Part 1: Past Climate Extremes and Impacts

In Part 1, students think about climate extremes, particularly cold extremes, in both time and space. They will learn about the "Little Ice Age" (LAI; ~1450-1850), a period of generally colder temperatures. In particular, they will identify two volcanic eruptions in the late 1700s-early 1800s that led to extreme cold in northwestern North America, and they will use online resources to explore regional impacts on humans.

Part 2: Recent Climate Extremes

In Part 2, students will learn about recent climate change and related environmental impacts. They will hone in on recent environmental changes occurring in Alaska, and they will investigate how these changes impact an Indigenous community along the Bering Sea (the village of Savoonga, located off of the northern coast of St. Lawrence Island).

Part 3: The Future of Climate

In Part 3, the lab focuses on future climate change projections. Students are briefly introduced to climate models through an online tool. They will evaluate future climate projections both in northwestern North America and in their own backyard, and they will consider the implications of these changes.

To download one of the PDF or Word files below, right-click (control-click on a Mac) the link and choose "Save File As" or "Save Link As."

• Student Activity Sheet - (PDF (Acrobat (PDF) 72kB May13 24))(Word (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 17kB May13 24)); Suggested Answers (Acrobat (PDF) 109kB May13 24))

Lab 6 builds on some of the concepts from Lab 5, so we recommend that students complete Lab 5 first. Before conducting the lab activity, we recommend that instructors read through the activity themselves, and watch all of the linked videos to prepare for questions. This lab works well as self-guided and self-paced with students working independently on their computers or in small groups.

There are a few optional videos (for students who want more background information) and one required video (about the village of Savoonga in Part 2). If instructors are running this activity together in a classroom, they might ask students to bring headphones if they have them available, so that students can watch the videos at their own pace. Alternatively, time could be allotted to watch at least the required video together as a class for Part 2, and students could answer the related questions.

In this lab, students are occasionally asked to conduct online searches regarding climate impacts on regional populations. This is a good opportunity to teach students how to use detailed key words on their chosen online search engine to find relevant information (e.g., "human impacts cold Alaska 1783"). If preferred, instructors could also direct students to specific resources/websites for these questions. There are some suggestions of relevant informational websites provided in the answer key for the activity sheet.

All relevant references and resources are provided in the lab activity for students. Please note that some of these videos are described as 'optional'. They provide some of the background information that students might not be aware of, or are interested in learning about, though they are not required to complete the lab and answer the activity questions. Some additional links are provided for instructors in the answer key for the activity sheet.