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TEACHING THE LESSON

Lesson Introduction

Begin the activity with students in a full group considering answers to the following questions:

  • How has the Earth changed in the last 100 years? 35 years? (More people, less wildlife and smaller habitats for that wildlife, warmer temperatures, more extreme weather, more pollution, etc.)
  • What are some signs of change on the planet that can be seen from space? (Clear cut forests, glacial recession, shrinking ice caps, large scale migration of people)
  • If we look at an image from space of a city from 35 years ago and one from today what differences would we see? (More streets, more houses, more roads, more smog, more lights at night)
  • If we look at an image from space of a forest from 35 years ago and one from today what differences would we see? (Maybe less trees, clear cut areas for farming or logging, trees that died from disease or acid rain, etc.)
  • If we look at an image from space of a glacier from 35 years ago and one from today what differences would we see? (Less ice due to warmer climates)
  • If we look at an image from space of the Nile River from 35 years ago and one from today what differences would we see? (The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970 creating Lake Nasser)

Make a list with the class on the board (or an easel) of all the signs of change they could think of during the brainstorming session.

Then share with your students some of the past and present comparison images included in this lesson, or that you have researched yourself online from Earth Observatory or one of the other NASA image collections.  Have them note which of the things they though they could see (illustrations of change) they could see in the sample images.

Ask your students,

  1. Why is it important to make these observations?
  2. Are the impacts we have seen over the past decades going to have an effect on life on our planet?
  3. What are some the long-term impacts of larger cities, fewer forests, receding glaciers, melting ice caps and dammed rivers?

Ask students to work in small groups to come up with some ideas and share them with the class. Some ideas may include:

  • Less wildlife, polluted air and water, fewer natural places to see, less water for people, rising sea levels, fewer fish, etc.
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