ALEX Classroom Resource

  

Climate Change and Rising Seas

  Classroom Resource Information  

Title:

 Climate Change and Rising Seas

URL:

 https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/climate-change-and-rising-seas/

Content Source:

 National Geographic
Type: Lesson/Unit Plan

Overview:

In this lesson, students identify the difference between global warming and climate change. They learn what causes a global rise in sea level, and they test predictions about sea-level rise through a hands-on experiment.

Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 6
Earth and Space Science
14 ) Analyze and interpret data (e.g., tables, graphs, maps of global and regional temperatures; atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane; rates of human activities) to describe how various human activities (e.g., use of fossil fuels, creation of urban heat islands, agricultural practices) and natural processes (e.g., solar radiation, greenhouse effect, volcanic activity) may cause changes in local and global temperatures over time.

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
E8.7a: The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor.

NAEP Statement::
E8.7b: The atmosphere has a different physical and chemical composition at different elevations.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change
Disciplinary Core Idea: Earth's Systems
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Analyze data to describe how various human activities may cause changes in local and global temperatures over time.
  • Interpret data to describe how various human activities may cause changes in local and global temperatures over time.
  • Analyze data to describe how various natural processes may cause changes in local and global temperatures over time.
  • Interpret data to describe how various natural processes may cause changes in local and global temperatures over time.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Natural processes
  • Human activities
  • Global temperatures
  • Mean surface temperature
  • Global warming
  • Solar radiation
  • Greenhouse Effect
  • Volcanic activity
  • Fossil fuels
  • Combustion
  • Urban heat islands
  • Agriculture
  • Natural systems
  • Carbon dioxide (gases)
  • Greenhouse gases
  • Concentration
  • Atmosphere
  • Climate change
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Natural processes and/or human activities may have affected the patterns of change in global temperatures over the past century, leading to the current rise in Earth's mean surface temperature (global warming).
  • Natural processes may include factors such as changes in incoming solar radiation, the greenhouse effect, or volcanic activity.
  • Human activities may include factors such as fossil fuel combustion, the creation of urban heat islands, and agricultural activity.
  • Natural processes and/or human activities may lead to a gradual or sudden change in global temperatures in natural systems (e.g., glaciers and arctic ice, and plant and animal seasonal movements and life cycle activities).
  • Natural processes and/or human activities may have led to changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the past century.
  • Patterns in data connect natural processes and human activities to changes in global temperatures over the past century.
  • Patterns in data connect the changes in natural processes and/or human activities related to greenhouse gas production to changes in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
  • Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Organize given data on various human activities, natural processes, and changes in local and global temperatures to allow for analysis and interpretation.
  • Analyze the data to identify possible causal relationships between human activities and natural processes and changes in local and global temperature over time.
  • Interpret patterns observed from the data to provide causal accounts for events and make predictions for events by constructing explanations.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Human activities and natural processes may affect local and global temperatures over time.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Understanding Weather and Climate
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.6.14- Interpret data (e.g., tables, graphs) to determine changes in local and global temperatures over time; identify human activities (e.g. the use of fossil fuels) and natural processes (e.g. volcanic activity) as causes of these changes in temperatures.
Tags: climate change, global warming, temperature
License Type: Custom Permission Type
See Terms: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/terms-of-service/
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses
AccessibilityText Resources: Content is organized under headings and subheadings
Comments

National Geographic Education is free for Educators. 

  This resource provided by:  
Author: Stephanie Carver
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