Lesson Plans & Activities
Exploring the Arctic
This is the first activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.
This activity introduces students to the Arctic and Arctic climate. Through a virtual exploration of the geography of the Arctic students become familiar with the region. They are then introduced to meteorological parameters that Arctic research teams use.
Do you really want to visit the Arctic?
This is the second activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.
This jigsaw activity introduces students with Arctic weather data using a role-playing activity that has students read and interpret graphs while considering the optimal time to plan a research mission to the Arctic.
Sherlock NOx: The Mystery of Unnatural Pollution in Natural Places
The four DISCOVER-AQ modules can be completed independently, sequentially, or extended into a larger unit of study.
Students take virtual field trips to explore air quality research sites and investigate the causes, effects, and solutions to nitrogen deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park during this module.
Population Estimates: Bringing Math and Science Together
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons, but this activity may be used prior to a field study to provide students with practice in estimating or used in a unit on ecosystems.
During this activity students will learn how to estimate population size using two techniques, density extrapolation and the mark-recapture method.
Data Puzzle: The Tipping Point
This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Plants like moss campion are uniquely adapted to the cold, dry climate characteristic of the tundra biome...but temperatures are on the rise. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze temperature and reproduction data to construct explanatory models for the following question "How is moss campion reproduction affected by temperature?"
