Climate Change and Arctic Ecosystems
https://apps.iclimate.org/ccc/Files/cc_arctic.pdf
https://apps.iclimate.org/ccc/Files/cc_arctic.pdf
Project Activities for Conceptualizing Climate and Climate Change, Purdue University
Activity will take about two 45-minute class periods.
Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»
See how this Activity supports the Next Generation Science Standards»
Grade Level
Regional Focus
Topics
Climate Literacy
This Activity builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.
Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.
Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines
2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.2 The Living Environment:A) Organisms, populations, and communities
Other materials addressing:
A) Organisms, populations, and communities.
Other materials addressing:
A) Organisms, populations, and communities.
2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.2 The Living Environment:C) Systems and connections
Other materials addressing:
C) Systems and connections.
Other materials addressing:
C) Systems and connections.
Notes From Our Reviewers
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Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy |
Technical Details
Teaching Tips
- Questions at the beginning seem odd in their placement, but could be used as a pre-test.
- Educator should enlarge and laminate the map of the Arctic for use in the activity to improve readability.
- Educators should project the given images and go through the process of calculating percentage of sea ice cover with students.
About the Content
- Good background readings for students are provided.
- Activity is very current and has scientifically-rich resources.
- In preparation for this lesson, educators should make sure they understand the difference between temperature anomalies or change in temperature from some mean temperature - usually a 30-year average.
- Comment from scientist: Some of the numbers on the web page are somewhat outdated. Educator should check for most up-to-date numbers on: http://pbsg.npolar.no/en/.
- Comment from scientist: Page 3 states that the central part of the Arctic is frozen all year - this is no longer true.
- Comment from scientist: All materials on this site imply that climate change is the only factor potentially responsible for the decline of the species. The major threats are: climate change, over-harvest, pollution, oil development, and tourism (not listed in order of priority).
About the Pedagogy
- This is a best practice lesson in its layout format, which takes the learner from engaging their thinking and making predictions, to exploring and explaining concepts, to extending their thinking, and finally to applying knowledge and reflecting.
- Group work and discussions are good strategies for students of different learning styles.
- Scaffolding of concepts is appropriate for the lesson and promotes the learning.
- The lesson ends with a good performance assessment (concept mapping) to evaluate student understanding.
- Links to a PowerPoint and concept map are included in the Teaching Tips section.
Technical Details/Ease of Use
- The activity is nicely organized and has an attractive format that will engage students.
- The educator must open separate windows for accompanying educator guide, concept map, and PowerPoint slides at http://iclimate.org/ccc (Left menu under Teaching/Learning Modules - Ecological Impacts.)
Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN
- This lesson is part of a unit of curriculum from Purdue University. Concept Map, PowerPoint Presentation, and other teaching resources at: http://www.iclimate.org/ccc/.
