At the Core of Climate Change

WELCOME SCIENTISTS! 

In this lesson with accompanying video At the Core of Climate Change, produced by KQED, you will learn about the greenhouse effect and find out how scientists use data collected from ice cores to study climate change. Increasing greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming, which is changing our climate. With this video and accompanying lesson, find out how scientists use data collected from ice cores to study climate change.

Essential Questions: 

1. What is the greenhouse effect? How does the greenhouse effect cause global warming?

2. How do human activities produce greenhouse gases and cause climate change?

Scientists it's your job to learn all that you can about climate change! Complete each task by reading the material, watching the video, and answering the questions that follow.

Good Luck and have fun!

Task 1 

Watch "At the Core of Climate Change" video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia2WEyJjOsM

Pause the video as necessary to answer the questions below.

1. What question does Dr. Kendrick Taylor ask about climate change at the beginning of the video?
2. What is the first experiment that he illustrates?
3. Why is polar snow interesting?
4. At 300 feet deep, what happens to the snow?
5. The ice contains a record of the climate going back how many years?
6. The South Pole is the best place to study what?
7. To keep the gas sample trapped in the ice, at what temperature do they have to store the ice cores?
8. Look at the thin slice of the ice core. What color are the gas bubbles?
9. What is one measurement that scientists collect in the field?
10. How many labs make measurements on ice cores?
11. What do scientists do at the Oregon State University lab?
12. What are the two interesting things about the EPICA Dome C record?
13. To predict what will happen to climate in the future, what do you need? 
14. How do scientists check the accuracy of the climate models?
15. What do the climate models predict will happen if we keep increasing production of greenhouse gases? 

Short answer question:

Did Dr. Kendrick Taylor convince you that humans are causing climate change? Why or why not? What questions or concerns do you still have?

Task 2 final work product

Complete K-W-L charts at the end of the lesson.

Students write a paragraph about what they can do to help stop global warming.

After completing Task 1 (watching the video and answering the questions) you are ready to complete Task 2 (listed below).  

Task 2:

Complete K-W-L charts at the end of the lesson (started in class yesterday)

Students write a paragraph about what they can do to help stop global warming. This writing assignment will be shared aloud in class tomorrow. 

Hooray you've completed both Task 1 and 2! 

Task 1:

Watched the video and answered the 15 questions plus the short answer response which will be graded. 

Task 2:

Completed your K-W-L chart (started in class yesterday)

Wrote a paragraph about what you can do to help stop global warming and feel ready to read your paragraph aloud in class tomorrow. 

Grading Rubric: 

Task 1- Each question will be worth one point, correct response needed for full credit. The short answer question at the bottom is a bonus question worth 1 extra credit point. (worth 15 points)

Task 2- A minimum of 5 points in each column, KWL, for a total of 15 points or ideas total for full credit. Each point missing below 15 will result in a loss of 1 point from your score. (worth 15 points)

Paragraph about what you can do to stop global warming must have a minimum of 5 complete sentences. Your writing must be cohesive and on topic. (worth 15 points) 

Summary: 

You have learned about the greenhouse effect and how scientists use data collected from ice cores to study climate change. You are able to answer the Essential Questions: What is the greenhouse effect? How does the greenhouse effect cause global warming? How do human activities produce greenhouse gases and cause climate change?

Additional links for further study (optional):

Viewing this video is optional, but recommended. Nova video- Extreme Ice (PBS Documentary)

Thanks to PBS and NOVA for the original science videos. http://www.pbs.org/ 

The following WebQuest was designed for my class to learn about the greenhouse effect and find out how scientists use data collected from ice cores to study climate change. Increasing greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming, which is changing our climate. The Next Generation Science Standards included are as follows: 

MS-ESS2.C.2 ( Middle School Earth and Space Sciences ): The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns.

MS-ESS2.D.1 ( Middle School Earth and Space Sciences ): Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns.

This site is intended to be used at home as an assignment. The hope is that students will utilize and see the advantage of technology inside and outside of the classroom while still learning.