Teaching Climate

An interactive simulation of Earth's seasonal dynamics that includes the axial tilt and other aspects of Earth's annual cycle. This is part of a larger lab from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln: http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/motion1.html

This classroom activity is aimed at an understanding of different ecosystems by understanding the influence of temperature and precipitation. Students correlate graphs of vegetation vigor with those of temperature and precipitation data for four diverse ecosystems, ranging from near-equatorial to polar, and spanning both hemispheres to determine which climatic factor is limiting growth.

In this classroom activity, students analyze visualizations and graphs that show the annual cycle of plant growth and decline. They explore patterns of annual change for the globe and several regions in each hemisphere that have different land cover and will match graphs that show annual green-up and green-down patterns with a specific land cover type.

In this activity, students use the GLOBE Student Data Archive and visualizations to explore changes in regional and seasonal temperature patterns.

This kinesthetic activity demonstrates to students that the earth's tilt is what is responsible for shifting light patterns and the change in seasons. In this activity students will learn that the Earth is tilted on a consistent axis and know the reason why the length of days differs throughout the year.

This is an excellent interactive simulation of the earth moving around the sun.

This NOAA visualization on YouTube shows the seasonal variations in sea surface temperatures and ice cover from 1985 to 2007. The visualization is based on data collected by NOAA polar-orbiting satellites. El Niño and La Niña are easily identified, as are the trends in decreasing polar sea ice.

Students analyze and interpret graphs to compare the flow of shortwave energy from the Sun toward China over the course of a year on cloudy versus clear days.

In these activities and story book, students wonder why hummingbirds have stopped visiting their school. They learn about the needs of the hummingbirds, the seasonal changes where they live, and the environment where the hummingbirds spend the winter. Students describe the seasonal changes in a local habitat, observe how colors in nature change through the seasons, and research hummingbirds.

This hands-on activity demonstrates and explains the reasons for the seasons caused by the tilt of Earth on its axis as it orbits around the sun.