http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#discussion http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13288 A couple of suggestions: You might also want to have them compare CO2 trends with global or regional temperature trends.
See: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/gcag/
I think this site is still under revision - but does provide graphs of global trends...

A better site for now may be:
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/

One other thing: You have as one of your goals 'evaluating the role of feedbacks'...I don't see where you are including that in this assignment...?]]> Cindy Shellito 1288195560 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13288 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13298
A few other minor comments- in class follow up talking about extremes as Meehl did (and why we still expect the random snow storm in DC) would be valuable.

I like the section where the students predict CO2 concentrations in 2050. Recommend complementing this with some discussion on climate related policy and that future emissions are dependent on decisions/actions made between now and then.]]> Susan Kaspari 1288200840 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13298 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13315 Cindy Shellito 1288202340 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13315 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13316 Kristine DeLong 1288202640 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13316 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13317
In reference to the question you asked in your word doc:
Yes, I do think you can lead students toward your goal of comparing modern CO2 increases with those recorded in ice cores. The magnitude of the modern CO2 increase is pretty impressive and you could have students make some sort of graph or overlay that would show this comparison.

However, comparing the atmospheric CO2 concentrations is only part of the picture - linking that to the observed warming is another matter entirely. I wish there were a straightforward way to make this connection, but I think it's something we all struggle with. The best approach I've found is to line up the graphs of CO2 concentration with temperature. That paints a compelling picture, but often is not enough to reach an airtight conclusion.]]> Karin Kirk 1288202760 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13317 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13320 Kristine DeLong 1288202940 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13320 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13331 You're making me think about context, context, context--
in your 'extensions' paragraph in the word file, I'd encourage students to summarize their understanding of CO2 variation over time to help them get a grip on the next curricular segment on models. Our models are only as good as our data, thus the need for good data--?
-dawn]]> Dawn Cardace 1288204080 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13331 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13361 Elizabeth Gordon 1288610400 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49747.html#post13361