"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban, rural, river, etc. Then, they draw another land use grid for the same area using data from a decade later. The comparison of the two grids shows how humans have altered the environment. Lesson focuses on the impact humans have on the climate in the seventh lesson in a series of 21.

 

Concepts

deforestation, urbanization, desertification, climate change, pixels, electromagnetic spectrum, wavelength, infrared light, quantitative data

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Continue the activity by creating a 2010 land cover map and comparing it to the earlier years
• Virtually interview a professional land cover analyst

Classroom Considerations

• Students should know how to interpret maps and aerial photographs, the meaning of wavelengths of light, and understand the electromagnetic spectrum
• The seventh lesson focuses on the impact humans have on the climate which is part of a series of 21 related resources

Pros

• Includes classroom management tips specific to the implementation of the lesson
• Designed for the National Science Education Standards, National Education Technology Standards, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Education Standards, Climate Literacy Principles, and Energy Literacy Principles
• Offers extension ideas that are realistic and challenging 

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.9-10.7 RST.9-10.9 RST.11-12.7 RST.11-12.9