Name of Resource: Global Warming Project- Carbo Module
Climate Change Theme: Carbon
Sponsoring Organization: NASA- LETUS
Intended use: Background Material, Learning Activity
Intended audience: Educators and Learners
Average Review Ratings (Poor to Excellent, 1-5 scale):

Description: This is a "choose your own ending" type of story that has great appeal to most middle school students. It does have supporting teacher's guide and is imbedded in the larger NASA Global Warming Project. However, this is an especially good activity for middle school students and deserves to stand alone and not become lost deeply imbedded in another activity. The purpose of this activity is for students to learn the basic terms and processes of the global carbon cycle and then create their own "concept maps". (RC)

Summary of Reviews

Reviewer: Carrie Morrill
Comments: A series of web-pages using the "Choose your own Adventure" concept. Decide where Carbo the Carbon atom should go next..the atmosphere, ocean, a shell, a rock, etc. A good introduction to the carbon cycle. The activity could be improved by an accompanying worksheet.
Read entire review: link text (Acrobat (PDF) 62kB Jun21 05)

Reviewer: Robert Croft
Comments: First students are to discover the Carbon Cycle through reading through this choose your own ending
can Carbo be broken down as a carbohydrate? How is Carbo converted into methane?). However, overall this is a nice story and then test their knowledge of the carbon cycle through creating a concept map based on their notes, etc. This gives the student control over his/her learning...something most students crave. The teacher then needs to make the connection to Climate Change, Global Warming, or Greenhouse Gases.
Read entire review: link text (Acrobat (PDF) 49kB Jun21 05)

Reviewer: Kirsten Butcher
Comments: The site is a fun activity for intermediate level students (middle school) to help them understand the complexities of the carbon cycle in an accessible format. The site allows students to choose the path that a carbon atom takes through the carbon cycle—this sounds like a dry activity but it is actually nicely presented and offers interesting paths for "Carbo" that the students probably will find quite entertaining (e.g., expelled by a volcano, eaten by a cow, trapped in a soda, burped up by human ...). It might have been nice to have some links to more rigorous information on the carbon cycle and/or background information; beginning learners may need explicit links to really apply their experiences in the activity to conceptual knowledge about the carbon cycle. In addition, there are some confusing aspects of the activity (e.g., how stand-alone activity that students will enjoy.
Read entire review: link text (Acrobat (PDF) 47kB Jun21 05)