This activity is about the process of transecting, by which researchers divide an area into smaller plots that can be investigated more closely for biotic and abiotic samples. Learners will be able to determine the presence of wildlife by recording... (View More) and analyzing observations from a transect. They will then consider what conclusions can be drawn about the entire area and what the limiting factors may be for that specific habitat. This activity should be performed outside, in a location suitable for spreading out and exploring. Student data sheets to guide the data collection are available. This activity is part of the "Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators." (View Less)

In this activity, student teams design small-scale physical models of hot and cold planets, (Venus and Mars), and learn that small scale models allow researchers to determine how much larger systems function. There is both a team challenge and... (View More) competition built into this activity. Experimental findings are then used to support a discussion of human outposts on Mars. The resource includes an experimental design guide for students as well as a handout outlining a method for the design of controlled experiments, and student data sheets. Student questions and an essay assignment are provided as classroom assessments. This is Activity A in the second module, titled "Modeling hot and cold planets," of the resource, "Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate?" The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales. (View Less)

Students will collect samples of particles in the air on simple slides they make themselves. They will classify, count and chart their findings, draw conclusions, make predictions, and compare their findings to other available data. Supplies needed... (View More) for the investigation include microscope slides, petroleum jelly, magnifying glass, microscope, Eosin, and Methyln Blue or iodine. The activity is part of the Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook, which provides more than 20 activities to build student understanding of global change and remote sensing, and includes background chapters for teachers, glossary, and appendices. (View Less)