Africa Initiative: EO Resources and Activities

1
Africa InitiativeEO Resources and Activities

• Roberta Johnson
• UCAR Director of Education and Outreach

2
EO Resources

• Numerous educational resources, in the form of
  lesson plans (hundreds), supporting background
  information, demonstrations - available mainly
  through websites
• Project LEARN
• Web Weather for Kids
• Windows to the Universe
• NCAR Education and Outreach Website (Educators
  Bridge, Kids Crossing)
• Activities/demonstrations hands-on (cheap
  materials) or computer-based
• Some bilingual (English and Spanish)
• Topics spanning the Earth and space sciences
• On-line courses on Climate and Global
  Change/Modeling in the Geosciences in development
• Monthly newsletter (through W2U) currently
  reaches 3830 teachers in 118 countries

3
Windows to the Universe Website www.windows.ucar.e
du
National Science Foundation

• W2U reaches over 13 million visitors per year
• 3 levels of content
• 65 K-12 students
• 46 once per week or more
• NSF-supported Spanish translation, 15,000 users
  per day
• 1.24 million visits to Teacher Resources section
  in past 12 months
• In March May 2006
• Over 4,500 visits per day in Teacher Resources
• 300 pages/day in magnetism Teacher Resources
  section

• Spans the Earth and space sciences, with arts and
  humanities connections
• Integrated classroom activities, interactives,
  and models for users
• Includes extensive background content on Earth
  sciences, as well as fundamental physics
• Professional development for 1400 teachers per
  year at NSTA and other venues

4
(No Transcript)
5
Mapping Ancient Coastlines Classroom Activity
http//www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link/teacher_res
ources/teach_bathymetry.htm
6
The Climate Discovery Teachers Guide

• Designed for use in middle school classrooms
• Multi-lesson instructional units include
• Sun-Earth Connection
• Investigating Climate Present Cycles of the
  Earth System
• Investigating Climate Future (Coming soon!)
• Investigating Climate Past The Little Ice Age
  Case Study

All classroom activities are available online
http//eo.ucar.edu/educators/ClimateDiscovery/
UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, Boulder,
CO, www.eo.ucar.edu
7
Example 1 Trees Recorders of Climate Change

• Students examine tree x-sections to discover how
  age can be determined from rings and how ring
  thickness can be used to determine times of
  optimum growing conditions.
• Then students investigate simulated tree cores to
  explore how climate varied during the LIA.

The simulated tree cores used in this activity
were developed based on the the results of Briffa
et al. (2001) which used ring patterns of 387
trees to interpret temperature variations over
600 years.
UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, Boulder,
CO, www.eo.ucar.edu
8
Example 2 Blooming Thermometers

• Students develop an understanding of the
  relationship between natural phenomena, weather,
  and climate change.
• Students brainstorm a list of phenomena that
  change with the seasons.
• Students plot and interpret average bloom data
  data from Japanese cherry trees over the past
  1100 years.

Mean bloom dates by century from Arakawa (1956)
UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, Boulder,
CO, www.eo.ucar.edu
9

• General Science Activities and Writing in the
  Science Classroom
• Snapshot Exercise A great activity to use on
  field trips or class outings - have students
  write a "snapshot" of their experience.
• The Scientist Project Students research a given
  scientist and then present interviews to the
  class.
• Using Current Event Articles in the Science
  Classroom Various ideas for using current event
  articles in your classroom.
• Back to top
• The Solar System
• Clay Planets Using clay models to learn about the
  solar system
• Great Planetary Debate Students research a given
  body in the solar system and then defend their
  planet or moon in a Great Debate!
• I don't know my solar system. . .please
  ex-planet! An activity that leads students in
  researching a given planet or moon of the solar
  system
• Lunar Lollipops Learn the phases of the Moon!
• The Magnetometer Build your own magnetometer, use
  this to learn about planetary magnetic fields.
• Terrabagga Activity Use a homemade magnetometer
  instrument to learn about planetary magnetic
  fields.
• Windows to the Universe Scavenger Hunt Questions
  that have students explore the Space Missions,
  Solar System and Sun section of the Windows to
  the Universe site
• A Solar System Coloring Book A ready-to-use
  coloring book applet!
• Back to top
• Atmosphere and Weather
• Create a Tornado Create a tornado in a bottle!
• Create Your Own Cloud A cloud activity
• Create Your Own Fog An activity on making fog

10

• 0.35 of visits to
• W2U from Africa
• 13.6 million visits from around the world

11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
Discussions with UNESCO

• We have been in discussions with Dr. Orlando Hall
  Rose (Chief, Section for Science and Technology
  Education, UNESCO) and Dr. Diileep Bhagwut
  regarding W2U since early 2005
• Use in Latin America and other countries around
  the world (other languages)
• Web resource and professional development
• Easy to use format, requiring comparatively
  limited training, easy to implement activities,
  minimal/zero materials cost, comprehensive scope
  of resources across Earth and space sciences with
  arts/humanities connections
• Visit to UNESCO Paris Offices in April 2005
• Invitation to UNESCO meeting in Chile in July
  2005
• Invitation to subsequent UNESCO sponsored
  meetings around the world (Lesotho, Kuwait,
  Egypt, Cuba, Trinidad/Tobago, Kenya, Nepal,
  Ethiopia, Peru)
• Parallel discussions with InterAmerican
  Development Bank and partnering institutions in
  Latin America on web-based curriculum development

14
7/4/06 Message from Carl Katsu1 from Uganda

• I spent four days last week in a small private
  school in a little dusty village called Ibanda,
  in the south of Uganda.
• Electricity was unreliable, so although everyone
  had electric wiring in their brick, or adobe
  homes, they cooked and heated water by wood fire,
  and lit the place up with kerosene lanterns at
  night. Outside of the cities, water is hard to
  come by.
• Yet getting people to keep clean is a national
  priority, washing hands before and after eating
  and using the toilet is becoming a habit among
  most people.
• The school in Ibanda is a private high school
  started five years ago... It is a small school
  (500 students) with very crude facilities by our
  standards. most of the schools I saw around
  the country are not much better offWe talked
  with the teachers, looked at the national
  curricula (very impressive, more rigorous than
  the curricula in most school districts in the
  U.S.A), taught a lesson to the 10th graders (100
  of them all in one large room), gathered the
  boarding students (about 180 of them, grades
  8-11) for an evening astronomy lesson, and made
  list of materials I have available or can get
  from NASA, NOAA, USGS, etc. free of charge to
  send them once I get home. There are sometimes as
  many as one hundred students in one classroom,
  but they are taught to be well-behaved and quiet
  so all can here the lesson. Correcting papers is
  an awesome chore for the teachers here because
  their class sizes are so large. They have
  national end-of-term exams each student must pass
  to be promoted.
• I have come to think of Ugandans (and other
  third world inhabitants) as not much different
  than Americans, just placed in a different
  setting. They have the same awareness of the
  worlds problems and tensions, the same ideas and
  plans for increasing their economic well-being
  (they just start at a much lower degree).
• 1 Past President, National Earth Science Teachers
  Association

15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
Climate Past The Little Ice Age Case Study

• The Big Ideas
• We learn about past climates via records (proxy
  data)
• Data tells us about mechanisms of climate change
  (forcings).
• Big Ideas are addressed using Little Ice Age
  data
• Students are exposed to multiple types of proxy
  data.
• Students are exposed to data about sunspots and
  volcanic eruptions to examine forcings.

UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, Boulder,
CO, www.eo.ucar.edu
26
(No Transcript)
27
Special Curriculum from NASA These activities do
not appear in the normal Windows to the Universe
format. They are full units (many lasting more
than a week) that NASA has offered that may be
helpful in the classroom. Charting the Planets
Using charts to discover planet characteristics
Galileo Curriculum Module Activities based on
the Jupiter Galileo mission including many
puzzles, math activities, questions and answers
Contents, Crossword Puzzle What do you know
already? Volume Calculation Exercise Planet
Structure Interior Jupiter's Monstrous
Magnetosphere Catch a Wave What does the
Galileo Spacecraft Look Like? Jupiter's Weather
Forecast The Moons of Jupiter Data Handling
Techniques Hearing Galileo's Whisper Across the
Solar System Answer Key Solar System Puzzle Kit
Comprehensive activity in which students make an
eight cube version of the solar system. Space
Based Astronomy Teacher's Guide Activities,
experiments, and readings dealing with NASA's
space based astronomy Contents The Atmospheric
Filter The Electromagnetic Spectrum Collecting
Electromagnetic Radiation Down to Earth The
Whole World in Your Hands Activities dealing with
hydrology, scientific observation and data
gathering Acknowledgements Filling in the
Gaps/Math Excursion Soda Bottle Hydrology
Activity How When Affects What Cover Mapping
Land ACCESSING AN EOSDIS DAAC/Technology
Excursion
Climate, Oceans, and Life Climate and Global
Change Carbon Dioxide - Sources and Sinks
Experiment with the carbon cycle! Thermal
Expansion and Sea Level Rise Discover how thermal
expansion of water might affect sea level!
Mapping Ancient Coastlines Explore bathymetric
contour lines and sea level change!
Paleoclimates and Pollen Conduct a classroom
paleoclimate study! Making Sedimentary Rocks!
Students make a model of sedimentary rock layers
to understand how rocks form layers and represent
ancient environments. The Geography of Land
Planning Students plan towns and learn how
planning affects the environment and the larger
community. The Difference Between Weather and
Climate Students graph weather and climate data
to learn the difference Natural Records of
Climate Change Working With Indirect Evidence
Students play a game to learn about indirect
evidence, like those that record ancient climate
changes. Living During the Little Ice Age
Discover how modest climatic cooling changed life
for Europeans during the Little Ice Age Where
Have All the Glaciers Gone? compare "then and
now" photographs to see how much glaciers have
chnaged over the last century. Trees Recorders
of Climate Change Collect and analyse tree ring
data to discover when the Little Ice Age occured.
Blooming Thermometers A graphing activity that
allows students to discover how the timing of
blooming has changed as climate changed Sunspots
and Climate Students investigate data to discover
how Earth's climate is affected by changing
quantities of sunspots. Dark Skies Volcanic
Contributions to Climate Change Discover how
volcanoes can alter the Earth's climate The
Little Ice Age Students investigate multiple
pieces of data to learn about the Little Ice Age
Albedo and Earth's Energy Cycle Students
investigate how color affects heat absorption
Oceans Exploring Density of Salt and Fresh
Water Par 5 A fun activity that involves the
interaction between fresh water and salt water
Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise Discover
how thermal expansion of water might affect sea
level! Mapping Ancient Coastlines Explore
bathymetric contour lines and sea level change!
Life The Evidence of Evolution Exploratour An
in-depth examination of the science of evolution
The Nitrogen Cycle Game Become a nitrogen atom
and travel through the cycle! Carbon Dioxide -
Sources and Sinks Experiment with the carbon
cycle! Polishing the Petoskey Students will wear
away and then polish a Petoskey stone...
Adaptation Investigation Investigate how shape
and structure of beaks affects the type of food
that birds are able to eat. Back to top
28
Sun and Spaceweather Graphing Sunspot Cycles
Helps your students determine sunspot number
cycles and make predictions in the near future.
Plotting Sunspot Activity A comprehensive
activity that will help your students understand
sunspots Solar Concentration Game A great game
to be played on the internet! Sun-Earth Flip
Books A fun, easy way to learn about the Sun...
Tracking an Active Sunspot Region An activity
that will help your students understand how a
single sunspot moves across the Sun Ulysses
Solar Word Search Game A different game for each
level! The words chosen are ones that have to do
with the Ulysses solar mission. Exploring the
Dynamic Nature of the Sun Compare and contrast
pictures of the Sun. The Magnetic Sun A
variation of our magnetometer extensions activity
to explore the magentic fields of sunspots
Sunspots and Climate Discover how spots on the
Sun influence climate on the Earth Back to
top Physics and Chemistry The Magnetometer Build
your own magnetometer, use it to learn about
magnetic fields (and use it in the Magnetometer
Extensions Activity!). Magnetic Levitation Learn
basic concepts of magnetism and forces via
magnetic levitation. Is Air a Fluid? Discover
how gasses can flow! Diving Raisins An activity
dealing with density Floating Golf Ball A
demonstration dealing with density Frozen Film A
hands-on activity dealing with light interference
Par 5 An exercise dealing with the density of
fresh water and salt water Spectral Surprise A
model that displays the rainbow colors of the
spectrum Spectral Surprise Extensions including
a Electromagnetic Spectrum power point
presentation and a student worksheet Tetrahedron
Model Students build a tetrahedron model using
simple materials. Activity focuses on silica
tetrahedron. Weightlessness Demonstration Uses
everyday materials! Back to top
29
Geology and Geography Geology Dante's Peak Movie
Review Have students watch and then write a movie
review for this popular movie. The Magnetometer
Build your own magnetometer, use it to learn
about magnetic fields (and use it in the
Magnetometer Extensions Activity!). Magnetometer
Extensions Activity Use your homemade
magnetometer to learn about sea floor spreading
and finding ore deposits. Layers of Rock Create
and investigate a model of sedimentary layers.
Let's Take a Rock Apart! A hands-on exploration
of the minerals that make up a rock... Pangaea
Puzzle A fun activity that explains plate
tectonics Roger the Rock Writing and artwork
exercise where students create a children's book
to show the rock cycle Thirsty Rocks Investigate
porosity and permeability using sandstone.
Making Sedimentary Rocks! Students make a model
of sedimentary rock layers to understand how
rocks form layers and represent ancient
environments. Snack Tectonics Students create a
tasty model that illustrates plate tectonic
motions. Shake, Rattle and Roll An easy way to
show how surface area affects weathering Take a
Stab! Model-building activity that will help
students visualize what lies below a surface
Tetrahedron Model Students build a tetrahedron
model using simple materials. Activity focuses on
silica tetrahedron. Who's on First? A Relative
Dating Activity from the Learning from the Fossil
Record Module (Opens new window) Geography
Geographic Regions and Backyard Geology with the
USGS Tapestry Map Students investigate maps in
class or online! Mapping Ancient Coastlines
Explore bathymetric contour lines and sea level
change! Mapping Potato Island Students make a
countour map of a potato! Cookie Mapping In this
yummy activity, students make a geologic map of a
chocolate chip cookie! The Geography of Land
Planning Students plan towns and learn how
planning affects the environment and the larger
community. Introduction to Maps This quick
lesson exposes students to a variety of types of
maps. Mapping Your Classroom Students construct
a map of the desk locations.
30
(No Transcript)