Lesson Plans & Activities

United states map with an Arctic air mass that is varying shades of blue covering a large part of the United States

Data Puzzle: Weather vs. Climate - Extreme Cold in a Warming World?

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
In this Data Puzzle, students explore the difference between weather and climate in the context of an extreme cold event that occurred during a NFL playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on January 13th, 2024. The air temperature at kickoff was -4°F, making it the fourth coldest NFL game ever played! But what does this cold weather event tell us (if anything) in the context of long-term average temperature patterns in the region?

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Middle School

High School

Nine people in hard hats standing and kneeling around scientific equipment which are large white cubes with the label 'WINDCUBE'. In the background there is an open field and mountain ridge.

Data Puzzle: Windstorms on the Front Range

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Although strong windstorms are a common weather event at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, a record-breaking windy spring soon after the Marshall Fire disaster had the public feeling on-edge. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze data on the number of windstorms and the number of red flag warnings to investigate the question, “Is it getting windier on the Front Range as the climate warms?”

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Data Puzzle Resource

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?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

Virtual field trip

Middle School

High School

Cartoon image of green pine trees with orange fire shapes over them with dead brown brush at the bottom and a dark grayish blue sky

Data Puzzle: Wildfire, Drought, and the Future of Forests

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Wildfires are burning more and more of the forests across the western United States. In this Data Puzzle, Data Puzzle, students analyze post-fire forest recovery datasets as they gather evidence to construct explanatory models for the following question, "How do climate conditions impact the recovery of forests after a wildfire?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

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?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

Map of the United States with red dots showing the location of Wind Turbines in the United States

Data Puzzle: Wind Farms of the Future

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources like wind is essential if the US is to reduce its carbon emissions. But where should new wind farms be constructed? In this Data Puzzle, students analyze surface roughness and wind speed data to construct an evidence-based explanation for the following question, "Where in the United States (lands and waters) should new wind turbines be constructed to generate the most energy?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

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.

Data Puzzle: Tracing Carbon Through the Arctic Food Web

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

The Arctic is home to a huge variety of living things (humans included) that have adapted to harsh conditions. However, these conditions are changing as Arctic temperatures rise and sea ice declines. In this Data Puzzle, students trace the flow of carbon through the Arctic food web to construct explanatory models for the following question, "How might the decline in sea ice affect Arctic organisms large and small?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

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?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

Moss campion plant photo by Dan Doak. Bright pink flowers with five petals and a yellow center with a dark background where some green leaves peak through.

Data Puzzle: What's the Limit?

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Moss campion is a key species indicator of climate change. In this lesson, students will explain how latitude impacts and affects these hearty tundra plants by analyzing and interpreting moss campion growth and survival data.

Lesson

Virtual field trip

Middle School

High School

Aerial images of Lake Mead show the dramatic decline in water levels (~143 feet) from 2001 to 2015. Image from the National Park Service. First photo shows water up to top of dam, and second shows blue water much lower exposing orangish-gray rock on side of dam.

Data Puzzle: Megadrought in the Colorado River Basin

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Much of the western United States is experiencing drought conditions. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic climate data to construct explanatory models for the following question, "What is causing the megadrought in the Colorado River Basin?"

Lesson

Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

Green pine forest being consumed by red and orange flames with thick dark smoke rising from trees with flames surrounding them

Data Puzzle: Megafire - Rare Occurrences or the New Normal?

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Megafires have been a hot topic in the news over the past few years, but are they a new phenomenon? In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic wildfire data to construct explanatory models for the follow question, "How and why has the number of megafires have changed over time?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

The Greenland Ice Sheet covers 79% of the surface of Greenland. Greenland is located north of Canada and the United States. Map credit: QGreenland

Data Puzzle: Balancing Act

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Since the early 2000s, the Greenland Ice Sheet’s mass balance has been consistently negative, meaning more mass is being lost than gained. But this change in mass balance hasn’t always happened at the same rate. What could account for observed changes to the amount of ice in the Greenland Ice Sheet in recent decades?

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Data Puzzle Resource

Geospatial resource

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?"

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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?"

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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?"

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Data Puzzle Resource

Middle School

High School

Lesson Plans & Activities

Lesson Plans & Activities

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