Arctic Climate Curriculum, Activity 2: Do you really want to visit the Arctic? part of Climate Change:Activities
Karin Kirk, Freelance Science Writer and Geoscientist
This jigsaw activity is designed for students to become familiar with several datasets of Arctic weather data, collected in Eureka on Ellesmere Island. Students join a role-playing activity to read and interpret ...

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 ...

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 ...

Reasons for the Seasons part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Teaching the Methods of Geoscience:Activities
Jeffrey D. Thomas, Central Connecticut State University
The inquiry method and meteorological and astronomical online data can be used to elicit the inconsistencies of students' naïve ideas about the "real" reasons for the seasons. The first phase of this two-part investigation uses online meteorological data to identify factors that might explain differences of seasonal temperatures among cities These factors are used to hypothesize why differences of seasonal temperatures occur among cities. During the second phase, the variables and hypotheses that were previously identified in part one are used to design and conduct an inquiry-oriented investigation. Astronomical data is used as part of the investigation to "test" students' hypotheses— conclusions are drawn then communicated.

Climate Around the World part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
Cindy Shellito, University of Northern Colorado
This exercise is designed to provide students with an overview of regional climate variations around the world and promote discussion of factors that create differences in climate around the world. This assignment ...

In Search of GLOBE Data part of Visualization:Examples
Gary Randolph, GLOBE
Students use on-line GLOBE search tools to locate and display data from schools and use the data to answer questions regarding weather and climate. Answer key provided.

Hurricanes Unit Overview part of EarthLabs for Educators:Hurricanes
LuAnn Dahlman, NOAA; John McDaris, Carleton College
In this EarthLabs module, students will do hands-on experiments and study hurricanes in satellite imagery and visualizations. They'll also explore over 150 years of storm data to find out when and where these storms occur. If students are studying hurricanes during hurricane season, they can monitor the position and status of storms in real time. Hurricanes can serve as an exciting entry point into understanding everyday weather, or a culminating topic for an Earth system or environmental science unit.

Net Radiation and Temperature part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Allison Dunn, Worcester State University
This assignment helps students think about how net radiation affects surface temperature.

Sun Path: Interactive On-line Mac or PC part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Mathematical and Statistical Models:Mathematical and Statistical Models Examples
Sun Path JAVA applet written by the Australia National University. Starting Point example and page by R.M. MacKay.
Students use SunPath in the yearly mode to investigate seasonal changes in sunrise, sunset, length of day and sun altitude at their own latitude. JAVA activity for Mac or PC. -

Analyzing Hurricanes part of Hurricanes-Climate Change Connection:Activities
Ben Laabs, North Dakota State University-Main Campus
The exercise uses GIS to explore historical data on hurricanes (path, strength, name). Students identify trends in hurricane records, the impact of hurricanes on major U.S. cities, and how hurricanes change through ...