Programs

 

TEACHING THE LESSON

Activity 2 – Conserving our Planet’s Resources

Ask your students, “If we wanted to discover what a specific place on Earth would be like 35 years in the future, how could we do it?”

Answers can include:

1. Make an educated guess based on past changes in that area of the world
2. Look at the change over the past 35 or more years for that area using images from space and on the ground (and scientific measurements) and extend it into the future
3. Review change over the past 35 or more years and extend it into the future but increase it even more
4. Compare changes over time with an investigation into changes in policies that are happening now in planetary and environmental conservation and consider that things may not continue in exactly the same manner but may even be reversed

Visit the Windows on Earth website at http://winearth.terc.edu with your class.

Choose one of the Nature Conservancy images and explain that these are images that were selected for study by scientists because there are areas where people are concerned about changes to the environment, and are trying to protect it through changed policies and behaviors.  Discuss the image with the students.

Then go through more of the images with your students, or have them look at some of them in small groups and report back what they have learned about the sites.

Ask your students,

What areas of the world are you concerned about?

Answers may include protecting coral reefs, stopping pollution of rivers and lakes, rising sea levels due to melting at the polar caps, loss of polar bear habitat, cities encroaching on animal habitats, dangerous radiation from the Ozone Hole, rising temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions changing weather, increased ship traffic and fishing depleting ocean life, increased air pollution from factories harming plants, forests, animals and people, oil spills, wildfires destroying homes and habitats, etc.

Ask your students,

Which of these areas of concern can be imaged from space and monitored over time?

Answers can include the recession of glaciers and ice caps, deforestation (logging and clear cutting for farming), urban growth of cities, natural disasters such as major hurricane and earthquake damage, floods, fires (both human-caused and wildfires), regrowth of protected lands (i.e. natural parklands and preserves), volcanic eruption and new land and island creation, creation of new lakes through dam projects, etc.

Note: Satellite imagery and analysis can also help scientists monitor things like the health of oceans, air quality, temperature of the land and seas.

Tell your students that today they are going to work as a scientist astronaut in the International Space Station who is researching an area of the world that they are interested in.

The location they choose should be one that they believe should be monitored to identify signs of future change (i.e. mountains, forests, glaciers, cities, rivers, lakes, etc.).   Students can use the Internet or atlases, globes and encyclopedias to research one of the topics they have mentioned above to help them locate a suitable site (this could be a homework assignment).

Students will take a snapshot of it using Windows on Earth and use the Conserving our Planet’s Resources worksheet to describe their target location and why they believe it is of interest for future space photography by NASA.  They will also need to consider what actions could be taken by people to conserve and protect this particular location’s resources for future generations. Students should save their work on the computer and share their findings with the rest of the class.

Students will then create a video of their action plan using a webcam or digital camera and save it as a .wmv or .mov file and post it, along with their photo and journal text to the Earth Science Challenge Forum for sharing with other students.

Students should go to www.challengerkids.org and use their user name and password for their account, or their team’s account (that you have made for or with them – see Lesson Preparation and Instructions).

At the forum students should post their images, journal text and video for sharing. If time, they can comment on other student’s posted journals. Note: It will take a few days for their journals to be posted and comments to be approved as Challenger Center educators monitor all postings.

Students who complete the justification and action plan may have their requests forwarded to NASA and selected entries may be considered by NASA for future astronaut photography.

Extension Activity

Students can do a research project on one of the Nature Conservancy areas as photographed from space to learn about that area of the world and why the Nature Conservancy is working there to help the environment.

The Nature Conservancy - Protecting Nature, Preserving Life

The Nature Conservancy is an organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people that was founded in 1951. They have protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally. They address threats to conservation involving climate change, fire, fresh water, forests, invasive species, and marine ecosystems. For more information, visit http://www.nature.org

 

• Lesson Overview

  • Lesson Summary

  • Objectives and Essential Questions

  • How do images from space taken over time show us change on the Earth?

  • What are some of the differences seen in images from the past and present, such as from the Skylab space station and from the International Space Station?

  • Windows on Earth: Explore the Earth from Space

• Teaching the Lesson

  • Lesson Preparation

  • Lesson Introduction

  • Activity 1 – Windows on Earth: From Skylab to the International Space Station

  • Activit 1 - Extension Activity

  • Activity 2 – Conserving our Planet’s Resources

  • Activity 2 - Extension Activity