Cryosphere:VIII

The Cryosphere on Earth from Wikipedia

I love water!  This is a module is all about the water, especially the frozen water.  Have you ever heard of the Cryosphere?  It is a new term for me but yet one many of us are familiar with.  To my the Cryosphere is so similar to the Hydrosphere it is hard to tell the difference.  There is so much overlap between the two.  But if you remember the cryos means ice in Ancient Greek it may help to determine the difference between the two.  The Crosphere is the area on earth covered by the solid form of water.

Explore:
Boy, this module has taught me so much more about water!  So exciting.  I had never really thought about the Arctic as just a lot of floating ice.  For some reason in my head, it was just like Antarctica.

I was in awe of the strength of the people of the village Shishmaref.  They are truly feeling the impact of Global Warming.   The erosion there is very similar to what coastal towns in California are facing.  But the rate of devastation in Shishmaref is incredible and their resources are so limited.

The people of the north are truly feeling the impact of Global Warming.  The loss of habitat and the change in the ecosystems will change our world.  I did not realize how specific the organisms in the Arctic were creating such small food webs.  But when you think about the extreme environments not many organisms will survive.  The slightest change in temperature will impact the food webs and can have a devastating effect.  I wonder how in the Inuit people will survive as their food sources disappear?

The Old Harbor Culvert. You can see the sea water entrance in the left of the photograph.

The sea ice really made me take a look at the Culvert here in Old Harbor.  I am amazed at how much of the Culvert is not frozen.  This year we are seeing a thin covering over a lot of the Culvert.  But then it must not be that thin if the kids are riding their 4 wheelers on it.  It is interesting to see the daily changes to the Culvert. 


Extend:
The Inuit Circumpolar Council is a very interesting organization.  I believe the research and collaboration will help strengthen our understanding of the impact of climate change especially in the Arctic region.  I enjoyed personally reading about what they are doing and about their organization.  Yet, I do not believe I would use this resource in the classroom.  I may mention it as an organization and what it is doing but it would not really be part of a lesson.

The videos in the culture connections show a glimpse of life on in the northern regions of the world.  These videos help us see the impact Climate Change.  All of the videos in this unit help create a clear picture of the impacts of our actions.

I love the Watching Ice Melt lab.  I wonder how many of my students will make the right prediction?  I can't to try it with my students.  

Evaluate:
The labs in this module will be fun to incorporate into my classroom.  The material in this module was a review of the science I already teach.  The videos will help me bring the concepts to life for the students. 
 

3 Colleagues:
Matt relates this module well to historical events as well as his own experiences.  His blog helps bring the concepts together through real life examples students can relate to.

Eric relate this module to what he can learn from his students.  I appreciate the use of such a valuable resource.

Kris uses this module to bring cultural understanding to her students.  It was an insightful lesson for her.  She also reflects on how students could loose hope.

Climate Change: VII

Can we really escape from the effects of climate change?  It is hard to imagine that we know we are damamging the Earth but several people are doing nothing.  Those who are trying to make a change, is it enough?  If we look at history global climate change is how many animals and people were able to migrate around the world.  So is global climate change bad?  I believe, the rate we are causing the climate to change will haunt us in the near future.

Explain:
Did you know it takes 100 years for CO2 to decompose?  I didn't.  This module really made me think about the dump here.   Recycling was a part of daily life in California.  I think I went through withdrawals when I came here and I did not have to seperate my trash.  Then I took everything to the dump.  There is so much waste.  I am learning the many of the students see no reason to recycle it is just easier to get a new one.  So when I looked at the carbon cycle I wondered what kind of damage we are doing in my small little village of Old Harbor.  Will my recycling program really make a difference?

Bear cubs at the Old Harbor Dump. 

This lesson really made think about how the changes are effecting the people of Alaska.  I would like to see the tribe here brainstorm the climate change and the impact on our community.   I really appreciated seeing the Inuit people discuss their observations.  I hope to see more scientists gather information from Native Observations. 

Explore:
There is so much to explore and apply in this lesson.  There is biology, chemistry, astronomy, physics, a little bit of everything.  I will definitely use the interactive media to  help the students understand the science behind Carbon.  Especially the periodic table media.  I would have loved to use that particular activity when my students did their element project.  The mystery element is a great way to help student understand the organization of the periodic table. 

I would like to use the Inuit Video to help students create their own brainstorm about changes in our environment here on Kodiak Island.  This video would give them examples of the types of observations they need to think about, then the students can apply them to our local area. 


Extend:
Currently, I use FOSS to teach science.  I could see the Chemistry section of this module being combined with the Chemical Interactions Unit of FOSS.  The videos are a prefect connection to the activities in the unit.  The Population and Ecosystems Unit studies the Coral Reef Ecosytems of Puerto Rico and Florida.  The video on the Coral Reef helps students see the delicate balance we need on Earth and connects to FOSS unit.  Last year, my students struggled with understanding of the spectrum when looking out into the night sky.  The spectrum videos and interactive media would really support this activity so they can understand what they are seeing in the colored bands of light.  This would help bring the students toward the understanding of Universe and lead to discussion on creation. 

I really appreciated the various theories on creation.  Evolution is a hard topic for student to understand the videos in this module can show another perspective to them based on science.


3 Colleagues:
Ernestine always seems to relate the science back to the culture.  I love her closing line about learning.

If you want to check out additional teacher resources; be sure so read Janet's Post. 

Kathy shares incredible pictures and insight about how she personally saw the impact of Global Climate Change. 

Atomspheric Systems

As the wind gusts up around the island in ways I never dreamed possible, so many questions come to my mind about the wind and the air above me.  This module introduces the various layers of the atmosphere and how it impacts our lives.

Clouds like these found in Cold Bay, AK make me think.

Explain:
"We're like lobsters living at the bottom of an immense ocean of air."  This line make me think about the complexity of the air around us.  I like the image of the ocean of air.  Too often, we leave out studies about the air and the atmosphere yet it is complex just like the many habitats and systems we teach.


I am saddened to learn more about the arctic haze and the damage we are doing to the regions of the north.  One of the biggest reasons I came to Alaska was to breathe clean air.  But did I really get away from the pollutants of big cities?  The science of the currents of the Earth and pollution are not two topics I ever thought about together. Now I may teach them together.  I think the arctic haze really helps paint the picture about how we are all connected and what we do does impact others.

I have always enjoyed dreaming in the clouds and making silly shapes out of them in my mind but I never stopped to really think about what were telling me unless they were dark rain clouds.  The compare and contrast interactive media on warm and cold fronts made me think about clouds in a new way.  The clouds are more than cute shapes; they are telling me about the weather that is coming.  The cute fluffy clouds are those Cumulonimbus clouds that come with a cold front.  While a warm front brings a variety of clouds at various levels of the atmosphere.  I can imagine this being crucial to a pilot understand the air above us.

What are these clouds over Dutch Harbor, AK telling us?

Explore:
Atmospheric systems are a tough topic for students to understand.  There are so many great resources in this unit to help students visualize what is happening above us.  I specifically like the interactive media that shows the various layers of the atmosphere and students can change between them.  I can see this being helpful for students to see the layers like a cake.  I would use this specific media to create atmospheric flip book showing the layers of the atmosphere and what is in them.

The Google Earth activity adding the weather layer would be fun to use with students to compare weather in various locations on the Earth.  Then they could use the Jet Stream media to see what impact the Jet Stream had on the weather at various locations.  This would be a fun discovery tool for students rather than just talking about the weather. 


Evaluate:
The videos in this module are very  informative and useful when teaching about weather and the atmosphere.  I would have really liked to see the Six Principals of Weather video but I could never get it to work.  It is so helpful to have them gathered by topics.  Having the standards connected to them in the Teachers Domain makes planning so easy.

I felt the interactive medias in this module did a good job at illustrating tough concepts.  This will help the students visualize the concepts and support discussions. 

I found the Phun Physics of Phase Change interesting although I do not see me using it much in my classroom.  The Vacuum video was interesting but at the middle school level I could see if confusing some students.  I would have to do more background teaching before I used some of the material in this area.  For a high school class, this is a great introduction to latent heat and the physics of pressure. 

3 Colleagues:
Konrad shares some wonderful resources to highlight topics in this module.   I especially liked the book recommendation, one we need to check out.

Cheryl recommends the use of the Google Time-line feature.  This is a great connection to the weather layer.

I appreciate how Jesse used other student's blogs to discuss the topics of this module.  This was not a lesson I saw a lot of history tied into but he still found a way to do.  Plus the cartoon is great.