We already know why polar bears don't eat penguins, but what do they eat? In this podcast, we'll share a simple activity that opens a window to understanding a unique ecosystem as one example of a food chain - the Arctic Ocean.
In this activity, students will collect weather data over several days or weeks, graph temperature data, and compare the temperature data with averaged climate data where they live. Understanding and interpreting local weather data and understanding the relationship between weather and climate are important first steps to understanding larger-scale global climate changes.
This publication is all about developing your middle school students' understandings of earths oceans and the major effect they have on climate. Understanding and interpreting local weather data and understanding the relationship between weather and climate are important first steps to understanding larger-scale global climate changes. Activities that ask students to collect and analyze local weather data as well as analyze global data can be found in the Lessons and Activities section. Analyzing and interpreting data is a major focus of this publication. Numerous data sets can be found in the Sources for Real Data section. The Background Information section and the article Tomorrows Forecast will help reinforce your own content knowledge.
Seven activities to do with a radiometer.
Of course, you need a radiometer - a radiometer is a light bulb-shaped device containing an object that looks like a weather vane (wings arranged in a circle like spokes of a wheel). Developed to measure the intensity of radiant energy, or heat (from the site)
Over the years I've created hundreds of printables and blackline masters for my classroom. I enjoy sharing those resources with other teachers in my free online virtual File Cabinet. I've also included information on differentiating instruction through Literature Circles, Mastery Learning, and other instructional strategies. Check out the Main Menu below to find your way around the site. Be sure to sign up for Candler's Classroom Connections, regular emails packed with free activities.
The Wright Center is dedicated to the creation and sharing of novel instructional techniques and interdisciplinary resources for pre-college teachers. Through its fellowships, workshops, seminars, and a variety of public-outreach activities, the Center provides leadership in the training and retraining of science teachers to use innovative methods to stimulate young minds.
This nonfiction article is written for use with upper-elementary students (grades 4-5) but can also be used with middle school students. Students learn about two of Saturn's moons, albedo, the relationship between heat absorption and temperature, and how decreasing sea ice in the Arctic actually contributes to further melting. Modified versions are available for students in grades K-1 and grades 2-3, or any student needing a simplified version. At each grade level, the article is available in text, printable pdf files allowing you to print the story in either text or a foldable book format, and an electronic version. Reading strategy templates and related activities provide tips for integrating this story with your science and literacy instruction.
"How much pressure does the atmosphere exert on a sheet of newspaper? As with the previous experiments, the force exerted by air pressure can be surprisingly powerful."