Science

The NCSE-NASA Interdisciplinary Climate Change Education Team is developing a curricular package on climate change based on a University of California Davis course taught by Professor Arnold Bloom. The curriculum includes modules that cover a wide range of topics relevant to climate change. Data produced by NASA is used to create data-driven modules focusing on ice core and recent climate change observations.

The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy's Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) program is to provide a continuum of opportunities to students and teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). WDTS programs include programs for teachers and for K-12 students, including the DOE National Science Bowl and the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a program of the U.S. Department of Energy, offers resources for K-12 students and teachers. Student programs seek to promote science, mathematics and technology education using renewable energy as the vehicle to capture student interest. Teachers are offered research and development opportunities to enhance their content knowledge, instructional strategies, and leadership abilities.

This curriculum guide from Data in the Classroom contains five activities for grades 6-8 that incorporate real data from NOAA. Students learn how to access and interpret sea surface height and tide data. The goal is for students to become experienced with these kinds of data and the tools for accessing them, so that by the end of the module, they can continue to explore data sets driven by their own inquiry. Activities tie to National Education Standards in mathematics, geography and science.

The Gulf of Mexico Deep-Sea Ecosystem Education Materials Collection, developed by NOAA's Office of Exploration and Research, is comprised of an Educators' Guide and 16 lesson plans on deep-sea ecosystems and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. The lessons in this collection touch on physical science, life science and Earth science topics and offer many opportunities for cross-curricular activities involving social studies, language arts, mathematics and fine arts.

This lesson plan from the BRIDGE DATA Series introduces students to the threat that lost of abandoned crab pots pose to marine life, as they continue to catch animals without letting them go. Students analyze data collected from recovered derelict fishing gear and calculate the loss of potential catch that it causes. Materials and related resources for the lesson plan can be downloaded online. The lesson is appropriate for grades 6-12 and aligns to National Science Standards.

PULSE is an interdisciplinary curriculum. It is designed to improve life science literacy by providing lessons for core high school subjects that address environmental health and biomedical research. These topics are equally relevant and motivating within science classrooms and also in those of geography, language arts, government, world and American history, and mathematics classes.

Cluster Busters is a unique science curriculum in which students research disease clusters that might be induced by environmental toxicants. In the process, students utilize a range of skills, draw from various academic subjects, and learn the issues and processes of disease cluster investigation. The game introduces the concepts of epidemiology, risk assessment, and toxicology. The process of investigation encourages logical thinking and problem solving and enhances student familiarity with research techniques and statistics.

Voyage From The Sun is a 20-lesson classroom science module designed to introduce 4th-9th grade students to the major ways in which energy is important in living systems. Voyage encourages students to explore the story of Earth's energy. Students examine how they use energy, where it comes from, and how human impact on natural habitats affects the natural energy flow. Voyage From The Sun supports science reform efforts by building bridges between biology, the physical sciences, math and language arts.

School Power...Naturally is part of the Power...Naturally program developed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The website offers numerous lessons and activities on renewable energy at all grades levels, which can be downloaded as PDFs or Word documents.The lessons are correlated to New York State Curriculum Standards for Math, Science and Tecnology.