Lesson Plans & Activities

A glacier with a rocky moraine in the foreground, showing ice covered partly by debris. At the bottom right, a small body of water is visible. Overlaid text reads: "Exploring the Glacier Basin System."

PolarPASS Module 1: Exploring the Glacier Basin System

This Module consists of five Units, walking students through an overview of the glacier basin system, exploring glacier mass balance, albedo, and surface melt, and looking inside and underneath the glacier.
This Module consists of five Units, walking students through an overview of the glacier basin system, exploring glacier mass balance, albedo, and surface melt, and looking inside and underneath the glacier. The Units also cover the transition from the glacier margin to land and system responses to climate change.

Unit

Virtual field trip

University/College

Long-term Spatial Transformation of the Glacier Basin System text with tundra and glacier landscape in the background

PolarPASS Module 2: Long-term Spatial Transformations of the Glacier Basin System

Module 2 is designed to follow after Module 1. Instructors may choose to use Module 2 independently, but may want to consider some additional introductory materials if they are not beginning with Module 1.
Module 2 consists of four Units. The Units begin by exploring past ice margin retreat and processes of ice margin retreat and elevation change. The material then explores natural climate variability and anthropogenic forcings, and then examines potential future ice margin response to climate change.

Unit

Virtual field trip

University/College

A QGIS interface showing a detailed map of Greenland. The map uses a color gradient to display ice sheet surface elevation, with darker blues in the lower coastal regions and lighter colors toward the higher central ice cap. The Processing Toolbox is open on the right side with the "Surface volume report" tool highlighted, and the Layers panel on the left lists various geospatial data sources. Toolbars with icons for navigation, editing, and analysis functions appear along the top of the screen

From Greenland to our Coasts: Exploring Sea Level Change with QGreenland

This unit consists of 3 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards
In this unit, students will explore how the Greenland Ice Sheet is changing and why that affects coastal communities worldwide. Students will view authentic Greenland geospatial data and learn how to create flood maps to assess local risk in QGIS.

Unit

Geospatial resource

High School

Out-of-school/Non-formal

Landscape shot of Greenland ice sheets in the background and rocks in the foreground. Two polar explorers stand on top of the rocks gazing out into the polar sheets.

Querying with QGreenland

These short, one-page tutorials are appropriate for beginner QGIS users. Users should have downloaded and opened both QGIS and the QGreenland project.
These quick, one-page tutorials teach you how to analyze QGreenland datasets with beginner-level geoprocessing tools.

Lesson

Geospatial resource

High School

University/College

Out-of-school/Non-formal

PolarPASS 360 IE Navigation Cover with man in orange shirt sitting on gray rocks with dark and rocky mountain in the background and blue sky

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

Lesson Plans & Activities