Why do scientists think people are making the Earth's climate warmer? | Every year, it seems, meteorologists predict hotter and drier summers in the Midwest. Wildfires and drought appear to confirm these predictions. But does this mean the world is warming up? The issue of global warming and its potential impact on the Earth motivates students to learn about what global warming actually means, the scientific factors involved, what forces affect the energy balance of the planet, and what impact they have on our climate. | |  | The nature of the Earth's energy balance is a key concept in the Global Warming curriculum. | To get “real-world” experience in testing their knowledge, students act as advisers to the heads of state of several nations. They must help their leaders understand how global warming affects them and what they can do about it. A team of students advises each country and presents a proposal with solutions that meet the needs of that country. The curriculum falls into four phases.  | Introduction: Students begin by discussing what they already know about global warming. To get a concrete idea of some of the issues involved, they try to explain why Venus, which has a thick atmosphere, has a higher average temperature than Mercury, which has no atmosphere. Students then assemble brief profiles about their assigned countries to get acquainted with some of the issues they will address throughout the project. | | Setting the Stage: Students need to understand how temperature varies naturally over time and space before they can see why it is hard to prove that global temperatures are rising due to unnatural factors, such as pollution from human activity. To do this, they document temperature variation on different parts of the planet, interpret complex datasets, and explore the relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide. Finally, students explain to their heads of state how people can tell if the planet is getting warmer. | | Investigating the Issue. In this stage of the project, students investigate the factors that contribute to making the earth warm: the sun, the surface of the planet, and the atmosphere. Through hands-on activities and data collection and interpretation, students learn about incoming solar energy, the greenhouse effect, and the carbon cycle. Once again, students present their findings to the heads of state to explain what determines global temperature. | | Predictions and Solutions: In the final segment, students explore the potential consequences of atmospheric pollution on global climate to see how changes in it might affect their countries. To do this, they analyze data showing temperatures and precipitation levels in a predicted global warming scenario and explore the relationship between population and carbon emissions. Students are exposed to a wide range of views on global warming, then devise concrete solutions for their specific countries. In a final presentation and debate, they defend their proposals and work with the representatives of the other countries to develop a global climate policy. |
| Global Warming is a seventh- and eighth-grade curriculum. It makes use of WorldWatcher, a scientific visualization and data analysis program. WorldWatcher helps students literally see the world through maps, graphs, and displays of global weather data. Students can quickly spot patterns and trends in climate and human activity to understand the complex issue of global warming. |  | Click here to go to the WorldWatcher page of this site. You can download the software from the WorldWatcher Project Site. | Contact Lou Ellen Finn or Chandra James at 847-491-5420 to learn more about the software and curriculum materials for this unit. | Click on these thumbnails to see screenshots of this software: |  |  | Home | Top of Page |
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