Lesson Plans & Activities

HEART Force Flood Response Game

This lesson is best used after the Colorado Flood lessons in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical flood in their own community.

This interactive game has students work in three “zone response teams” to solve community challenges that arise during the course of an extreme flooding event by using available individual and community resources.
Game
Colorado-Based
Middle School
High School
HEART Force Wildfire Response Game

This lesson is best used after the wildfire hazard lesson in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical wildfire in their own community. 

In this interactive game, students work in three “zone response teams” to solve community challenges that arise during the course of a wildfire event by using available individual and community resources.
Game
Colorado-Based
Middle School
High School
HEART Force Drought Game

This lesson is best used after the Colorado Drought lessons in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical drought in their own community. 

In this interactive game, students work in three "resilience teams" to solve community challenges that arise during the course of an extreme drought event by using available individual and community resources. 
Game
Colorado-Based
Middle School
High School
HEART Force Wildfire Resilience Game

This lesson is best used after the wildfire hazard lesson in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and recover from a hypothetical wildfire in their own community. 

In this scenario-based role-play game, students play the role of community members planning for wildfire resilience in their community. After a wildfire occurs, they see how resilience and recovery efforts pan out in their hometown based on their planning efforts.
Game
Colorado-Based
Community Resilience Expo Overview

The Expo is best taught at the end of HEART Force unit, after students are familiar with the hazard. 

The Community Resilience Expo is a culminating event for the HEART Force curriculum, where students will develop and present original ideas to increase resilience in their community. 

Unit
Colorado-Based
Middle School
High School
HEART Force Curriculum Overview

This unit consists of several lessons and can take anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks to teach, depending on which lesson teacher choose to incorporate.

The HEART Force curriculum builds understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.

Unit
Colorado-Based
Middle School
High School
Exploring the New and Old Arctic

This unit consists of 6 lessons, each tied to NGSS nature of science understandings

In this MS/HS unit, students compare and contrast Arctic expeditions of the past (1893-1896 Fram expedition) and the present (2019-2020 MOSAiC expedition) to prepare for the Arctic of the future.
Unit
Nature of science, Polar Science
Middle School
High School
Arctic Feedbacks: Not All Warming Is Equal

This storyline unit consists of 10 lessons, each tied to NGSS Earth's systems standards

In this MS/HS unit, students engage with 360° virtual field trips, authentic Arctic datasets, and app-based labs to construct models and explanations for the unit driving question, "Why might the Arctic be warming four times as fast as the rest of the world?"
Unit
Polar Science
Middle School
High School
A Changing Arctic Ecosystem

This storyline unit consists of 8 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards

The Arctic is warming more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth. One consequence of a warming Arctic is a dramatic decline in sea ice, an important habitat for many Arctic plants and animals. In this unit students will engage with 360° virtual reality tours, hands-on labs, and authentic Arctic datasets as they gather evidence to construct explanatory models for the unit driving question, "How might the decline in sea ice affect Arctic organisms large and small?"
Unit
Polar Science
Middle School
High School
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