Lesson Plans & Activities
Creating a Compass from a Magnet
Project EXTREMES lessons were intended to stand alone, but this lesson can be included in a unit on the Earth’s interior.
In this lesson, students create a compass and apply their reasoning about magnetism to how compasses work to help us navigate around the globe while utilizing the Earth’s magnetic field.
Precipitation Patterns Around the Globe
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
Students apply their knowledge of the water cycle to investigate how annual precipitation patterns are related to geography and biology.
Soil Percolation: Where Does the Rain Go?
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
This lesson activity has students conduct an experiment that reinforces one component of the water cycle.
What Color is the Sun?
The comic book can be used in informal education settings or as introductions to the topics covered the Solar Dynamics Observatory curriculum.
This comic book was developed with the Stanford Solar Center as part of their comic series Tales from Stanford Solar and explores questions like: What color is the Sun? and How do we study the stars?
VR Expedition: MOSAiC Ice Camp
Take a virtual tour of the MOSAiC Ice Camp in this virtual experience. This is a stand-alone resource that is part of a MOSAiC VR collection.
VR Expedition: MOSAiC Distributed Network
Take a virtual tour of the MOSAiC Distributed Network, Fedorov, in this virtual experience. This is a stand-alone resource that is part of a MOSAiC VR collection
The Emotions Wheel
This activity is a stand-alone exercise part of seven activities from the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
Emotion wheels have been a visual tool used by psychologists for decades to help people better understand and interpret their feelings. This activity is for people of all ages and can be done with family members, in a classroom, with friends, work colleagues, etc.
Nature Appreciation
This activity is one of seven activities in the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will play, explore, appreciate, and practice perspective-taking in nature. All of these actions help positively connect youth to nature, and instill an ethic of care for the environment.
Connecting with Special Places in Nature
This activity is one of seven activities in the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will take time to connect to a place that is special to them.
Visioning Possibility
This activity is a standalone exercise that is part of one of seven activities from the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will find inspiration from innovative solutions, envisioning a hopeful future and their role in it.
Climate Solutions
This activity is a standalone exercise that is part of one of seven activities from the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will participate in a short scavenger hunt to familiarize themselves with climate change mitigation strategies and solutions for decreasing heat-trapping emissions.
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.
Exploring Arctic Climate Data
This is the third activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.
In this final activity, students use authentic Arctic climate data to explore albedo and its relationship to seasonal snowmelt as a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, which is then applied to large scale global climate change.
VR Expedition: Explore the Arctic Aboard The Fram
This is part of a collection of VR experiences.
Take a virtual stroll through the Fram and learn all about Nansen and his crew's adventures in the Arctic with this virtual expedition. This is a stand-alone resource that is part of a MOSAiC VR collection.
PolarPASS Interactive Environments
Using real data, diverse material types, and a range of activities, PolarPASS modules are designed to bring polar science and exploration to the classroom. PolarPASS modules link to Climate Literacy Principles and Polar Literacy Principles and are being tested in teaching models that include semester, quarter, and block teaching models.
Polar Space and Places, or PolarPASS, is connecting polar-focused material with innovative teaching methods to advance STEM undergraduate education and increase polar knowledge.
Analyzing Geomagnetism using the CrowdMag App
This lesson is a stand-alone lesson for undergraduate students. Measure the background geomagnetic field of your campus, Identify anomalies created by local magnetic sources, and compare geomagnetic data collected by different devices.
Active Listening Skills
This activity is one of seven activities in the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will identify emotions they experience as they learn about the impacts of climate change. In pairs, students will practice active listening skills as one student describes their emotions to the partner who applies active listening skills. They then flip roles and the other student describes their emotions while the partner listens.
Facilitating Discussions and Creating Solidarity
This activity is one of seven activities in the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
Talking about emotions related to climate change can help youth to process emotions, move on, and develop trust and connection with others through shared solidarity. In this lesson, students will discuss their thoughts and feelings about climate change with others. Consider teaching the Emotions Wheel and Active Listening activities before this in order to help students develop language and discussion skills.
You are a Climate Leader
This activity is a stand-alone exercise part of seven activities from the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will read brief biographies of youth climate activists and then reflect on how they can take climate action in their own lives. This lesson is best suited as the end of a unit or lesson on climate change as it requires some background knowledge on the causes of current climate change and potential mitigations or solutions.
Module 1: Exploring the Glacier Basin System
This Module consists of five Units, walking students through an overview of the glacier basin system, exploring glacier mass balance, albedo, and surface melt, and looking inside and underneath the glacier. The Units also cover the transition from the glacier margin to land and system responses to climate change.
Earth's polar environments have undergone rapid change during the 21st century and scientists have generated important new data and made groundbreaking insights. Despite growing interest to bring polar-focused material into the undergraduate classroom, curriculum development has lagged. Polar Space and Places, or PolarPASS, is connecting polar-focused material with innovative teaching methods to advance STEM undergraduate education and increase polar knowledge.
Module 2: Long-term Spatial Transformations of the Glacier Basin System
Module 2 is designed to follow after Module 1. Instructors may choose to use Module 2 independently, but may want to consider some additional introductory materials if they are not beginning with Module 1. Module 2 consists of four Units. The Units begin by exploring past ice margin retreat and processes of ice margin retreat and elevation change. The material then explores natural climate variability and anthropogenic forcings, and then examines potential future ice margin response to climate change.
Earth's polar environments have undergone rapid change during the 21st century and scientists have generated important new data and made groundbreaking insights. Despite growing interest to bring polar-focused material into the undergraduate classroom, curriculum development has lagged. Polar Space and Places, or PolarPASS, is connecting polar-focused material with innovative teaching methods to advance STEM undergraduate education and increase polar knowledge.
