Sea Ice and the Earth System Story Map

• In this lesson, students learn about changes in sea ice extent through videos, animations, interactive simulations, and guiding questions.
• By the end of the lesson, students build a fact-based argument connecting sea ice extent to warming global temperatures and the different spheres within the Earth system.

Positives

• The interactive data resources and supporting videos are excellent in quality and fun to use.

• Each section of the lesson (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate) clearly demonstrates connections between sea ice extent and climate change.

• The final graphic organizer activity provides an opportunity for students to collectively review and discuss their understanding of sea ice and climate trends.

Additional Prerequisites

• This lesson is designed for classrooms with 1:1 or 1:2 technology.
• The lesson is intended to take two 50-minute class periods to complete.
• The lesson includes a PDF teacher guide, a Google Doc student worksheet, a Google Jamboard, and five Google Forms.
• In addition to the five videos, there are numerous animations used throughout the lesson.
• Students should be familiar with the relationship between solution concentration and density.

• Students should be able to find coordinates on a map, read line graphs, and identify trends in data.

Differentiation

• Students can work independently or in pairs.
• This is an excellent resource for teaching virtual or blended learning because students work through the lesson independently and at their own pace.
• Students can complete the guiding questions on a printed worksheet, on the Google Doc, or in the five Google Forms (one for each section of the lesson). Using Google Forms allows teachers to easily view aggregate responses and identify common misconceptions or points of confusion.
• This lesson can be used in biology classes when learning about habitat changes, adaptation, and migration due to climate change.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.