Let's create continuous conversations about climate change education: Spreading the Sediment of Science!
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Climate Change Inquiry Lab
Synopsis
- Three laboratory experiments investigate factors that drive climate change: the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, sea ice and temperature, and the comparative effect of sea ice versus land ice melt on sea level rise.
- Students complete one of the experiments, connect their findings to real-world data, and present their discoveries to the class.
Teaching Materials
Positives:
The instructions are clear, comprehensive, and well-sequenced.
The lab worksheets effectively guide students to construct an understanding of the topic by using the scientific method in the experiment and supplementing those findings with additional resources like videos and interactive simulations.
Additional Prerequisites:
Students should understand the greenhouse effect and absorption vs reflection of radiant light.
It would be helpful for students to understand the structure and properties of water with respect to phase change and high specific heat capacity.
The Melting Ice and Sea Level Rise Lab have some PBS NOVA links that require Adobe Flash player.
- The labs are terrific, but some of the extension links are either broken or outdated. Please adjust as necessary.
The Teacher Guide explains relevant background information, presents each student handout with all supporting links, provides example data per experiment, includes a project grading rubric, and offers lesson extension information and activities.
Differentiation:
The student worksheets are well-scaffolded and can be edited appropriately to be more open-ended as needed.
This lesson is designed to fill two class periods, with one being used for the lab and the other for presentations. If time permits, students can complete all of the labs over three days instead.
- Students can use the SubjectToClimate resource database to explore their topic further using accurate and high-quality sources.
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