Unit 3: Energy Flows and Feedback Processes part of Earths Thermostat
Bob Mackay, Clark College; Allison Dunn, Worcester State University; Phil Resor, Wesleyan University
In this unit, we use energy flows within the climate system to introduce climate feedbacks and system diagrams. The class session uses an interactive lecture approach having students work on multiple tasks ...

Unit 1: Energy, Space, and Earth's Effective Temperature part of Earths Thermostat
Allison Dunn, Worcester State University; Phil Resor, Wesleyan University; Bob Mackay, Clark College
This unit is designed to engage students by introducing them to patterns in recent climate and investigating possible reasons for recent changes. Students work in small groups to plot and analyze real-world ...

Unit 2: Earth's Atmosphere and Its Influence on Temperature part of Earths Thermostat
Allison Dunn, Worcester State University; Phil Resor, Wesleyan University; Bob Mackay, Clark College
This unit investigates the role of the atmosphere on incoming solar and outgoing terrestrial radiation and analyzes modern trends in greenhouse gas concentrations. Students first investigate radiation spectra to ...

Did Early Farmers Alter Climate? part of Teaching Activities
Sue Swanson, Beloit College
The overarching goal of this exercise is for students to explore the early anthropogenic hypothesis, which claims that early agriculture had a substantial impact on greenhouse gases and global climate thousands of ...

Unit 1: Hydrologic Cycle part of Interactions between Water, Earth’s Surface, and Human Activity
Julie Monet, California State University-Chico
In this unit, students investigate water from a global perspective. The focus of students learning is on the identification of storehouses where Earth's water is stored, how matter (water) cycles through the ...

Arctic Climate Curriculum, Activity 3: Exploring Arctic Climate Data part of Climate Change:Activities
Karin Kirk, Freelance Science Writer and Geoscientist; Anne Gold, University of Colorado at Boulder
Students dig into authentic Arctic climate data to unravel some causes and effects related to the seasonal melting of the snowpack. In particular, students learn about albedo and its relationship to snowmelt. This ...

Unit 3.3 What causes ocean stratification? part of TIDeS:TIDeS Teaching Materials:Physical Science
Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
Students will investigate ocean stratification using real-world data, measure the density of various fluids, construct and experiment with a physical model of ocean layers, and compare real-world data with model ...

Lab 2: Earth's Frozen Oceans part of EarthLabs for Educators:Climate and the Cryosphere
The lab activity described here was developed by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project. Summary and Learning Objectives In Part A, students will learn about how sea ice forms and influences ocean currents ...

Global Warming in 5 Steps part of Oceanography:Activities
Stephen Taylor, Kauai Community College
Scientists say the planet is warming because of human activities, namely the greenhouse effect from carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere when burning fossil fuels. But, how do we know? How do scientists know? ...

Ocean Gyre Circulation and Patterns of Global Primary Productivity part of Oceanography:Activities
Megan Jones, North Hennepin Community College
This teaching activity provides a visual framework for understanding the relationship/connection between ocean gyre circulation and primary productivity. Students demonstrate their own understanding of surface ...