Welcome to Challenger Center's Global Climate Change Education project funded by NASA (Innovations in Global Climate Change). Challenger Center is providing Earth Science professional development opportunities for Challenger Learning Center educators in partnership with The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies' and their Earth Science System Education Alliance on-line professional development program. We are also partnering with the American Museum of Natural History and their Seminars on Science on-line distance learning program.
Participating educators have created five units for classroom teachers (grades 6-9). Each unit has four lessons and presents a climate-focused event as seen through the lens of four of Earth's interconnected spheres: Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Atmosphere. Students can work in teams to complete the activities for each sphere, or complete any or all of the four as a class.
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To download any of the Global Climate Change lessons, click on the lesson link below each unit.
To search for all of our lessons in Earth science visit our lesson plan database.
NEW! CC EARTH 4 U Online Interactives As a scientist you can research the shifting balance of Earth’s system. Explore different scenarios with our Carbon/Temperature Model to draw some conclusions about what events are causing the greatest shifts in Earth’s climate.
Note: Adobe Flash plug-in will be required to run CC Earth 4 U interactives.
Rainforest in Crisis
Last Updated: November 2011
Unit Overview:
Students read four articles which provide the necessary background for the subsequent four lessons. Topics include: the carbon cycle, the greenhouse effect, and the Keeling curve for CO2 levels. Students are also introduced to the event/sphere analysis approach to investigating earth systems science. In the final activity, students take a tour of deforestation in the Amazon using Google Earth.
Brazilian Deforestation Unit Intro (pdf, 417 KB)
Brazilian Deforestation Student Worksheet Unit Intro (pdf, 994 KB)
Brazilian Deforestation and the Atmosphere
Students read an article about the impact of deforestation on the atmosphere, and answer review questions. Students use the NASA Earth Observatory website to download datasets, and use Google Earth to open and view them. Students conduct data analysis by summarizing apparent relationships between variables such as Aerosol Optical Thickness and Water Vapor.
(zip,429 KB)
Brazilian Deforestation and the Biosphere
Students read an article about the impact of deforestation on the biosphere: the biological carbon cycle; photosynthesis; carbon dioxide, carbon sources and sinks; and the deforestation process upon the landscape. Students use My NASA Data to investigate NDVI (a vegetation index) in Rondonia and Mato Grosso, Brazil, and changes in land-use change over time. Students will learn both visual analysis techniques and quantitative approaches. Students use trendlines or line of best fit in their analyses and make predictions.
(zip, 985 KB)
Brazilian Deforestation and the Hydrosphere
Students read an article about the impact of deforestation on the hydrosphere and answer review questions. Students choose two variables and form a hypothesis. Students pick a year to study and use the NASA Earth Observatory website to download datasets showing different variables overlaying Rondonia and Mato Grosso, Brazil. Using visual analysis techniques, students explain whether their hypothesis was confirmed or not.
(zip, 1.2 MB)
Brazilian Deforestation and the Lithosphere
Students read an article about the impact of deforestation on the lithosphere: long-term carbon cycle; carbon storage and transfer; forest fires and carbon; and the ocean's role. Students use a computer-based interactive carbon cycle diagram to examine what impact changes in farmland, plant productivity, sea surface area, deforestation, and use of fossil fuels would have upon the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and ultimately global temperature change.
(zip, 341 KB)
Mt. Pinatubo 91:The Blast Heard 'Round the World
Last Updated: November 2011
Unit Overview:
In this series of four lessons, students examine the event-to-sphere and sphere-to-sphere interactions in relation to the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines. They address concepts such as: volcanism, plate tectonics, subduction, global climate effects (temperature and aerosols), mud slides and risk mitigation. Activities include: use of Google Earth, tracking ash plumes on a map, reading topographic maps, tree ring analysis, practice at reading qualitative data, and graph interpretation. The lithosphere lesson should be completed first and the others may be completed in any order. Each lesson has components for younger learners as well as options for more advanced students. Two of the activities make use of computers.
Mount Pinatubo and the Atmosphere
In this lesson, students explore several facets of the impact of volcanic eruptions on the atmosphere. Students analyze three types of visual information: a graph of aerosol optical depth v. global temperature, a global map with temperature anomalies, and an ash plume photograph. In the hands-on activity students use math to determine the rate and estimated time of arrival of an ash plume at an airfield.
(zip, 1.3 MB)
Mount Pinatubo and the Biosphere
Students read an article about the impact of volcanic eruptions on the biosphere: geology, subduction, how temperature changes affected the biosphere, and the human impact. Students take notes on event-to-sphere interactions. Students are introduced to the science of dendrochronology and examine the impact of a volcanic eruption on tree rings. Advanced students may optionally read a short article on the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and photosynthesis and analyze two graphs showing the differences between expected CO2 and actual CO2 after the eruption.
(zip,1.6 MB)
Mount Pinatubo and the Hydrosphere
This lesson is fundamentally about the on-going damage created by natural hazards. In this lesson, students see how Earth events impact Earth's spheres and sphere changes affects other spheres. Students read an article and answer questions about how lahars form, the damage they do and mitigation efforts. Next, students analyze both printed and Google Earth topographic maps and predict where lahars will form. They compare their predictions to NASA images.
(zip, 822 KB)
Mount Pinatubo and the Lithosphere
Students are introduced to the Earth System Science model. In this model, Earth events impact Earth's spheres and sphere changes affect other spheres. Students read an article about the impact of volcanic eruptions on the lithosphere: constructive and destructive forces, the rock cycle, how volcanoes work, earth's layers, tectonic plates, and volcanic landforms. Students answer review questions, take notes on event to sphere interactions and use a map to examine landforms associated with subduction of tectonic plates. Optional activities include learning about qualitative data analysis and using Google Earth to look at the landforms near volcanoes all over the world.
(zip, 2.1 MB)
California Climate
Last Updated: December 2011
Unit Overview:
Students are immersed into the dynamic climate of California, as an example of a region that includes an array of environments: fertile plains, barren deserts, coastal and inland mountain ranges, and coastal cliffs underlain by unstable tectonics all moderated by a maritime climate. Using My NASA Data, NEO, and Earth Observatory coupled with hands-on modeling, students will explore how a variable such as El Nino can affect so many other variables of this dynamic region such as wildfires, mudslides, and drought.
California Climate and the Atmosphere
In this lesson, students will explore California climate and factors that are leading to changes within this climate system. Students will begin by exploring California climate and the state's topography. Next, students will investigate coastal versus inland climate. Finally, students will use My NASA Data to explore the effects of El Nino/La Nina on two locations found at the same latitude.
(zip, 1.9 MB)
California Climate and the Biosphere
As a sampling into the anthropogenic and natural biosphere of California, students will investigate aspects of change in the biosphere of the Central Valley. Analyzing data over both space and time, they will begin to tie together some of the causes and effects of a variable and changing climate. The valley serves as a model environment that includes riverine, wetland, rural-agricultural, and urban regimes all with high water-dependencies and susceptibility to drought.
(zip, 393 KB)
California Climate and the Hydrosphere
As a glance into a dynamic hydrosphere, students will investigate aspects of change in the California hydrosphere. Working with models and analyzing data over time, they will begin to tie together some of the causes and effects of both a variable and changing climate. The region serves as a model environment that includes alpine, maritime, rural-agricultural, and urban regimes.
(zip, 359 KB)
California Climate and the Lithosphere
As an understanding of the lithosphere and research in the field of geology are multi-faceted, this set of activities seeks to expose students to three of those facets using Southern California as the region of study. Working in teams of specialists, students will explore many different data types and reports to investigate the relationships between land form origins and hazard events that alter those land forms. Specifically, they will work as scientists to describe connections between the regional geology, the Southern California wildfires of 2003 and the mudslides of 2005.
(zip, 1.8 MB)
A Frozen Arctic
Last Updated: November 2011
Unit Overview:
The frozen Arctic provides students with a unique and unfamiliar world to exercise their Earth systems investigations. Using satellite data and images from NASA, they will look at the role of ocean temperatures, permafrost, and reflective snow and ice and their connections to each of the spheres. Hands-on modeling will help bring the frozen world closer to home.
A Frozen Arctic and the Atmosphere
This activity is designed to help students understand the concept of physical carbon dioxide sinks (as opposed to biological). Students will research the concept to develop understanding, look at data to reinforce the concept, experiment to show the concept in practice, and make conclusions applicable to Earth systems.
(zip, 320 KB)
A Frozen Arctic and the Biosphere
In this lesson, students will research and model the causes and effects of a warming climate on the Arctic permafrost. They will learn about current research through Earth Observatory articles, thinking about the effects on people, plants, animals, landforms, and atmosphere. Students will conduct a hands-on activity modeling water percolation through frozen and unfrozen soil.
(zip, 143 KB)
A Frozen Arctic and the Hydrosphere
Students will reinforce their understanding of the hydrosphere and the role it plays in regulating climate through their investigation of the influence of ocean temperatures on Arctic air temperatures and sea ice. Students will learn how to create graphs using My NASA Data and Excel. They will interpret the graphs to draw conclusions about climate change in the Earth's Arctic region.
(zip, 280 KB)
A Frozen Arctic and the Lithosphere
Through modeling and analysis of satellite imagery of Arctic regions, students will unravel the concept of albedo and its relationship to clouds, snow, and ice. Students will work through the concept of albedo as a feedback mechanism affecting the temperature of the Earth. They will use internet resources such as Earth Observatory as well as hands-on modeling.
(zip, 231 KB)
Hurricanes
Last Updated: November 2011
Unit Overview:
From the formation of hurricanes from tropical depressions over the ocean to the surge they bring ashore when they make landfall, these intense storms affect each of the Earth's spheres. Students will look at wetland organisms, barrier islands, and the interplay between ocean temperatures and storm dynamics. They will use authentic data retrieved from My NASA Data, read articles and view images from Earth Observatory, create models of shorelines, and identify organisms to assess real wetland samples.
Hurricanes and the Atmosphere
As students rotate through stations depicting and demonstrating the physical fundamentals of heat transfer and phase change in the atmosphere, they will work to apply what they see to a basic understanding of how hurricanes form and gain or lose energy. The stations vary from physical demonstrations to interpretation of graphs. They will apply their understanding by linking the main concepts of each station to what they read in a more advanced Earth Observatory article about hurricane dynamics.
(zip, 3.1 MB)
Hurricanes and the Biosphere
In this activity students will use organisms as bio-indicators for the detection of polluted wetland ecosystem. They will relate their observations to potential threats to wetlands following a hurricane. Students will collect, identify and observe authentic wetland water samples for the presence Macro-Invertebrates, Algae and Bacteria. Students will draw conclusions about the quality of water, identifying sensitive and tolerant organisms and how the abundance of specific organisms can be used as indicators of the health of the wetlands freshwater.
(zip,3 MB)
Hurricanes and the Hydrosphere
In this lesson, students will investigate the interactions between a hurricane and the ocean as part of the hydrosphere. Students will use authentic, current data analyzed over space and time to identify one level of interaction, the extraction of energy from the ocean by a hurricane.
(pdf, 129 KB)
Hurricanes and the Lithosphere
The lesson is designed in three parts as an exploration of the value of scientific research into the impact of hurricanes on coastal landforms and communities. Examining population data and settlement patterns along coastlines; modeling the effects of storm surge on a sandy coastline; and evaluating the technological advances in hurricane forecasting all come together to give students a perspective on the role of a geologist who specializes in hurricane research.
(pdf, 2.8 MB)
