Global Ozone (GO3) Project. Grades 6-12.
http://www.go3project.com/. In the GO3 Project high school students throughout the world measure ground-level ozone on a continuous basis and upload their results to the Google Earth map. Measurements are made with high accuracy using sophisticated ozone monitors constructed by the students from kits and tested and calibrated on a frequent basis using a transfer standard.
A Teacher's Guide to How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Lessons, Resources, and Guidelines about Global Warming by Carol N. Malnor. Dawn Publications/Nevada City, CA. (2008). Grades 5-8. Using the book How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate, this guide helps teachers explore global warming through engaging lessons and classroom activities. Suggestions are provided to differentiate instruction and conduct project-based learning. Lessons and activities are correlated to science standards.
Getting to the Core of Climate Change. Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic. Grades 6-12.
http://tea.armadaproject.org/activity/leppik/gettingtothecoreofclimatechange_main.html. This is a lab about evidence for past climate change as captured in ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Students investigate climate changes going back thousands of years by graphing and analyzing ice core data from both Greenland and Antarctica. They use information about natural and human-caused changes in the atmosphere to formulate predictions about Earth's climate.
Why is Carbon Importatnt? NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Grades 9-12.
http://icp.giss.nasa.gov/education/modules/carbon/topic2/. Students explore the carbon cycle and the relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature. Students create and compare graphs of carbon dioxide and temperature data from one local (Mauna Loa, Hawaii) meteorological station and one NASA global data set. These graphs, as well as a global vegetation map and an atmospheric wind circulation patterns diagram, are used as evidence to support the scientific claims they develop through their analysis and interpretation.
Envisioning Climate Change Using a Global Climate Model. Earth Exploration Toolbook from SERC. Grades 9-12.
http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/envisioningclimatechange/index.html. This long classroom activity introduces students to a climate modeling software. Students visualize how temperature and snow coverage might change over the next 100 years. They run a 'climate simulation' to establish a baseline for comparison, do an 'experimental' simulation and compare the results. Students will then choose a region of their own interest to explore and compare the results with those documented in the IPCC impact reports. Students will gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the process and power of climate modeling.
March of the Polar Bears: Global Change, Sea Ice, and Wildlife Migration. My NASA Data Lesson Plans. Grades 6-12.
http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/preview_lesson.php?&passid=90. Students use NASA satellite data to study changes in temperature and snow-ice coverage in the South Beaufort Sea, Alaska. They will then correlate the data with USGS ground tracking of polar bears and relate their findings to global change, sea ice changes, and polar bear migration and survival.
How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming. Lynn Cherry and Gary Braasch. Dawn Publications (CA) 2010. Grades 9-12. Cherry and Braasch introduce readers to scientists around the world whose research contributes to an understanding of the causes and consequences of global warming. They also describe the work of citizen scientists, including children, whose observations contribute to knowledge about important changes that are occurring. Studies range from documenting bloom dates of trees and flowers to extracting mud cores from the ocean floor. Small color photographs show the fieldwork and experiments of scientists and students. Even though many findings indicate a grim outlook for plant and animal life, including humans, if the current trends continue, the authors consistently note ways in which students can have a positive impact by making personal choices and influencing public policy.
Climate Models. Teachers Domain. Grades 6-12.
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ttv10.sci.ess.climatemodels/. In this video by ThinkTV, explore the many uses of climate models and see a visualization of a global climate model. Models are tools scientists use to see patterns and trends.