Using water to represent the atmosphere and milk droplets to represent aerosols, students make predictions and conduct investigations to discover how different aerosol concentrations affect atmospheric color and visibility. This lesson is one of... (View More) four in the GLOBE program storybook entitled, "What's Up in the Atmosphere? Exploring Colors in the Sky." GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Through the use of prisms and glue sticks, this activity introduces students to a fundamental property of light: white light is made up of colors representing different wavelengths. Students use the results of the activity to explain the variation... (View More) in sky color from daytime (blue) to sunset (red). This lesson is one of four in the GLOBE program storybook entitled, "What's Up in the Atmosphere? Exploring Colors in the Sky." GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Working in groups, students use contact paper to make samplers to collect local data on aerosols - the small particles found in the atmosphere. Students then analyze, interpret and make predictions based on their data. Both the instructions for... (View More) making the aerosol sampler and the data sheets are included. This lesson is one of four in the Elementary GLOBE storybook entitled, "What's Up in the Atmosphere? Exploring Colors in the Sky." GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

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 unit consists of four activities. Students begin by examining temperature cycles (current, recent and historical) then add in factors such as carbon dioxide, precipitation and cloud cover to discover regional and global differences in the... (View More) effects of climate change. 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 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 focuses on local plant species; students learn to identify common species and will examine their life cycle characteristics as evidence of climate change. Through the use of the national citizen science project titled Project BudBurst,... (View More) students explore the impacts of climate variation on plant species distribution. The unit is one of four under the Chicago Botanic Garden curriculum entitled, "Climate Change in My Backyard." (View Less)

Students are introduced to the carbon cycle through discussion, modeling and a game. Students then complete activities and investigations on Greenhouse gasses, photosynthesis, cellular respiration and ecosystem services (functions and values of... (View More) intact ecosystems to humans). The unit is one of four under the Chicago Botanic Garden curriculum entitled, "Climate Change in My Backyard." (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)