Lesson Plans & Activities

2016 Global Vegetation Index from NOAA-20's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The Vegetation Index shows level of vegetation based on the amount of absorbed visible light. The lushest areas are dark green and absorb the most visible light, while sparse vegetation is pale in color.

Vegetation - Seasons from Space

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.
In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.

Lesson

Middle School

High School

With a blue sky and mountain with a white peak in the background, the metal poles are visible of the East River Watershed field site

Data Puzzle: Snow in the Rockies

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Water from snowmelt high in the Rocky Mountains feeds into the Colorado River, a river system that more than 40 million people rely on for water. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze snowfall and snowmelt datasets to investigate the question, "How have snow conditions in the East River Watershed changed over time?"

Lesson

Data Puzzle Resource

Virtual field trip

Middle School

High School

Moss campion (pink flowering plant) growing from speckled gray and light orange rocks with some green grasses

Data Puzzle: The Tipping Point

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Plants like moss campion are uniquely adapted to the cold, dry climate characteristic of the tundra biome...but temperatures are on the rise. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze temperature and reproduction data to construct explanatory models for the following question "How is moss campion reproduction affected by temperature?"

Lesson

Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

Alpine tundra vegetation with large boulder with snowy mountain range in the background

Exploring the Arctic

This is the first activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.
This activity introduces students to the Arctic and Arctic climate. Through a virtual exploration of the geography of the Arctic students become familiar with the region. They are then introduced to meteorological parameters that Arctic research teams use.

Lesson

STEAM Activity

Middle School

High School

University/College

Two scientists in large red parkas kneeling on the ground working on scientific equipment in a snowy landscape while a cold wind whips snow up around them.

Do you really want to visit the Arctic?

This is the second activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.
This jigsaw activity introduces students with Arctic weather data using a role-playing activity that has students read and interpret graphs while considering the optimal time to plan a research mission to the Arctic.

Lesson

Middle School

High School

University/College

A close up image of a grooved glacier in black and white

Exploring Arctic Climate Data

This is the third activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.
In this final activity, students use authentic Arctic climate data to explore albedo and its relationship to seasonal snowmelt as a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, which is then applied to large scale global climate change.

Lesson

Middle School

High School

University/College

A wide alpine landscape with snow-capped mountains in the distance under a cloudy sky. In the foreground, a rocky meadow with sparse patches of grass and a large flat rock is visible

Arctic Climate Connections

The Broader Impacts portion of the NSF proposal studies the analysis of existing data from Arctic terrestrial stations with multi-year measurements of the surface energy budget, clouds, soil temperature profiles, and basic meteorological measurements.
The Broader Impacts portion of the NSF proposal studies the analysis of existing data from Arctic terrestrial stations with multi-year measurements of the surface energy budget, clouds, soil temperature profiles, and basic meteorological measurements.

Unit

High School

Lesson Plans & Activities