This series of ten lessons has been developed to teach students about local and global water issues. They are based on NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission. The activities are done largely outdoors and include scientific data... (View More) collection and analysis and integrate technology. Many of the lessons involve data collected based on protocols from the GLOBE Program. Each lesson is designed to take one hour; the lessons build on each other, but can also be used independently. Each lesson topic includes a lesson plan, PowerPoint presentation, student capture sheet and capture sheet answer guide. (View Less)

Instructions are provided for constructing a terrarium. The analogy between the terrarium and Earth is also provided. This activity is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused... (View More) on the science of climate change. (View Less)

In this activity, student teams will create a controlled experiment by building ecosystems in two 2-liter bottles. Teams determine the control conditions of both bottles, identify a test variable, and run the experiment for several weeks to... (View More) determine the role of the test variable in the system. The experiment uses living organisms such as aquatic plants or pond water microorganisms, a pH and ammonia test kit, light source and thermometer. Questions assessing understanding are provided. This resource is supported by Chapter 1, "What is Global System Science?" part of Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

In this lab activity, student teams hypothesize which source has a greater becomes CO² concentration: their breath, auto exhaust, or air in the classroom. They test gas samples from each of these sources, plot data, and hypothesize about the... (View More) respective role engine exhaust and animal respiration play in contemporary climate change. The lab procedures require Bromthymol Blue indicator solution (BTB), household ammonia, vinegar, and balloons. Links to videos supporting the investigations are provided. This activity is supported by a textbook chapter, "How is Carbon Dioxide Measured?," part of the unit, Climate Change, in Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

This resource includes five lessons related to the habitat and life cycle of the diamondback terrapin and human influence on them. Learners will participate in a series of dramatic play modeling activities that simulate the coastline and marsh... (View More) habitat changes that are occurring. They will use a map to identify where in the watershed a diamondback terrapin lives and what the habitat looks like. They will then explain how humans moving into the coastal area affect the terrapin’s habitat and how changes in water level will affect the habitat. They will explain how human presence affects the ability of the marsh to extend inland as sea level rises. Finally, learners will brainstorm realistic ways for humans and terrapins to coexist. Extensions for each lesson are available. The lessons are planned on the 5-E’s model (engage, explore, explain, extend and evaluate). The lessons are part of Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators. (View Less)

This activity is about the processes that have shaped the eastern coastline of the United States. By providing students with model habitats of the Chesapeake Bay watershed made with boxes and clay, learners will observe that all water that falls on... (View More) a watershed drains into the same large waterway. They will also develop a definition of a watershed. This is the first of three watershed activities in Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators. (View Less)

One particular type of domino game, sometimes called the All Fives Domino game, uses multiples of five in order to score points. It can be the basis for a number of games designed to develop conceptual understanding of multiples of numbers through... (View More) twelve and provide opportunities to reinforce learning objectives in a fun and competitive manner. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications. (View Less)

This activity is about the relationship between habitat and wildlife. After reading and discussing a story on prairie potholes and waterfowl, learners will use hula hoops, packing peanuts and other materials to simulate prairie pothole destruction... (View More) as a result of climate change and the impact of habitat loss on the waterfowl population. Learners will be able to recognize the correlation between the quality and quantity of prairie potholes and the waterfowl that use this region for reproduction. This activity can be performed outside or in a gym/multipurpose room. This is the first of three activities in the "The Impact of Climate Change on Prairie Potholes" section of the "Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators." (View Less)

This 24 minute planetarium show teaches about meteors, meteorites, asteroids, and comets. The show was created for fulldome theaters, but is also available on DVD to be shown in flat version for TVs and computer monitors, and can be freely viewed... (View More) online. It shows the effects of the Chixulub and Tungusta events, plus the Pallasite impact that resulted in the Brenham meteorite fall, and describes ways that asteroid hunters seek new objects in the solar system, and how ground penetrating radar is used to find meteorites that have survived to the Earth's surface. Narrated by astronaut Tom Jones, it also discusses ways that humans might try to deflect an asteroid or comet that is on a collision course with Earth. The show was created for informal science venues (digital planetariums); it is also useful as supplemental material for middle school science. Impact Earth is available for free if presented directly from the Space Update site (widescreen or fisheye views linked from YouTube). Otherwise, a DVD of the show can be purchased for $10. (View Less)

This activity introduces very young students to measurement, graphing and estimation as they learn how to use a thermometer. The resource includes teaching notes, assessment suggestions, and a vocabulary list linked to a glossary. This activity is... (View More) related to the NASA CERES Students Cloud Observations Online (S'COOL) project. (View Less)