Your Garden Grow? Discovering How Weather Patterns Affect Natural Cycles
For the warm-up in this cool climate activity, you will need to click on "Mapping" and then "US Mapping" once you arrive at NOAA's "US Climate at a Glance" page. Earth science explorers realize that 2012 was a warm winter for us. They...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Carbon Through the Seasons
Meteorologists view an animated video by the Environmental Protection Agency to learn how the carbon cycle works, and then move into groups to analyze and graph actual data of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration from Hawaii's...
Curated OER
Canada's Climate: Temperature and Rainfall Variations
Students analyze data about various climates in Canada. In this data analysis and climate lesson, students use Canada Year Book 1999 to complete a worksheet and make connections between precipitation and temperature in different climates.
Curated OER
The Big Wet
Students complete a research project. In this climate lesson, students learn about the climate "tropical wet and dry" found in Australia. Students work in groups to research aspects of this climate and then create a class presentation.
Curated OER
Water Layering and Circulation
Young scholars examine relationships and interactions between different types of water. They experiment with colored water of different temperature and salinity and discuss how the results relate to real ocean currents.
Curated OER
Global Warming: Life in a Greenhouse
Young scholars investigate the evidence and consequences of global warming. They read and discuss an article, conduct a debate, evaluate their community's climate statistics, log their gas consumption for a week, and develop a panel...
Curated OER
Biomes: Extreme Climate
Students discuss the causes of global warming. In this earth science activity, students examine how global warming is connected to the arctic and world climate. They write a paragraph about their interconnection.
NOAA
History's Thermometers
How is sea coral like a thermometer? Part three of a six-part series from NOAA describes how oceanographers can use coral growth to estimate water temperature over time. Life science pupils manipulate data to determine the age of corals...
Polar Trec
Sea Ice Impact
The arctic seas contain currents that are both warm (with high salinity) and cold (relatively fresh water) that circulate throughout the year. Through discussion, a lab, and a web quest, participants explore the impacts of melting and...
NOAA
Technology I
Isn't technology great? The 12th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces technology that marine scientists use. Pupils take part in an activity using conductivity,...