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Climate Change: What’s Hot?
What’s Happening? |
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In a Nutshell:
Students conduct a web-based project to analyze recent or on-going
climate change research in the North. |
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Goal:
To expose students to the application of science in current
research on climate change. |
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Background Learning:
Students: Prior to this lesson, students should be familiar
with the basics of climate change as reviewed in:
Students should also have an understanding of the scientific
method and be familiar with the use of the Internet.
Teachers: Prior to this lesson, teachers should be familiar
with the basics of climate change and some of the potential impacts
of climate change in the north as reviewed in:
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Learning Outcomes:
Click on the icon for your territory to review the learning outcomes that are addressed by this lesson:
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Introduction to Lesson Plan:
In this lesson, students will:
- Review/learn about the basic science of climate change and
anticipated impacts
- Brainstorm a list of questions researchers might be asking
- Find a recent or ongoing research project addressing one
of the questions that they came up with in their brainstorming
session
- Complete a questionnaire about the research project’s
objectives, findings, funding sources, etc.
- Give a brief oral presentation about the project they looked
at, and possibly submit a written report
Global warming is expected to have significant impacts in Canada’s
Arctic and Subarctic. These regions contain a wide variety of
physical features and ecosystems including glaciers, ice caps,
sea ice, peatlands, tundra, and boreal forest that are sensitive
to subtle increases in temperature. Expanses of ice and snow
cool the climate in the arctic by reflecting the sun’s
energy back to space. As the area covered by ice and snow is
reduced, this cooling effect is lessened and warming is enhanced.
As a result, the Arctic is predicted to experience the greatest
temperature increases.
Many changes are already evident in the north including increases
in average annual temperatures, reductions in the extent and
thickness of arctic sea ice, shorter duration of ice coverage
on rivers and lakes, thinning glaciers, and melting permafrost.
These changes in turn affect wildlife habitat and human activities.
(For more information about impacts, see High School Backgrounders
6–11).
Much of the recent research in the north has been inspired by
the urgency to find out more about climate change impacts, learn
how to adapt to these impacts, and find solutions to slow the
rate of change. This activity gives students an opportunity to
see how science is applied to a global issue.
Before the lesson, download and make copies of the backgrounders
(depending on the students’ knowledge) and the two student
handouts (a list of websites for ongoing or recent research projects
and a question sheet to guide students) attached to this lesson.
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Activity:
- If your class has not done previous activities that have
given them a basic understanding of climate change and the
potential impacts for northern Canada, have them read high
school backgrounders 1, 2 and 4, and provide them with some
key words or phrases related to the potential impacts outlined
in High School Backgrounders 6–11. Some possible
key words and phrases might include: migration patterns,
melting
permafrost, sea ice, marine life, and sea levels. Review
with the students why the Arctic and Subarctic are considered
to
be among the regions to be most affected by climate change.
- Have
the students brainstorm potential questions for research
by asking them what they think is important to know
about climate change in the north. Encourage them to come
up with a broad spectrum of questions including climate
change impacts (ecological, economic, social), adaptations,
and
solutions. Sample questions might include:
- What was it like
here in the past when climates were warmer?
- What impact will
climate change have on caribou migration?
- How will access
to hunting be affected?
- How should building designs be altered
in areas where permafrost may melt?
- How can greenhouse gas
emissions in the north be reduced?
- What barriers are there
to people changing their behavior to reduce emissions?
- Which
renewable energy technologies are most suitable in the north?
-
 Explain
to the students that they each will be looking at a recent
or on-going climate change research
project in order to find out more about some of the questions
scientists
are asking. The students’ primary source of information
will be the Internet, although they also may be able
to access some journal articles and/or be able to contact
some of the
research scientists through websites.
Option: Explain the difference between Primary, Secondary
and Tertiary or lower sources. Actual data is primary, a
review could be secondary or tertiary (depending on distance
from source), and National geographic type articles and textbooks
are lower still.
Pass out the student handouts. Student
Handout #1 – Climate
Change Research Summary will guide the students’ in
their description of a research project of their choice.
Students can initiate a web search for a project by beginning
with key words such as “Arctic climate change research” or
beginning with one of the websites listed on the student
handout Student
Handout #2 – Some
Sites for Initiating the Web Search and following
links from there. Encourage students
to contact the researcher if there is insufficient information
on the website. One way to keep track of which project
each student has selected is to pin the title of the
project to
its location on a map of the north.
- After their summaries
are complete, ask students to give a brief oral presentation
on the project they have learned
about, focusing on selected questions from the student
handout. As a class, the students will have completed
a small survey
of climate change research. Ask the students to comment
on: their concerns about climate change and the research
projects
presented; their interests (what would like they
like to know more about?); how easy they found the research;
how
the research was presented in the article or website;
and
so on.
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Handouts:
Click on the icon for the complete set of handouts that support
this lesson:
Student Handout #1 -
Climate Change Research Summary
Student
Handout #2 - Some Sites for Initiating the Web Search |
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Student Web-Exchange:
Students could post a summary of their research findings in
a 400–800 word essay on the student
exchange portion of this
website. Click on the icon for information on how to post material. |
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Evaluation:
Evaluate students on their oral presentation and written skills
as well as their ability to gather relevant information from
the Internet (or other) source and synthesize the material into
key points and a concise essay and presentation. |
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Enrichment Ideas:
Science/Biology/Environmental Studies/Oceans
Design a project: Challenge the students to design their own
research project to follow-up on one of the projects summarized
or to
answer one of the questions that the students brainstormed.
Interview: Arrange for the students to contact one of the scientists
involved in one of the projects summarized. Have the students
prepare questions prior to the email or telephone interview.
If one of the scientists lives in or travels to your community,
invite them to the class to present their research.
Who gets the funding? Have the students imagine they are a funding
agency with several million dollars to spend on climate change
research in the north. Their task is to come up with and defend
a set of criteria for evaluating research proposals so they can
select which ones they will fund. |
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About the Author:
Hello, my name is Brenda Hans and I’m a public education
specialist with the GNWT Department of Resources, Wildlife and
Economic Development in Yellowknife.
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