Module V

Essential Question:
How are climate, cultures and oceans all connected?









ENGAGE: After teaching first grade for many years, several years back in my career, I am brought back to the science lessons that were so much fun for the kids to ponder. I presented a small closed box to the class and told them that were four things inside the box that are needed for all plants and animals to survive on earth. I would shake the box, in order to let them know that indeed something was inside. We would brainstorm what their ideas were and then I would slowly pull out a small vial of "water". We would then discuss the importance of water for their survival. I would shake the box again. We would brainstorm more ideas. (Comically, over the years they tended to be quite sure that there was some money inside the box.)



As I pulled the next item out of the box, which was a hard dirt clod, they were stumped. "Why do we dirt to survive, Mrs. Ross?" they would say. Well, I explained it was important because it helped us grow our food, and as important, it helped to grow plants that our McDonald's hamburger or chicken nuggets ate before becoming a human food source. When we had much discussion of how "soil" and water were extremely important for us to survive, I shook the box again. But, there was no sound coming from the box. I opened it to show them that there were in fact two scientific things let in that box that, if they did not have them, they would die. They were pretty quick to come up with "air" and with time spent repositioning the box toward the windows, they would be able to come up with "sunshine". Nova states in nicely in a short video called Ingredients for Life: Water provided by Teacher's Domain.





BOTH SOURCES OF FOOD, PLANTS AND ANIMALS,


NEED AIR, SUNLIGHT, SOIL AND WATER TO SURVIVE.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: HOW ARE CLIMATE, CULTURES AND OCEANS ALL CONNECTED?
Without the multiple systems that cause the oceans and the climate to continually sustain warming and cooling, nothing would be able to live on the planet Earth.

EXPLORE:
BUT, WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR FOOD AND WATER SOURCES WHEN OUR CLIMATE GETS TOO WARM OR TOO COLD?


The official word out is that our planet is currently going through a global warming period. In looking back millions of years at the history of the earth, global warming and cooling have both happened before. Many periods occurred before humans were walking on Earth. The more advanced we become in our earth studies and science discoveries, the causes become easier to pin point and identify. In the past warming periods on Earth, when humans were not here, the effects of natural phenomenon such as volcanoes or were responsible. Cooling periods or ice ages, may have been caused by were casued by orbital variations.



The current scientific opinion states that the body of observations give a picture of a warming world and that there is strong evidence that in the last 50 years most of the warming can be attributed to human activities. Are humans the only reason for the climate changes occurring on our Earth? No, but what humans are doing by adding to the greenhouse gases will make our earth's climate change. As the earth is warming our natural water sources are in danger. Currently, with 97% of Earth's water containing salt it is important that we all work together to reduce our contributions to a future without a productive climate cycle.



EXTEND and EVALUATE: It becomes clear that as each day goes on, we need to do what we can to educate our future societal members about the processes that are happening in their everyday lives, which may have a negative impact on their survival by the time they reach their thirties or forties. The following are educational pieces that are available to begin the teaching process.






http://cd7.e2bn.net/e2bn/leas/c99/schools/cd7/website/BluePlanet.htm


http://education.jlab.org/reading/water_cycle.html


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sawater.com.au/NR/rdonlyres/657AC917-D6E3-4E55-AAD1-38119A0ACBB4/0/diag_water_cycle.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.sawater.com.au/SAWater/Education/OurWaterSystems/The%2BWater%2BCycle.htm&h=311&w=500&sz=46&tbnid=OmOr21t4wFsLmM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bcycle&hl=en&usg=__3YVWQDSDfReehpgVZV7aEPCfpbw=&ei=ZOOKS86iCpDAsQP8o8SGAw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image&ved=0CA8Q9QEwAw

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle


http://www.kidsforsavingearth.org/


http://www.epa.gov/kids/


http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/