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Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»
See how this Simulation/Interactive
supports the Next Generation Science Standards»Middle School: 1 Disciplinary Core Idea, 3 Cross Cutting Concepts, 6 Science and Engineering Practices
High School: 1 Disciplinary Core Idea, 2 Cross Cutting Concepts, 4 Science and Engineering Practices
Topics
Grade Level
Regional Focus
Climate Literacy
About Teaching Climate Literacy
5e 
5eOther materials addressing 5e
Other materials addressing 7e
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Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy |
Technical Details
Teaching Tips
- Interactive could be used as a motivating context for introducing a unit on emissions and climate change.
- Students can collect data through interactive and create a data table that displays comparisons among all locations.
- Have students find the temperature differences at each site given both low and high emission scenarios.
About the Science
- An interactive graphic that demonstrates the impacts of climate change on maple syrup sap production in the Northeast.
- 5 different locations in the Northeast are featured.
- Students have different scenarios to change and visualize the effects of emissions rates and temperature on the window of sap production.
- The graphic alone does not explain the reasoning behind the changes. Have students read the article about sap flow in the 'more info' section.
- Suggestions from expert scientist: Educators could assign a small number of questions that students can investigate first on their own, and then confirm by clicking the "official" answer. E.g. things like: "Will there be an effect on timing only, or also on yield? If so, does it regionally differ?"
- Comment from expert scientist: The map does not match the spatial trend described in the second-to-last paragraph of the supporting article ("Maple production south of Pennsylvania will likely be lost by 2100 due to lack of freezing, while production in Quebec may benefit from climate changes"). In this way, the graphic may not match the text of the article. Without seeing the original research it is hard to say which one is accurate. That said, the map projections are for 2080, not 2100.
About the Pedagogy
- Visualization encourages students to make connections between climate and the scientific research that predicts how these changes will effect our environment.
- Very location-specific but could be made relevant elsewhere by (a) bringing prices into it, or (b) talking about local syrup production and how climate change might affect it (e.g. in upper Midwest).
- Sap flow/run changes are one of several issues we experience with climate change, this could be useful as a starting example to promote exploration of others.
- Instructor may want to use this to further explore economic or biological impacts of climate change on sap flow (why does this matter; how else does climate affect the tree?).
- The 'more info' button links to additional background context for educators.
Next Generation Science Standards See how this Simulation/Interactive supports:
Middle School
Disciplinary Core Ideas: 1
MS-ESS3.D1:Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.
Cross Cutting Concepts: 3
MS-C2.1:Relationships can be classified as causal or correlational, and correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
MS-C2.2:Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.
MS-C2.3:Phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can only be described using probability.
Science and Engineering Practices: 6
MS-P1.1:Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, models, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.
MS-P1.2:ask questions to identify and/or clarify evidence and/or the premise(s) of an argument.
MS-P1.3:Ask questions to determine relationships between independent and dependent variables and relationships in models.
MS-P4.1:Construct, analyze, and/or interpret graphical displays of data and/or large data sets to identify linear and nonlinear relationships.
MS-P4.2:Use graphical displays (e.g., maps, charts, graphs, and/or tables) of large data sets to identify temporal and spatial relationships.
MS-P4.3: Distinguish between causal and correlational relationships in data.
High School
Disciplinary Core Ideas: 1
HS-ESS3.D1:Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts.
Cross Cutting Concepts: 2
HS-C2.1:Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.
HS-C2.2:Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.
Science and Engineering Practices: 4
HS-P1.1:Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.
HS-P1.2:ask questions that arise from examining models or a theory, to clarify and/or seek additional information and relationships.
HS-P1.3:ask questions to determine relationships, including quantitative relationships, between independent and dependent variables
HS-P4.3:Consider limitations of data analysis (e.g., measurement error, sample selection) when analyzing and interpreting data
