A Delicate Balance
Lesson Design
Grade Level: 5-6 (can be modified for 7-8)
Subject Area: Earth Science
Lesson Topic (What is the “big idea?”):What standard(s) will it address?
Climate occurs because of, and as a result of complicated processes within the earth’s systems
Climate Literacy Principles:
2a: Earth’s climate is influenced by interactions involving the Sun, ocean, atmosphere, clouds, ie, land, and life.
2f: The interconnectedness of Earth’s systems means that a significant change in any one component of the climate system can influence the equilibrium of the entire Earth system.
Colorado Science Standards:
Life 2.1: Changes in environmental conditions can effect the survival of indifidual organisms, populations, and entire species
ESS 3.1: Complex interrelationships exist between Earth’s structure and natural processes that over time are both constructive and destructive
ESS 3.2: Water on Earth is distributed and circulated through oceans, glaciers, rivers, ground water, and the atmosphere
Colorado Math Standards for related activities: 5.3.2, 6.3.1, 7.3.1, 8.3.1
Main Objective of Instruction (What do you want the student(s) to learn?):
Students will be able to describe how each earth system affects climate, and how climate affects each earth system
Supporting Objectives:
Students will understand the properties of water
Students will understand the phases of matter, and what causes changes between them
Students will understand the concept of a system and its parts
Specific Strategies to be taught/modeled:
Concept/thought mapping
Planning for individual differences (mediated scaffolding): What are the accommodations/modifications you need to prepare?
Students background knowledge will vary greatly. For group activities, levels will be mixed ability.
Students will receive academic and behavioral support from para-educators, and specific support based on their needs when I am more familiar with them.
What background knowledge do the students have/need?
- an understanding of visual representation of ideas in order to understand system interactions
- an understanding of the earth as a planet and its properties.
How will you assess students’ learning – pre, during and post?
Pre- Students, in groups of two, will share their ideas about what weather and climate are, and will then share with the whole class. The teacher will record their answers.
During- While working in groups on graphing activities, the teacher will monitor understanding
Post- Students will individually respond to the same initial prompt.
Materials and Resources:
Large poster board, magazines, glue, scissors, markers
Hard copies of information about each system, including graphs
Visuals of four elements and of the five earth systems.
Lesson Plan
Main Objective of this lesson: Students will be able to describe how each earth system affects climate, and how climate affects each earth system
Session 1
Anticipatory Set – How will you get the student(s)’ attention?)
I will start by reading/showing visuals about different traditions that have broken up nature into parts: earth, water, air, and fire, and discuss popular media that uses this, along with martial arts traditions, and the zodiac.
I will ask students why they think that people chose to do this, and if they think it has anything to do with science. (10 min)
Teaching:
I will mention that we will be studying earth systems, and while they are not exactly the same as the four elements, they are really useful to study to scientists. They are parts of a system because each one is separate, yet part of a whole that works together.
I will tell them the name of each “sphere” and we’ll match the ones that go together… ie hydrosphere and water, atmosphere and air, and geosphere and earth. We’ll talk about which one they think is most related to climate (they’ll say atmosphere, and we’ll talk about how)
Then I will tell them that each one of the spheres is connected to climate, and we’ll collectively brainstorm some ways they are. I’ll tell them that each student will focus on one of the three spheres besides geosphere (because it has fewer clear connections to climate) in groups of four, and they will select (after being chosen randomly) The groups will study one sphere in more depth tomorrow and report to the class. (20 min)
Guided Practice or Discovery:
Students will meet in their groups and look through images
(including graphs from Exploratorium.edu) having to do with their sphere to brainstorm some more ways it interacts with climate and with the other spheres (discussion only) 15 min. Set up tectonics activity while they are talking
Students will do the “snack tectonics” activity in order to reinforce knowledge of plate tectonics and its relationship to volcanic activity. I will explain that this is because the geosphere is one of the more difficult spheres to understand as far as how it relates to climate. While we’re doing the activity, students will ask questions and make predictions about how plate activity might impact climate as well as the other spheres. (15 min.) I’ll close by mentioning volcanoes’ impacts on climate through aerosols, and explain briefly what those are.
Session 2
Independent Practice:
Students will work in groups to create a poster representing their sphere. They will show how it relates to the other four spheres, and how it relates to climate. Resources available to them will include graphed data from Exploratorium.edu (30 min.)
Students will explore the properties of glaciers (including ice sheets) for the remaining 30 minutes as they create and experiment with “gak” and then mimic glacier movement.
Session 3
Convection and density labs: Students will work with salty and fresh water, and warm and cool water, (each of which has had food coloring added to understand phenomenon within the ocean. (30 min.)
Students will use information from prior two labs to add new information to their posters. (30 min.)
Check for Understanding: I will circulate among groups monitoring what they are doing, answering and asking questions as needed.
Session 4
Groups will complete their posters (30 min)
Closure:
Groups will practice presenting posters and information they read to one other group (10 min)
All groups will present to the whole class and will take notes and ask questions about the presentations of others
(20 min)
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