Climate

Quick Bite: Climate is a System
In this Quick Bite activity, your students will explore how Earth's systems are interconnected by becoming members of the 2019-2020 MOSAiC expedition science teams.
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Climate, Earth science, Expeditions, mosaic monday
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: Melting Ice-Albedo Feedback
Sea ice extent in the Arctic is on the decline. Could the opposite of a Snowball Earth happen? Figure credit: MIKKEL JUUL JENSEN/SPL/COSMOS   
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Arguing from evidence, Climate, Earth science, mosaic monday, Sea ice
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, University/college
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: Radiation Correlation?
This short activity will help your students start to connect the concept of albedo to the Arctic and Earth's climate.
Quick bite
Subject: Climate, Constructing explanations, Earth science, mosaic monday, Sea ice
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: Budget Your Money, Budget Your Energy
Just like you and I might have a financial budget, Earth has an energy budget. In this Quick Bite activity, students will explore this energy budget and what happens if it changes. Photo credit: Stefan Hendricks/AWI
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Atmosphere, Climate, Developing and using models, Earth science, mosaic monday
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, University/college
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: Earth vs. Moon
Why are the Moon and Earth so different temperature-wise if they are essentially the same distance from the Sun? 
Quick bite
Subject: Atmosphere, Climate, Constructing explanations, Earth science, mosaic monday
Grade Level: 3-5, Middle School, High School
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: Climate Change Impacts on Indigenous Ways of Life
Indigenous peoples have over centuries adapted to living in the harsh and rugged Arctic, but their environment is changing rapidly. How are Indigenous peoples' ways of life being threatened by a changing climate? Photo credit: Eric Keto/Alaska's Energy Desk
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Climate, ELA, Geography, mosaic monday
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: (Re)Defining the Arctic
There are several ways to define the Arctic region geographically. In this Quick Bite activity, students will explore how a changing climate could change these geographic definitions. 
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Climate, Constructing explanations, Earth science, Geography, mosaic monday
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, University/college
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: You're Getting Warmer...
Looking at how global temperatures have changed over time can give us valuable insight into our planet's health. In this Quick Bite activity, students watch an animation of global temperature anomalies over time to discover that something strange is going on in the Arctic. 
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Climate, Earth science, Geography, mosaic monday
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, University/college
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: Climate in the Arctic
Why is the Arctic so much colder than the equator? What is the role of sunlight in the Arctic climate system? Explore these questions in this Quick Bite activity. 
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Asking questions, Climate, Constructing explanations, Earth science, mosaic monday
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: CIRES
Quick Bite: What is Climate?
What is climate? In this activity, your students will explore the differences between climate and weather to try to answer this question. 
Project of Mosaic Quick bite
Subject: Climate, Earth science, Geography, mosaic monday
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: CIRES
Tracking Ice: Arctic Sea Ice and Mathematics Curriculum
Through the course of four modules, students will estimate the accuracy of their forecast and determine if it is fit for the purpose of guiding a search and rescue mission. After building their forecasting model, students will know how to access the coordinates of buoys tracked by the International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP) to make a sea ice drift forecast. 
Lesson plan
Subject: Climate, Computational thinking, Developing and using models, Earth science, Oceans and ocean circulation, Sea ice
Grade Level: High School
Developer: SMILE Oregon State
Project PARKA (Planting AntaRtica in KAnsas)
Explore this unit composed of four lessons designed to provide high school students with the background knowledge and understanding of the ocean, Antarctic science, food webs, climate change, and ocean acidification. Photo by Michael Van Woert, NOAA/NESDIA
NGSS Aligned Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Arguing from evidence, Climate, Computational thinking, Constructing explanations, Earth science, Ecosystems, Life science, Oceans and ocean circulation
Grade Level: High School

Sea Ice Predictive Model
Using sea ice extent and carbon dioxide data, students make predictions about future sea ice extent using simple statistics to evaluate a linear relationship. Students compare Arctic and Antarctic conditions.
Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Climate, Computational thinking, Sea ice
Grade Level: High School, University/college
Developer: Joceline Boucher, SERC
Create Classroom Ice Cores
Students analyze two different ice core models (made of layers of ice frozen in pringles cans) to observe changes in past climates.
Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Climate, Earth science, Engineering and technology, Physical science
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center
Impacts of a Warming Arctic
Using NASA data, learners evaluate evidence for decreasing ice in the Arctic and explore the impact of global climate change on the Arctic.
Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Atmosphere, Climate, Constructing explanations, Earth science, Sea ice
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, University/college, Adult
Developer: NASA
The Very, Very Simple Climate Model
Through a simple online model, students learn about the relationship between average global temperature and carbon dioxide emissions while predicting temperature change over the 21st Century.
Lesson plan
Subject: Climate, Developing and using models, Earth science, Obtaining and evaluating information
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: UCAR, Center for Science Education
Northwest Passage
Students use Google Earth to explore changing ice conditions in the Arctic, and how these changing conditions affect shipping routes, fossil fuel extraction, geopolitics, and other Arctic issues.
Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Climate, Geography, Geopolitics, Sea ice
Grade Level: High School, University/college
Developer: Glenn Richard, SERC
Polar Bears in a Warming World:A Climate Change Lesson
Students will locate and distinguish the four major sea ice eco-regions in the Arctic and explore the impacts of sea ice loss over time due to climate change and the ensuing threats these changes may have on the Arctic ecosystem and its inhabitants.
Lesson plan
Subject: Climate, Constructing explanations, Earth science, Ecosystems, Life science, Sea ice
Grade Level: 3-5, Middle School
Developer: Polar Bears International
Jelly Critters
Students conduct research on species of gelatinous zooplankton, and learn about their importance in the Arctic food web.
Lesson plan
Subject: Climate, Ecosystems, Geography, Life science, Obtaining and evaluating information
Grade Level: 3-5, Middle School
Developer: NOAA
Polar Bear Tracker
Students will explore the world of polar bear researchers through the PBI Bear Tracker webpage and the Bear Tracker PowerPoint. They will understand how polar bears are studied using radio collar tracking and track bears in real time. Through the inquiry process, create scientific investigable questions just like real researchers, and learn how you can take action to help polar bears.
Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions, Climate, Ecosystems, Life science
Grade Level: Middle School, High School
Developer: Polar Bears International
Arctic Climate Curriculum: Exploring Arctic Climate Data
Students dig into authentic Arctic climate data to unravel some causes and effects related to the seasonal melting of the snowpack. In particular, students learn about albedo and its relationship to snowmelt. This concept applied to global climate change on a large scale as well, and students go on to learn about the role of albedo as a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism.
NGSS Aligned Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Arguing from evidence, Climate, Computational thinking, Constructing explanations, Earth science, Physical science
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, University/college
Developer: CIRES
Arctic Climate Curriculum: Do you really want to visit the Arctic?
This jigsaw activity is designed for students to become familiar with several datasets of Arctic weather data, collected in Eureka on Ellesmere Island. Students join a role-playing activity to read and interpret graphs while considering the optimal time to plan a research mission to the Arctic.
NGSS Aligned Lesson plan
Subject: Analyzing and interpreting data, Arguing from evidence, Asking questions, Climate, Computational thinking, Constructing explanations, Earth science, Obtaining and evaluating information, Physical science
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, University/college
Developer: CIRES