This activity is a short engineering design challenge to be completed by individual students or small teams. A real-world problem is presented, designing buildings for hurricane-prone areas, but in a simulated way that works in a classroom, after... (View More) school club, or informal education setting. Students are given simple materials and design requirements, and must plan and build a tower as tall as possible that will hold up a tennis ball while resisting the force of wind from a fan. After the towers are built, the group comes together to test them. If there is time after testing, which can be observational or framed as a contest between teams, students can redesign their towers to improve their performance, or simply discuss what worked well and what didn’t in their designs. (View Less)

In this inquiry activity, teams of students are challenged with engineering a greenhouse heat trap for use with exotic plants. The investigation requires thermometers, plastic wrap, and a shoebox for each team. Students graph data and determine the... (View More) effectiveness of their design. This activity is supported by a textbook chapter, Atmospheric Energy, part of the unit, Energy Flow, in Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

This textbook chapter presents evidence of a warming climate and outlines how a clear picture of global warming has emerged since the 1980s. Students learn about sampling error sources in climate data, and compare graphical data collected by climate... (View More) scientists Jim Hansen, Philip Jones and Tom Wigley, as they follow the global warming hypothesis move through the process of science. This is the fourth chapter in the unit, Climate Change, which addresses the question of how human activities are changing Earth's climate. The resource includes three classroom investigations, links to current news articles, and a suite of pre- and post-unit assessments. A teacher's guide supports classroom use. This is chapter 4 of Climate Change, part of Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

In this problem-based learning activity, students assume roles as members of the Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Your major area of concern is locating areas best for collecting solar power. You will need to evaluate... (View More) locations in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, and decide which is the best location for solar energy development. Step-by-step instructions for use of the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS) guide students through selecting a data set, importing the data into a spreadsheet, creating graphs, and analyzing data plots. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions. (View Less)

In this data analysis activity, Students will use NASA satellite data to study temperature and snow-ice coverage in the South Beaufort Sea, Alaska. The data can be used to correlate with USGS ground tracking of polar bears, and to relate this to... (View More) global change, sea ice changes, and polar bear migration. The lesson includes step-by-step instructions for use of the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS), guiding students through selection of a data set from a location of their choice, importing the data into a spreadsheet, creating graphs, and analyzing data plots. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions. (View Less)

This online, facilitated course is designed for high-school educators wishing to teach global climate change using an inquiry/problem-based approach. The course focusses on evidence that supports global climate change and how to use NASA data and... (View More) resources to help high-school students discover mitigations or adaptations to climate change. The course is part of PBS Education's outreach and offerings to educators across the country; it is a 45-hour experience over six weeks and eligible for three graduate credits. (View Less)

This online, facilitated course is designed for middle-school educators wishing to teach global climate change using an inquiry/problem-based approach. Teachers access the course by registering with PBS TeacherLine and enrolling in the course. The... (View More) course supports teaching global climate change using a problem-solving approach and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) methodology to engage middle-school students and help them understand the causes and effects of climate change and learn about the differences between climate and weather and how actions and nature affect the environment. The course includes pedagogic support for educators who are interested in using Web 2.0 tools when teaching about climate change in the classroom. Enhance content knowledge of climate change and learn how to effectively implement STEM instructional strategies using resources from NASA and WGBH’s Teachers’ Domain. (View Less)

In this problem-based learning activity, students assume roles as senior science advisors for the Louisiana Environmental Agency. Student groups are assigned to the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere or hydrosphere and investigate the impacts of a... (View More) recent hurricane in each sphere. Step-by-step instructions for use of the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS) guide students through selecting a data set, importing the data into a spreadsheet, creating graphs, and analyzing data plots. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions. (View Less)

Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has risen from ~280ppm (parts per million by volume) to ~390ppm in 2010. The rate of increase for the last decade (2001-2010) has been 2.04ppm/yr, more than double the rate... (View More) for the 1960's. Most scientists agree that human actions are the primary cause of the increase, the rise in Earth's average temperature since the mid-1900's and recent climate change. In this problem-based learning activity, learners develop a carbon mitigation strategy to address climate change issues. This module was developed to be used in the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) courses for middle and high school teachers and is also available to teachers to adapt for general classroom use. (View Less)

In this problem-based learning unit, learners analyze the role of condensation trails from jets, or contrails, and their role in climate change. Contrails are thin ice clouds that form from the burning of jet fuel and release of water vapor. The... (View More) issue with contrails is that narrow trails can spread and coalesce to form significant banks of cirrus-type clouds. Instructions to access NASA data are provided along with additional resources and activities. This module was developed to be used in the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) courses for middle and high school teachers and is also available to teachers to adapt for general classroom use. (View Less)