This unit consists of five activities, all of which focus on the response of plant life-cycle events to climate change. Students participate in discussions, field observations, data collection and analyses, plant identification, seed dispersal... (View More) comparisons, and graphing and analyses of plant phenology (timing of life-cycle events). Project BudBurst, a citizen science project which studies the impact of climate change on phenology, is integrated into this unit. The unit is one of four under the Chicago Botanic Garden curriculum entitled, "Climate Change in My Backyard." (View Less)

This curriculum uses an inquiry-based Earth system science approach, and leverages Project BudBurst, a citizen science phenology project, to engage students in authentic research on plant and ecosystem responses to climate change. Students collect... (View More) local data then analyze that data in the context of NASA regional and global data sets and satellite imagery to understand their data in personal, regional, and global contexts. The curriculum is divided into four units: The Earth as a System; Identifying the key changing conditions of the Earth system; Earth system responses to natural and human induced changes; and Predicting the consequences of changes for human civilization. Each unit consists of several activities with accompanying teacher answer sheets. (View Less)

This unit consists of two parts, each with several activities which require students to participate in investigations, discussions, computer data analysis, role-playing, and research. In Part 1, students examine the roles of Earth's energy balance... (View More) and the greenhouse effect in creating and affecting climate. Part 2 focuses on the biosphere as a system. Students examine the interactions of organisms, the effects of climate change on food webs, and the importance to humans of a healthy, intact ecosystem. The unit is one of four under the Chicago Botanic Garden curriculum entitled, "Climate Change in My Backyard." (View Less)

This chapter describes how to set a scale and measure distances and areas on satellite images. Using ImageJ, a freely available image analysis program that runs on most operating systems, users set the spatial calibration of an image, then select... (View More) and measure distances and areas on it. The measurement results are reported in real-world units. The technique is most useful and accurate for nadir view (straight down) images. In this chapter, users examine satellite images of the Aral Sea, which has shrunk dramatically since 1960 because the rivers that flow into it have been tapped for irrigation. Users access satellite images of the region, then set a scale and measure the width of the sea each year. On another set of images, they highlight areas that represent water and measure them to see how these areas of the sea changed. This chapter is part of the Earth Exploration Toolbook, which provides teachers and/or students with direct practice for using scientific tools to analyze Earth science data. Students should begin on the Case Study page. (View Less)

Users explore data, using My World GIS, that characterize the dynamic Greenland Ice Sheet. By examining photographs, map views, and tabular data, users gain an understanding of how and why scientists are monitoring the ice sheet and what they are... (View More) finding. Users explore map layers that represent ice sheet thickness, weather station locations, and annual melt extents of the ice sheet. They learn about the working conditions that Arctic scientists must endure to collect their data, and how sensors on satellites are used to gather information from an area as large as Greenland. Finally, users learn about scientists' methods for measuring ice flowing downhill from Greenland, and examine that data to learn how fast the ice is moving. This chapter is part of the Earth Exploration Toolbook, which provides teachers and/or students with direct practice for using scientific tools to analyze Earth science data. Students should begin on the Case Study page. (View Less)

In this activity, students quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of a classification and understand a simple difference/error matrix. Students sort birds into three possible classes based on each bird’s beak: carnivores (meat eaters), herbivores... (View More) (plant eaters), and omnivores (meat and plant eaters). Students compare their answers with a given set of validation data and generate a difference/error matrix. Students discuss how to improve their accuracy based on identifying specific mistakes they made as indicated by the difference/error matrix. The resource includes color diagrams of common birds, a data table, and four student activity sheets. The activity is part of the Land Cover/Biology chapter of the GLOBE Teacher's Guide, and is supported by Land Cover/Biology protocols. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Searching the six satellite images of Mars provided in this investigation, students identify and locate areas that possibly sustained life in the past, might now sustain life, or could in the future. The URL opens to the investigation directory,... (View More) with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. Note that this is the last of four investigations found in the Grades 5-8 Module 2 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 2, while related, can be done independently. (View Less)