Lesson Plans & Activities

Arctic Feedbacks: Not All Warming Is Equal

This storyline unit consists of 10 lessons, each tied to NGSS Earth's systems standards

In this MS/HS unit, students engage with 360° virtual field trips, authentic Arctic datasets, and app-based labs to construct models and explanations for the unit driving question, "Why might the Arctic be warming four times as fast as the rest of the world?"
Unit
Virtual field trip
Middle School
High School
Mosaic logo
Photosynthesis, Respiration, and the Short-Term Carbon Cycle

Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.

This lesson is focused on the short-term cycling of carbon and is designed to put the processes of photosynthesis and respiration within a global perspective.
Lesson
Middle School
Extremes
Antarctic Life & Albedo

This is the third lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems. 

In this lesson, students explore the importance of albedo (or reflectivity) to penguins and the surfaces they inhabit and learn how penguin colonies may be mapped using satellites.
Lesson
High School
Why does the ice melt on the “Frozen Continent”?

This is the fourth lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems. 

After exploring albedo in the previous lesson, this lesson expands on more factors that lead to surface ice melt in Antarctica.
Lesson
High School
Soil Percolation: Where Does the Rain Go?

Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.

This lesson activity has students conduct an experiment that reinforces one component of the water cycle.
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Elementary School
Extremes
PolarPASS Interactive Environments

Using real data, diverse material types, and a range of activities, PolarPASS modules are designed to bring polar science and exploration to the classroom. PolarPASS modules link to Climate Literacy Principles and Polar Literacy Principles and are being tested in teaching models that include semester, quarter, and block teaching models.

Polar Space and Places, or PolarPASS, is connecting polar-focused material with innovative teaching methods to advance STEM undergraduate education and increase polar knowledge.
Unit
Virtual field trip
Geospatial resource
High School
University/College

Program

Search

Illustration of two people high-fiving in a work environment

Get involved and stay up-to-date with CIRES CEEE.