Algal Blooms on Lake Superior Lesson
Lesson Plans
Grades6, 7, 8Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Great Lakes Now
What it is
- In this lesson, students will learn about harmful algae blooms and how, due to increasing pollution and rising temperatures, they now impact Lake Superior.
- Students will view maps and videos to understand watersheds, examine a photograph of Lake Eerie, watch a news segment about Lake Superior's algal blooms, read an article connecting rising temperatures to the presence of algae in Lake Superior, and create eutrophication models.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The activities in this lesson plan are simple to prepare, and teachers will likely have everything they need on hand.
- Students will get to see scientists in the field during the news article.
Prerequisites
- Teachers should look at the Introduction page of the lesson plan for a list of topics students should be familiar with.
- Students should know about climate change and how it impacts temperatures and precipitation.
Differentiation & Implementation
- In the lesson launch, it may help students to stay on task and teachers with displaying responses to draw large boxes on the whiteboard for each of the four questions, writing the questions in or above the box.
- The article in Activity 2 may be too long for students to read and discuss in one class period. Students may benefit from breaking this activity in two days or completing the reading as homework.
- Teachers may need to show students more examples of models for Activity 3. Students can also explore tools for creating models, like Canva or Prezi.
From the scientist review
This lesson teaches students about algal blooms on Lake Superior, why they are concerning, and how climate change impacts the blooms. The students will learn about how the lake has warmed and changed and why that is increasing the potential for negative impacts on the lake, such as the algal blooms. The lesson provides a good example of how climate change impacts the environment and how humans can contribute to these impacts. The information presented is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
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