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Teachers and Resources

Demos and Activities

CALIPSO Outreach is an interactive site that represents a collaboration of several groups including NASA. The site includes lessons (reviewed by CALIPSO’s committee) for elementary, middle and high school students on a variety of topics related to the atmosphere. There are also animations, games and problem-based learning modules: CALIPSO Outreach

These modules from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research introduce students to the atmosphere, global climate change and the ozone layer: Cycles of the Earth and Atmosphere

NASA offers datasets for use by students and teachers, lesson plans and a mentor network: NASA Datasets

The Environmental Protection Agency has archived air quality curriculum resources and links to environment-related community service projects: EPA Teacher Center

E-mail Ann Marie Wellhouse for a copy of Antarctic Survivorship: A Global Warming Activity.

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California State Standards

Grades 9 through 12

Earth Science

Energy in the Earth System

4. Energy enters the Earth system primarily as solar radiation and eventually escapes as heat. As a basis for understanding this concept:

b. Students know the fate of incoming solar radiation in terms of reflection, absorption, and photosynthesis.

c. Students know the different atmospheric gases that absorb the Earth's thermal radiation and the mechanism and significance of the greenhouse effect.

6. Climate is the long-term average of a region's weather and depends on many factors. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know weather (in the short run) and climate (in the long run) involve the transfer of energy into and out of the atmosphere.

c. Students know how Earth's climate has changed over time, corresponding to changes in Earth's geography, atmospheric composition, and other factors, such as solar radiation and plate movement.

d. * Students know how computer models are used to predict the effects of the increase in greenhouse gases on climate for the planet as a whole and for specific regions.

Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere

8. Life has changed Earth's atmosphere, and changes in the atmosphere affect conditions for life. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know the thermal structure and chemical composition of the atmosphere.

b. Students know how the composition of Earth's atmosphere has evolved over geologic time and know the effect of outgassing, the variations of carbon dioxide concentration, and the origin of atmospheric oxygen.

c. Students know the location of the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, its role in absorbing ultraviolet radiation, and the way in which this layer varies both naturally and in response to human activities.

Investigation and Experimentation

1. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (such as computer-linked probes, spreadsheets, and graphing calculators) to perform tests, collect data, analyze relationships, and display data.

d. Formulate explanations by using logic and evidence.

i. Analyze the locations, sequences, or time intervals that are characteristic of natural phenomena (e.g., relative ages of rocks, locations of planets over time, and succession of species in an ecosystem).

k. Recognize the cumulative nature of scientific evidence.

m. Investigate a science-based societal issue by researching the literature, analyzing data, and communicating the findings. Examples of issues include irradiation of food, cloning of animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer, choice of energy sources, and land and water use decisions in California.

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National Research Council Standards

Grades 9 through 12

Science as Inquiry Content Standard A

Understandings about Scientific Inquiry

• Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.

• Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used.

Earth and Space Science Content Standard D

Energy in the Earth System

• Heating of earth's surface and atmosphere by the sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents.

• Global climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun at and near the earth's surface. This energy transfer is influenced by dynamic processes such as cloud cover and the earth's rotation, and static conditions such as the position of mountain ranges and oceans.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Content Standard F

Environmental Quality

• Natural ecosystems provide an array of basic processes that affect humans. Those processes include maintenance of the quality of the atmosphere, generation of soils, control of the hydrologic cycle, disposal of wastes, and recycling of nutrients. Humans are changing many of these basic processes, and the changes may be detrimental to humans.

Natural and Human-Induced Hazards

• Human activities can enhance potential for hazards. Acquisition of resources, urban growth, and waste disposal can accelerate rates of natural change.

• Some hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and severe weather, are rapid and spectacular. But there are slow and progressive changes that also result in problems for individuals and societies. For example, change in stream channel position, erosion of bridge foundations, sedimentation in lakes and harbors, coastal erosions, and continuing erosion and wasting of soil and landscapes can all negatively affect society.

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