Teaching Activities

Unit 5: The Sixth Extinction part of Changing Biosphere
Camille Holmgren, SUNY Buffalo State University
In this unit, students will prepare by reading a couple of articles describing the causes and rates of mass extinctions, including the current "Sixth Extinction," and why conservation is important to ...

Grade Level: High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14):College Introductory
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity:Short Activity:Think-Pair-Share, Activities, Course Module
Subject: Biology:Ecology, Environmental Science:Human Population, Sustainability, Ecosystems:Biodiversity, Geoscience:Biogeosciences , Environmental Science
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Unit 3: The Interconnected Nature of the Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Biosphere part of Changing Biosphere
Sam Donovan, BioQUEST; LeeAnna Chapman, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Cailin Huyck Orr, Carleton College; Camille Holmgren, SUNY Buffalo State University; Rebecca Teed, Wright State University-Main Campus
Using a systems dynamics approach, students will work in groups to conceptualize and construct a model of the global carbon cycle considering five major Earth systems: atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, ...

Grade Level: High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14):College Introductory
Online Readiness: Online Adaptable
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity:Short Activity:Think-Pair-Share, Course Module, Activities
Subject: Biology, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards, Environmental Science, Geoscience:Biogeosciences , Environmental Science:Ecosystems
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Unit 2: Ocean Conditions: Ancient to Modern part of Ocean Sustainability
MICHELLE KINZEL, Southwestern College; Astrid Schnetzer, North Carolina State University; Cara Thompson, Arizona State University at the West Campus
Students will be provided with seawater pH and carbon dioxide concentration (pCO2) data spanning as far back as 1850. They will describe trends in pH, pCO2 and atmospheric CO2 concentration, outline why these ...

Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):College Introductory
Online Readiness: Online Adaptable
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity:Short Activity:Think-Pair-Share, Activities, Course Module
Subject: Geoscience:Oceanography:Ocean-Climate Interactions, Chemical, Geoscience:Geology:Environmental Geology, Geoscience:Oceanography, Biology:Biogeochemistry:Carbon Cycling, Environmental Science, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Biology:Biogeochemistry, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Unit 2: The Carbon Cycle part of Carbon, Climate, and Energy Resources
Callan Bentley, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Students will explore the different aspects of the carbon cycle on Earth. This includes the original source of all the carbon on our planet, the near ubiquity of carbon, the six principle reservoirs of carbon in ...

Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):College Introductory
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity:Short Activity:Think-Pair-Share, Course Module, Activities
Subject: Geoscience:Geology:Environmental Geology, Biology:Biogeochemistry:Carbon Cycling, Environmental Science:Sustainability, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Energy:Fossil Fuels
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary, Passed Peer Review

Seasonal variation in light, mixing depth and primary productivity in temperate northern hemisphere waters part of Oceanography:Activities
Lauren Sahl, Maine Maritime Academy
In this exercise students work with light, temperature, and phytoplankton biomass proxy (chlorophyll a concentration) data to; Become more skilled in reading and interpreting semi log graphs, temperature profiles, ...

Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):College Introductory, College Lower (13-14)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Activities
Subject: Geoscience:Oceanography, Oceanography:Biological, Chemical, Biology:Ecology:Habitats:Marine, Water Column, Biology, Ecology, Geoscience:Oceanography:Physical , Biology:Ecology:Habitats
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Through Tribal Eyes: Change on the Menominee Nation part of CLEAN Collection

https://toolkit.climate.gov/videos/through-tribal-eyes-c...

United States Climate Resilience Toolkit
In this video, members of the Menominee nation discuss their experiences with climate change.

Grade Level: High School (9-12), Middle (6-8)
Online Readiness: Online Ready
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Audio/Visual:Animations/Video, Activities:Classroom Activity:Studio Teaching
Subject: Environmental Science:Ecosystems:Habitats, Restoration/Reclamation, Environmental Science:Ecosystems, Ecosystems:Habitats:Invasive species, Environmental Science:Ecosystems:Biodiversity, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Ecosystems:Ecology, Environmental Science, American Studies, Biology:Plant Biology, Environmental Science:Forest Resources:Deforestation, Environmental Science:Forest Resources, Air Quality:Acid Rain, Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity, Anthropology, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity:Surface Water , Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Recent climate data, Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Hydrology:Ground Water:Water supply/water resource evaluation, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Climate Change:Recent climate data, Geoscience:Hydrology:Ground Water:Water quality/chemistry , Biology:Ecology:Abiotic Relations, Biology:Ecology, Ecology:Habitats, Habitats:Freshwater, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Anthropogenic causes, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Air quality, Air quality:Acid Rain, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Anthropogenic causes, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Orbital patterns, Climate sensitivity and feedbacks, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, History and evolution of Earth's climate, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Hydrologic cycle, Environmental Science:Land Use and Planning, Air Quality, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:History and evolution of Earth's climate, Environmental Science:Sustainability
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

CCD & Calcareous Ooze Assignment part of Oceanography:Activities
Cynthia Lampe, Ventura College
The assignment pre-tests student understanding of the CCD, lysocline, calcareous ooze, and the deposition of marine sediments near mid-ocean ridges and ocean basins.

Grade Level: College Lower (13-14)
Online Readiness: Online Ready
Resource Type: Activities: Activities, Classroom Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Geology:Sedimentary Geology:Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks:Chemical, Biochemical , Biology:Biogeochemistry:Biomineralization, Chemistry:Biochemistry, Geoscience:Geology:Sedimentary Geology:Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks:Carbonates , Geoscience:Geology:Sedimentary Geology:Depositional environments:Deep Marine Environment
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Atmospheric Carbon: Can We Offset the Increase? part of Oceanography:Activities
Joceline Boucher, Maine Maritime Academy
This activity lets students discover first hand how the big issues in climate change -- here, the increase in atmospheric CO2 and the utility of carbon offsets -- can be understood through measurement, application ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14)
Online Readiness: Online Ready
Resource Type: Activities: Activities, Classroom Activity
Subject: Biology:Biogeochemistry:Carbon Cycling, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Greenhouse effect, Greenhouse gas emissions, Mitigation of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Greenhouse gas emissions, Greenhouse effect, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Lab 3: Building a Reef part of EarthLabs for Educators:Corals
The lab activity described here was created by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project. Summary and Learning Objectives During this lab, students learn about the life cycle of corals, including how they grow ...

Grade Level: High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)
Online Readiness: Online Ready
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity
Subject: Biology:Ecology:Symbiotic Relations, Geoscience:Oceanography:Marine Resources, Biological, Biology:Cell Biology:Cell Processes:Metabolism:Photosynthesis, Biology:Zoology, Environmental Science:Ecosystems, Oceans and Coastal Resources, Geoscience:Oceanography:Chemical, Biology:Cell Biology:Cell Processes:Metabolism:Respiration
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Lab 6: Using Data to Identify Hot Spots and Predict Bleaching Events part of EarthLabs for Educators:Corals
The lab activity described here was created by Erin Bardar and Sarah Hill of TERC for the EarthLabs project. Summary and Learning Objectives Under certain environmental stresses, zooxanthellae algae will vacate ...

Grade Level: College Lower (13-14), High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Online Ready
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity
Subject: Biology:Ecology, Environmental Science:Ecosystems:Habitats, Environmental Science:Oceans and Coastal Resources, Geoscience:Oceanography:Marine Resources, Biological
Activity Review: Passed Peer Review, Peer Reviewed as Exemplary