Gallery Walk Questions about Climate

This material was originally created for Starting Point:Introductory Geology
and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.

This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Peer Reviewed Teaching Activities collection. (view details)

This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection

This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are

Scientific Accuracy
Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
Pedagogic Effectiveness
Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page

For more information about the peer review process itself, please see https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html.

Initial Publication Date: November 14, 2006 | Reviewed: October 22, 2012 (see revision history: 5 events)

_{created by Mark Francek, Central Michigan University}

The following are potential questions that could be used in a gallery walk activity about climate. The questions are organized according to the cognitive level at which students are engaged, using Bloom's Taxonomy.

Knowledge

State how the following atmospheric constituents water vapor, carbon dioxide, stratospheric ozone, clouds, and dust impact the earth system?

Comprehension

Draw a diagram (concept chart or picture) illustrating the impacts of the following pollutants chlorofluorocarbons, carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides, and particulates on global climate.

Application

Analysis

1. Consider these cities: City A, at 8000 ft. elevation, is located on the windward side of an island at 2° S near the middle of a large ocean. City B, at 44°N, is located on a 500 ft. plateau on the lee (downwind) side of a 14,000 ft. mountain range and is over 1000 miles from the nearest water body. Explain the climate of these cities relative to latitude, altitude, continentality, mountains.

2. Using the posted climograph, how is this location influenced by latitude, altitude, continentality, maritime influence, location relative to mountain bodies, cloud cover, location of offshore currents. Be sure to locate the station on the world map, which shows elevation, before answering this question.

Synthesis

Evaluation

1. Prepare a list of criteria for reducing the risk of heat related illness for inner city elderly. Prioritize the list and justify your rating.

2. Look the temperature patterns in the following U.S. climographs (see http://drought.unl.edu/DroughtBasics/WhatisClimatology/ClimographsforSelectedUSCities.aspx). Prioritize and explain how climate variables (like latitude, altitude, continentality, maritime influence, location relative to mountain bodies, cloud cover, location of offshore currents) contribute to annual temperature patterns. Be sure to locate the station on the world map, which shows elevation, before answering this question.

Visit the introduction to Gallery Walks for more information about using Gallery Walks in your classes.

Learn more about creating questions for Gallery Walk using Bloom's Taxonomy

To see a more fully fleshed out example of a Gallery Walk activity, check out either Weather Map Interpretation or Soil Morphology.