In this activity, students will read a color plot of Earth's absorption of the sun's radiation, and see that solar energy is unevenly distributed across the Earth's surface. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs,... (View More) follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions. (View Less)

In this demonstration activity, students make structural models of gas molecules using pipe cleaners and polystyrene balls and test their molecules for their resonant frequency. Students shake the models, count vibrations, and compare the resonance... (View More) frequencies of different gases. Students learn that photons of infrared energy vibrate at the right frequency to transfer their energy to carbon dioxide and methane, which in turn causes those molecules to vibrate, which is experienced in the real world as heat. The teacher's guide includes illustrative videos for this resource. This activity is supported by a textbook chapter, What's So Special about CO²?, 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)

In this introductory textbook chapter, energy is defined and its sources, forms, and flow are introduced. Students are introduced to the first law of thermodynamics, conservation of energy. The resource includes links to current news articles, and a... (View More) suite of pre and post unit assessments. A teacher's guide supports classroom use. This is the first chapter in the unit, Energy Flow, exploring the flow of energy through the atmosphere, oceans, land, and living things over short and long timescales. The resource is part of Global System 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 lesson, students learn that the sun heats up land, air, and water and study basic line plots of authentic NASA data. Students will practice drawing conclusions based on graphed data. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and... (View More) sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions. (View Less)

This online, facilitated course is designed for middle-school educators wishing to teach global climate change. The course uses a problem-solving approach and interdisciplinary STEM methodology to engage middle-school students and help them... (View More) understand the causes and effects of climate change, the differences between climate and weather, and how actions and nature affect the environment. Educators access the course by enrolling and paying a course fee; the course syllabus is available online. (View Less)

Students will gain an understanding of the daily movement of the sun across the sky by conducting a set of simple, quantitative observations using a sundial they have constructed. A student work sheet accompanies the learning activity.This resource... (View More) is part of the Atmosphere chapter of the GLOBE Teacher’s Guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Students become aware of the changes in visibility and sky color due to particles suspended in the air, called aerosols. They observe, document and classify changes in visibility and sky color over several days and understand the relationship... (View More) between sky color, visibility and aerosols in the atmosphere. A student data sheet is included in the activity. This learning resource is part of the Atmosphere chapter of the GLOBE Teacher's Guide, and is supported by the GLOBE Aerosol protocol. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

In this inquiry investigation, students discover how a given amount of light changes in intensity when the area it shines on changes, and that change in light and heat occurs when the Earth is tilted towards or away from the Sun. Supplies required... (View More) for the lessons include clipboards, thermometers, graph paper, and flashlights. This investigation is from "Everyday Classroom Tools," a series of lessons focusing on the changing seasons and other aspects of our everyday existence. Each lesson contains information on cognitive development, an introductory inquiry activity, and an inquiry investigation. An introduction to inquiry in education and related educational resources (especially connections to folklore) are provided for educators. Differentiation is provided for K-2, grades 2-4 and grades 4-6. (View Less)

This inquiry activity supports student understanding of the cause of light, heat and shadow, how to measure the passage of time, and how to use rules and other measuring tools. Students make observations using shadows, a meter stick, and a homemade... (View More) sundial. Supplies required include flashlights, ruler, chalk, coffee can, sand, protractors, yarn and a calculator with trigonometry functions (tangent/co-tantent). This investigation is from "Everyday Classroom Tools," a series of lessons focusing on the changing seasons and other aspects of our everyday existence. Each lesson contains information on cognitive development, an introductory inquiry activity, and an inquiry investigation. An introduction to inquiry in education and related educational resources (especially connections to folklore) are provided for educators. Differentiation is provided for K-2, grades 2-4 and grades 4-6. (View Less)