Here is the first of four poignant lessons on how humans and oceans interact, even if people live far from the coast. This particular lesson also examines studies that are taking place in Antarctica of how climate change is affecting the world oceans. Begin the session with a slide show. Break the class into groups where they will brainstorm and create graphic organizers of their thoughts regarding the assigned questions. A slide show, narrated by Dr. Oscar Schofield of Rutgers University, follows. Although the unit is written for residents of Kansas, there is very little content that is specific to the state, so do not overlook this worthy unit! Simply create a new version of the worksheet, changing the name of the state to your own.

Concepts

global warming, climate change, human impact on the environment, environmental stewardship

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Additional Tags

human impact on the environment, global warming, climate change, interdependence, science

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Pros

• Narrative script of the slide show and suggested discussion points provided
• Beautiful and purposeful PowerPoint slides, complete with speaker's notes, support the lesson
• Designed to address Next Generation Science Standards in earth and life sciences
• Contributes to developing awareness of global conditions and human impact on the environment
• Homework includes viewing and response to additional narrated slide shows

Cons

• Alone, this lesson is mostly direct instruction and discussion, but with the hands-on activities in the rest of the unit, its value is tremendous