Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences
http://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-517
These issues are in the news all the time. What is climate change? What is global warming? What effects will they have on our lives? Here is a resource that will define, clarify, and extend investigation on these topics. It is authored by the United States Global Change Research Program and published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
How can climate science be integrated into instruction in adult education programs? Have you tried using climate science as a springboard to investigations and to use of math, reading, and writing skills?
Comments
This resource on climate science states :"Covering 70% of Earth's surface, the ocean exerts a major control on climate by dominating Earth's energy and water cycles".(p.10)
Seventy percent of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean? How can this description be tested? Are there investigations you have used to check this out?
Susan Cowles
A Math Exploration
In a workshop on using ocean sciences in adult basic education, participants were asked to estimate the percentage of Earth covered by ocean. They were asked to use non-traditional ways to do so. One group spread out a large map of the world. Group members used their fists to cover land areas, counting as they went. They then used the same fists to cover oceanic areas on the map. They compared the “land fist” count to the “ocean fist” count to determine how much of the Earth is covered by ocean.
Another group used a globe. Members took turns tossing the globe to one another (a large plastic ball of the Earth works well with this activity). Each time a person caught the globe, the group looked to see where the right index finger of the catcher landed: on water or on land. After ten tosses of the globe, the group compared the number of times the marker (the index finger) hit land and hit water. From that they calculated the percentage of ocean covering Earth. They went further to toss the globe 100 times to see if the percentages changed. Finally, they had other pairs also toss and catch the globe, to see if results would change when different people were involved. This led to a discussion of experimental trials and possible “research error”.
Susan Cowles