Lesson Plans & Activities

Orange sun with squiggly orange lines pointing down to green earth with electrons and molecules demonstrating global warming

Data Puzzle: Not All Warming is Equal

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
The dramatic increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has caused global temperatures to rise by more than 1.1°C (~2°F), but not all warming is equal. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide datasets to construct explanatory models for the following question, "Do the places on Earth where temperatures are increasing the most also have the greatest increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide?"

Lesson

Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

Student engaging with Polargram station at Fiske Planetarium wearing an orange snowsuit standing in front of a green screen

Drifting North Polar Planetarium

In this MS/HS lesson, students will be transported to the Arctic with the MOSAiC expedition, The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Arctic Climate, in an immersive classroom and field trip experience.

Lesson

Unit

STEAM Activity

Middle School

High School

Demonstrates an arctic food web with animals including ocean algae, zooplankton, polar cod, a seal colored gray, a bowhead whale colored black and white, a polar bear, and sea ice algae colored green. In the background is a yellow sun, light blue sky, and there is also White Sea ice which the polar bear is on and the sea ice algae is underneath.

A Changing Arctic Ecosystem

This storyline unit consists of 8 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards
The Arctic is warming more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth. One consequence of a warming Arctic is a dramatic decline in sea ice, an important habitat for many Arctic plants and animals. In this unit students will engage with 360° virtual reality tours, hands-on labs, and authentic Arctic datasets as they gather evidence to construct explanatory models for the unit driving question, "How might the decline in sea ice affect Arctic organisms large and small?"

Unit

Middle School

High School

Flattened image of globe with colors ranging from white to yellow to orange to red showing changes in Celsius from 1950-2019. Darker the color is equal to a higher change in temperature.

Data Puzzle: On a Budget

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
The Arctic is currently warming at a rate faster than the global average, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic Arctic datasets to construct explanatory models for the following question, "Why might the Arctic be warming faster than other places on Earth?"

Lesson

Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

NASA photo showing Arctic sea ice minimum extent for each year from 1979 through 2019 with red line over image on faded graph showing decline in sea ice minimum.

Data Puzzle: To Reflect or Not to Reflect

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
The color of Earth's surface determines how much of the Sun's energy is reflected or absorbed, where lighter-colored surfaces are more reflective (higher albedo). In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic Arctic data to construct explanatory models for the following question, "How might the Arctic’s albedo be affected by the observed decline in sea ice?"

Lesson

Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

MOSAiC scientist Gina Jozef poses with her drone on snow with giant ship in the background and a small white and red sled with a brown box behind her.

Data Puzzle: It's All Connected

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
What makes the Arctic climate system so unique is the sea ice, which influences the Arctic climate in many ways. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic Arctic data to construct explanatory models for the following question, "What effect, if any, do leads (cracks in the sea ice) have on the transfer of moisture between the Arctic Ocean and atmosphere?"

Lesson

Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

The Fram(a boat) with explorers and dogs standing in front of it from the National Library of Norway

VR Expedition: Explore the Arctic Aboard the Fram

This is part of a collection of VR experiences.
Take a virtual stroll through the Fram and learn all about Nansen and his crew's adventures in the Arctic with this virtual expedition. This is a stand-alone resource that is part of a MOSAiC VR collection.

Virtual field trip

Middle School

High School

University/College

Out-of-school/Non-formal

MOSAiC Team in the Arctic standing in a semicircle surrounded by snow. Photo: Daniel Hamilton

VR Expedition: MOSAiC Ice Camp

This is part of a collection of VR experiences.
Take a virtual tour of the MOSAiC Ice Camp in this virtual experience. This is a stand-alone resource that is part of a MOSAiC VR collection.

Virtual field trip

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

University/College

Out-of-school/Non-formal

Polarstern and Fedorov frozen in the ice. Photo: Adelyn Arens

VR Expedition: MOSAiC Distributed Network

This is part of a collection of VR experiences.
Take a virtual tour of the MOSAiC Distributed Network, Fedorov, in this virtual experience. This is a stand-alone resource that is part of a MOSAiC VR collection

Virtual field trip

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

University/College

Out-of-school/Non-formal

A graph of temperature anomalies with flattened map with red, orange, and yellow shades.

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 scientists drill through the Arctic ice with the research vessel Polarstern illuminated in the background.

Exploring the New and Old Arctic

This unit consists of 6 lessons, each tied to NGSS nature of science understandings
In this MS/HS unit, students compare and contrast Arctic expeditions of the past (1893-1896 Fram expedition) and the present (2019-2020 MOSAiC expedition) to prepare for the Arctic of the future.

Unit

Virtual field trip

Middle School

High School

Lesson Plans & Activities

Lesson Plans & Activities

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