A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Science ES Core Strand 1 Strand 2 Strand 3 Strand 4 Strand 5
Standard 3
Students will understand the atmospheric processes that support life and cause weather and climate.
Objective 1
- Relate how energy from the Sun drives atmospheric processes and how atmospheric currents transport matter and transfer energy.
- Compare and contrast the amount of energy coming from the Sun that is reflected, absorbed or scattered by the atmosphere, oceans, and land masses.
- Construct a model that demonstrates how the greenhouse effect contributes to atmospheric energy.
- Conduct an investigation on how the tilt of Earth’s axis causes variations in the intensity and duration of sunlight striking Earth.
- Explain how uneven heating of Earth’s atmosphere at the equator and polar regions combined with the Coriolis effect create an atmospheric circulation system including, Hadley cells, trade winds, and prevailing westerlies, that moves heat energy around Earth.
- Explain how the presence of ozone in the stratosphere is beneficial to life, while ozone in the troposphere is considered an air pollutant.
Objective 2
- Describe elements of weather and the factors that cause them to vary from day to day.
- Identify the elements of weather and the instruments used to measure them (e.g., temperature – thermometer; precipitation – rain gauge or Doppler radar; humidity – hygrometer; air pressure – barometer; wind – anemometer; cloud coverage – satellite imaging).
- Describe conditions that give rise to severe weather phenomena (e.g., thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes, El Niño/La Niña).
- Explain a difference between a low pressure system and a high pressure system, including the weather associated with them.
- Diagram and describe cold, warm, occluded, and stationary boundaries (weather fronts) between air masses.
- Design and conduct a weather investigation, use an appropriate display of the data, and interpret the observations and data.
Objective 3
- Examine the natural and human-caused processes that cause Earth’s climate to change over intervals of time ranging from decades to millennia.
- Explain differences between weather and climate and the methods used to investigate evidence for changes in climate (e.g., ice core sampling, tree rings, historical temperature measurements, changes in the extent of alpine glaciers, changes in the extent of Arctic sea ice).
- Explain how Earth’s climate has changed over time and describe the natural causes for these changes (e.g., Milankovitch cycles, solar fluctuations, plate tectonics).
- Describe how human activity influences the carbon cycle and may contribute to climate change.
- Explain the differences between air pollution and climate change and how these are related to society’s use of fossil fuels.
- Investigate the current and potential consequences of climate change (e.g., ocean acidification, sea level rise, desertification, habitat loss) on ecosystems, including human communities.
LIGHTBOX
Climate Change LB 363.73 SMI
pg 4 (4:00) Climate Change: Educate and take action
pg 4 – website – What is Global Warming? (NatGeo)
pg 8 – website – 2015 smashes record for hottest year
pg 10 – website – In a melting Iceland, drilling deep to stem climate change
pg 12 – website – Paleoclimatology: the ice core record
pg 14 – website – Why doesn’t anyone know how to talk about global warming?
pg 18 (2:45) Work together to reduce global warming
pg 22 – website – greenhouse gas emissions from livestock
pg 24 – website – collapse of the Larsen-B ice shelf
pg 28 (2:26) fire season is hotter and longer
pg 30 – website – Climate change has claimed its first mammal extinction
pg 32 – website – history of hydropower
pg 34 (1:53) United Nations addressing climate change
Deserts LB 577.54 BAN
pg 4 (3:12) A day in the desert (no narration)
pg 6 (2:00) Sahara Desert and climate change
pg 20 (3:50) Gila Monster
pg 28 – website – Desert Food Web info plus (3:14) video
Hurricanes LB 551.55 ZAY
pg 4 (1:55) What is a hurricane?
pg 8 (1:20) NOAA – You can’t stop a hurricane
pg 12 – website – Extreme weather photos
pg 22 (2:08) Hurricane hunters
Ice LB 551.3 WHE (K)
8 (1:30) Hailstorm
pg 10 – website – disappearing glaciers
pg 12 (2:10) about glaciers
pg 14 – website – Landforms from glaciers
Natural Resources LB 333.7 WIL
pg 5 (3:31) rising temperatures affect wheat growth
pg 8 – website – American Bison
pg 10 – website – Desalination in the Persian Gulf
pg 13 (3:37) precious metals
pg 16 – website – forest product consumption and production
?pg 18 – website – Climate Report Shifts on Biofuels
pg 20 – website – selective logging
pg 26 – website – solar industry data
pg 27 (1:26) Volcanoes affect the amount of sunlight reaching Earth’s surface
Precipitation LB 551.48 PUR
pg 4 (2:35) Availability of fresh water
pg 4 – website – Water cycle details
pg 16 (3:20) Monsoons and their effects (human and economic)
pg 18 (3:45) Understanding weather maps
Renewable Energy LB 333 SMI
pg 4 (2:52) Denmark island of Samso: first island powered 100% by renewable energy
pg 4 – website – importance of renewable energy in the fight against climate change
pg 8 (1:12) animated – hydroelectric energy
pg 8 – website – Energy.gov Home
pg 12 – website – rival emerges for Swansea’s tidal pool energy plans
pg 16 (1:02) animated – renewable energy: wind turbines
pg 16 – website – windmills on the great plains
pg 20 – website – Will wind turbines ever be safe for birds?
pg 22 – website – animation: How a wind turbine works
pg 24 ( 1:50) Animation- renewable energy: the sun
pg 24 – website – How much can you save with solar panels?
pg 28 – website – The rise of a giant solar power plant in California’s central plain
pg 32 (1:00) Animation – geothermal energy
Tornadoes LB 561.55 FRI
Pg 4 (4:12) animation – Tornado Facts
Pg 8 (1:36) animation- What to do during a tornado
Pg 12 – website – Tornadoes: What to do when you receive a tornado warning
Pg 14 – website – The Natchez, Mississippi tornado of 1840
Pg 18 (2:59) Doppler on Wheels
Pg 26 – website – Oklahoma Native Americans tame twisters with ancient rituals
Weather LB 551.6 PAR
pg 4 (4:32) What is weather? – Earth
pg 22 (4:18) wind farms
pg 28 (3:00) Tornadoes
pg 30 – website – About El Nino
Wind LB 550 WHE
pg 4 (2:43) How to fly a kite
pg 8 (1:36) Trees affected by wind (bad Audio)
pg 12 (1:25) About dust storms
pg 16 – website – control a twister
Kiss the Book 