The Arctic Ocean Curriculum Unit was created by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States with funding from the North Pacific Research Board. This project aimed to update and revise existing Arctic Ocean-related lesson plans originally created by PolarTREC program teacher alumni. The format used lends itself to the changes in education - providing student-facing slide decks that allow
This lesson investigates the correlation between the rate of cellular respiration and metabolic rate of Weddell seal pups. Students will collect data of their personal oxygen consumption rate at rest and during exercise, and evaluate how collecting oxygen data can be used to calculate metabolic rate. Students will comprehend that heat is a product of the reaction of cellular
This is a STEM-based lesson that can be taught in class or online. Students will analyze Weddell seal pup growth data, collected by the Growing Up on Ice, B-030, research team. To use this lesson virtually, include the data cards and have students either construct graphs and upload an image of their graph, or construct a graph and share
This lesson investigates the effects of different insulators (fur and blubber) on maintaining the body temperature of polar animals. Water balloons filled with warm water simulate the marine mammal. The blubber insulator will be simulated by covering the balloon in vegetable shortening. The fur insulator will be simulated by placing another balloon over the “marine mammal” and adding an
This investigation allows students to explore the geography of Antarctica and become an active member of the citizen science project, PenguinWatch.
Objectives
Students will:
* Examine maps of the World, South Polar Regions and Antarctica and interpret geographic location influence on climates
* Develop map skills by learning how to use longitude and latitude coordinates to locate 6 research
This interactive lesson introduces students to a number of animals and individuals that will be affected by climate change in Alaska. It allows students to grapple with the complexities that face both humans and animals who face an uncertain future due to an uncertain climate. Students will connect how changing climates affect animal habitats; and in turn, how
Students create a life size model of a bowhead whale based on information they have collected.
Objective
Students will be able to organize specific technical information from a variety of resources to develop a "blue print" or pattern to create a life size model of a bowhead whale.
Procedure
Introduction to project, student research on whale
This lesson includes a variety of research activities and a lab that all help demonstrate the science behind convection currents.
Objectives
Through the following activities and lab students will discover:
* that temperature and salinity affect the density of fluids (liquids and gases)
* how fluids with different densities interact with each other
This lesson gives students of a variety of ages a cross-curricular look at the scientific wonders of Antarctica with a specific focus on Weddell Seals.