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This Sea Ice Impact lesson plan also includes:
- Sea Ice Impact: An Investigation in Arctic Thermohaline Circulation
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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 freezing on the arctic seas. They analyze the properties of salinity, temperature, and density to learn how these factors contribute to ocean layers and currents.
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CCSS:
Adaptable
NGSS:
Adaptable
Concepts
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
- The lab portion of the activity is written at a high school level; middle school teachers may want to model lab write-up expectations, write critical thinking questions, or include a lab template for learners to fill in
Classroom Considerations
- Learners need a thorough understanding of density to complete the activity
- Not all links work, and teachers may have to search linked websites for materials
Pros
- Reading levels for web quest portion can be changed or converted to Spanish as needed
- Activity includes two links in extensions to further explore density
Cons
- Link to density labs (included in Lesson Preparation) requires permission to access