Links to participant's Unit 4 Extensions, Some excellent and imaginative work!
Rod Martin, Linda Mamassian, Troy Voeller, Patty Flowers, Joe Parana, Randy Isely, David Allard, Robert Beese
OCEAN CURRENTS
Rod Martin
Washington County Planetarium
A lesson intended for middle or high school students as part of the Internet-Based Earth Systems Science class.
IDEA -- INTRODUCTION
Ocean currents flow because of several factors, notably heat , wind direction, Earth's rotation, topography, and water density. The temperature differences may be caused by varying solar radiation, geologic hot spots, and convection within the body of water.
Ocean currents' movement are important in balancing the exchange of heat between oceans and the atmosphere. Strong currents may carry heat from the tropics toward the poles, and from the poles to the tropics.
In this lesson, the students will investigate factors which cause currents to flow as they do.
DEVELOPMENT -- PROCEDURE
1. The students will locate maps of the major ocean currents. An excellent map may be found at : Major Oceanic Surface Currents
http://www.acl.lanl.gov/GrandChal/GCM/currents.html
Other sources containing maps and data maps are at: Get to Know our Ocean Planet
http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/discover/ocean_planet.html
and Ocean Currents: We All Go with the Flow.
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/oceanography_currents_1.html
2. The students in class will formulate a hypothesis regarding the cause of ocean currents.
3. They will choose one of the following comparisons, or formulate their own, and gather pertinent information:
a. compare the ocean currents to the shoreline topography.
b. compare the water temperatures to the ocean currents.
c. compare the prevailing winds to the ocean currents.
4. The students will summarize their research by gathering maps and data to produce a report using Pinpoint or Resolve.
APPLICABILITY
This extension should be appropriate for the middle to high school students as an introduction to ocean currents. In Washington County, oceanography is discussed in the seventh grade curriculum. It is repeated in the high school Earth and Space Science classes.
DISCUSSION OF TEACHING STANDARDS
Based on the National Science Education Standards funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA, U.S. Department of Education, and others, the following standards are addressed by this extension. These standards are similar to those used in previous extensions.
Standard A: Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students. The planning identifies topics and activities appropriate to the level and maturity of the students. Considered are materials that the students need as well as appropriateness of the topic. This extension fits this standard very well.
Standard B: Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. The resources needed to complete this activity are brought together in this standard. The activity is adapted to the students so that they may successfully complete it. This extension fits this standard very well.
Standard D: Teachers of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science. To meet this standard, there need to be adequate resources available. Sufficient internet connections, software, and time to complete need to be provided. This extension fits this standard very well.
GENERAL DISCUSSION
This extension promotes the use of the internet and software to gather data and graphics to reach a conclusion based on a hypothesis formulated by the students regarding movements of currents in the ocean. Students will need to become familiar with presentation software and internet resources. Their knowledge of oceanography should be enhanced through this research. I think this will be a successful topic.
This extension is appropriate for a middle school Earth Science class.
In this activity, students will measure precipitation and stream discharge. They will use online resources to compare their results with historical data.
In this activity, you will determine the rate of total water flow (discharge) for the stream near the school. You will also keep daily records of stream height and precipitation and chart your data.
NOTE: Do not go in or near the stream without the permission and supervision of your teacher. Safety is the most important issue in all field work. Wear "grubby" shoes and clothing--you may get them wet and or muddy. Your gallant teacher will do most of the wading, with proper protective gear. (That's why she earns such an enormous salary!)
PROCEDURE:
After you measure the discharge of the stream, check online records for the U.S. Geological Survey
at http://h2o.usgs.gov . (Gaging Station 04163400 is about two miles downstream, just after our stream empties into Plum Creek.) See if the discharge rate you calculated agrees very well with official discharge rates recorded there over the last few years.
PROCEDURE
A post has been placed in stream by the school, visible from the sidewalk. Following the procedure and safety rules explained by your teacher, use the markings on this stream gage post to obtain gage readings. (Gage readings don't have to indicate actual depth. It's good enough for them to measure water level relative to a given standard, in this case, the markings on the pole.)
Each day students will determine the gage reading and record the amount of precipitation (if any).
Once each week, this information will be entered into an Excel spreadsheet and an updated chart will be printed and posted, showing the relationship (if it exists) between precipitation and stream level.
I would like to use this extension in a middle school earth science class to teach about stream discharge and to demonstrate how a stream responds to precipitation. Students will have to carefully measure precipitation and stream gage height. They will have to estimate the cross sectional area of the stream and the discharge rate of the stream.
This activity addresses several areas of the NSES standards:
Science As Inquiry Standard: Students will actively investigate the behavior of a small stream, determining its discharge rate and its response to precipitation.
Earth Science Content: Students will gain knowledge of two parts of the water cycle--precipitation and runoff. This can be integrated with study of the entire water cycle.
In this activity, senior physics students will investigate the flow of water down an imaginary stream and an actual stream. They will also investigate techniques for measuring stream flow, the importance of stream-flow measurements, and how water is used within a local water-shed. Finally, students will be given the opportunity to ask a hydrologist any questions that come up while participating in the above activities.
(This extension is tailored specifically for the Sun River in Montana, but could easily be adapted to other situations - only a few web addresses would need to be changed. The physics students which will participate in this activity this spring are very talented, self-motivated students who work well with open-ended activities. It is a small class - 5 students)
1. Students will be challenged to determine the flow of water in cubic feet per second down an 8-foot section of 2" PVC pipe, cut so that its cross section is a semi-circle. Water will flow from rubber tubing, attached to a faucet and extending to the top of the PVC pipe, to a child's swimming pool at the bottom of the "stream." Students will also investigate how the slope of the PVC pipe affects the flow, and plot their results using the computer program "Graphical Analysis." They will be required to turn in individual lab reports, describing their methods and discussing their results.
2. After labs are graded and discussed, students will be informed that they will be taking a field-trip to measure the stream flow of the Sun River near Vaughn, Montana. Class discussion will center on some of the new obstacles which must be addressed in this "real-life" activity. Students will be encouraged to explore methods presented on the internet. They will also be asked to explore the importance of these measurements by first examining Water Questions and Answers, and by using search engines to find their own web-sites. They will turn in a summary of their findings.
3. Students will visit the Sun River (near the USGS guaging station) and employ the methods they found in assignment #2. Upon returning to the classroom, they will examine the USGS Streamflow Data and determine the accuracy of their own measurements, including absolute and relative errors. (Possible extensions: Students may also examine how the "current stream flow" compares with data over the last few days. They can research when the most extreme (minimum and maximum) flows occured and how these values compare with the "current stream flow." They could also research weather data that corresponds roughly to these time periods and see what unique conditions lead to these extreme values.)
4. Students are to research the Water Use of the Sun and write a short report outlining the major human water usages for the Sun's water. In this report should be a map of the areas which include the Sun River's drainage.
5. A civil engineer specializing in hydrology for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation of Montana (my brother happens to be one), will hopefully visit the class to answer questions, and to explain the importance of stream flows and how they relate to the work that he does.
TEACHING STANDARD A:
Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students. In doing this, teachers
select science content and adapt and design curricula to meet the interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities, and experiences of students.
Select teaching and assessment strategies that support the development of student understanding and nurture a community of science learners.
TEACHING STANDARD B:
Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers
Focus and support inquiries while interacting with students.
Challenge students to accept and share responsibility for their own learning.
TEACHING STANDARD C:
Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning. In doing this, teachers
Use multiple methods and systematically gather data about student understanding and ability.
TEACHING STANDARD D:
Teachers of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science. In doing this, teachers
Structure the time available so that students are able to engage in extended investigations.
Create a setting for student work that is flexible and supportive of science inquiry.
Make the available science tools, materials, media, and technological resources accessible to students.
Identify and use resources outside the school.
CONTENT STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
Science as inquiry.
Science in personal and social perspectives.
by Patty Flowers
This extension is intended for middle school students studying climates around the world and factors that cause climate differences. This activity could be done individually or in small groups as determined by availability of computers with Internet access. It could probably be completed in two days. The students will do research to learn the factors that affect climate, make comparisons of climates of cities in the United States, apply what was learned to predict climates of cities around the world and then check their predictions.
Learner Outcomes
Advance Teacher Preparation
The following needs to be completed by the instructor prior to starting this extension:
Choose specific locations on a world map and label them. (Some are suggested in this extension, but you might want to choose cities in which the students have indicated an interest)
Set up a conference using First Class Intranet Client for the class to access.
Place all URL's used in this extension in a folder labeled Climate Info. This will enable the students to access the sites more quickly.
Materials for Students
First Class Intranet Client assess
Computer with Internet access
World map with names of cities
Worksheet to record information
Background Reading
Seventh grade textbook: Exploring Earth Science, by Anthea Maton and others (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995) pages 529-540 and 234-237. An alternative resource could be chosen by the instructor with information concerning what climate is, factors that affect temperature, factors that affect precipitation, climate zones, and ocean currents.
Activity
Seattle, Washington
Chicago, Illinois
Boston, Massachusetts
Bozeman, Montana
Los Angeles, California
Reno, Nevada
Dallas, Texas
Atlanta, Georgia
Global heat engine http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/OGPFront/mono1.html
How oceans influence climate http://www.unep.ch/iucc/fs022.html
Movement of ocean currents http://www.att.com/ehs/earth/current.html
Major ocean surface currents http://www.acl.lanl.gov/GrandChal/GCM/currents.html
Oceans moderate climates http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/oceanography_currents_4.html
World relief map http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/mggd.gif
Global wind directions http://geosun1.sjsu.edu/~dreed/105/7winda.html
Seattle and Los Angeles
Seattle and Chicago
Seattle and Boston
Bozeman and Reno
Los Angeles and Dallas
Los Angeles and Atlanta
Moscow, Russian Federation
Cairo, Egypt
London, England
Nagasaki, Japan
Rabat, Morocco
Discussion
There is a lot of climate data on the internet and it was difficult finding a site that gave summaries of climate data which also included simple graphs of climate data. I used the cities in the United States first to make it more familiar for the students. They may have lived near some of the cities listed and have first-hand knowledge of the climate. When choosing the locations I also tried to select cities with obvious differences that fit the different factors that do affect climate. Many people (my self included) have limited knowledge of geography and this type of extension should help improve it. Reading graphs is an important skill and the graphs of climate data are of different types such as line and bar. A problem with this extension, as with all the rest, would be number of students vs. number of computers with Internet access. I like the idea of the extension and I enjoyed using the search engines to try to find information to use, but it could probably be done off the Internet using books and maps. That would not be nearly as interesting or fun for the students and would probably take more time. I'm not sure that I found the best URL's, but some of them are really good. I hope to be able to try this with my class in the spring.
Discussion of Standards
This extension has many important aspects of the scientific method contained within it. The students do research, record data, analyze graphs, compare data, make predictions and check predictions.
NSTA has taken the position that computers are an essential classroom tool for acquisition and analysis of data. This extension shows the students the types of information available on the internet and how to use the computer to view it.
NSES Content Standard K-12 states that students should develop understanding and abilities aligned with:
Systems, Order and Organization. This extension examines specific areas to learn about how they all come together. It requires the students to think and organize in terms of systems, and gain an understanding of regularities within systems. Prediction is the use of knowledge to explain observations or changes. This extension organizes and asks for comparisons of small groups.
Evidence, Models, Explanation. Students make observations and gather data on which they base scientific explanations. Models in the form of maps are used extensively.
Grade Level: 1-3 The online portion of this early elementary activity is most effective when accessed by the teacher from a projected workstation or network screen sharing system.
Introduction
Students are introduced to the basic concepts of the water cycle by viewing an online animation. After viewing the animation, students will create their own "animated" water cycle wheel.
Student Outcomes
Learners will:
Teaching Standards (NY State Education Department)
Leaning Standard for Mathematics Science and Technology
Standard 2: Students will access, generate, process and transfer information using appropriate technologies
In this activity, students use information technology to retrieve, process and communicate information as a tool to enhance learning
Leaning Standard for Science
Standard 4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment.
In this activity students learn that energy exists in many forms, and when these forms change energy is conserved. They also learn that human decisions and activities (reservoir creation, sewage treatment, pollution) can have an impact on the physical and living environment
Leaning Standard for English Language Arts
Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
In this activity, students read and listen to acquire data, facts and discover relationships, concepts and generalizations. They use speaking and listening skills to acquire and transmit information.
Procedure
The teacher will access the shockwave animation of the of the water cycle. The animation is accessed by clicking in the circle as per the screen instructions. The teacher can click on the various stages in the cycle for further animated illustrations and explanations enhanced with appealing cartoon graphics. Several key terms, including solar energy, evaporation, condensation and precipitation are nicely illustrated and simply explained. The pace is entirely user controlled, so the teacher may amplify the explanations by asking and taking questions before moving on to the next concept. Students will then construct a water cycle wheel.
Water Cycle Wheel Instructions
Print the wheel-top and the wheel-bottom images
Color the pictures on the two big circles with your favorite colors. When finished coloring, cut out the two circles and the four "cut outs" that are on circle 1. Attach the two circles together (one on top of the other) with a metal fastener through a hole in the center. Put the circle with the cut outs on top. Using the tab on circle two, turn the circle counterclockwise and see the water cycle at work!
Summary Observations
This activity has been used with grades two and three. We use a screen sharing network where the teacher controls the animated presentation while students watch at their workstations. Students are asked directed questions about each concept to keep them involved. (eg. "why do puddles dissappear?") The followup cut, color and construct activity in the classroom is fun.
Randy Isely danark@yell.com Grade level: 4-6
Objectives: Water is necessary for the survival of all living things. This extension emphases water as a reusable resource. Students will review where water is found and how water moves.
Lesson 1: Look at an animated picture of a water cycle.
(The University of Illinois @ ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/guides/mtr/hyd/gifs/smry1.gif)
groundwater
Lesson 2: As water evaporates from the earth's surface it rises and cools, condenses into various forms of rain or snow, and falls again to the ground. The water falling on land collects in rivers and lakes, soil, and porous layers of rock. A lot of the water flows back into the oceans.
Evaluation: This extension will be used after the students have completed a mini-unit on the water cycle. It should be fairly easy to get all of the students' attention with the varied types of deliveries (song, animated picture, printing and downloading opportunities, paragraph writing).
Discussion of Teaching Standards: Based on the Arkansas Science Curriculum Framework, the students will:
General Discussion:
This extension was a good review for the Alternative Learners in my classroom. Only a few students enjoyed all of the exercise but there was at least one part of the extension that interested every student.
David Allard
General Discussion:
The purpose of this assignment is to assess the effect of a reservoir on local temperature and rainfall. We have two Corp of Engineers reservoirs near my city. I have read about how really large bodies of water (oceans) influence climate, but have wondered if reservoirs have the same effect on temperature and rainfall on a smaller scale. I have not tried this so I am kind of daydreaming here about something I would like to have my students do. The main drawbacks would be that the students would have to be very reliable to get it done and it would require some equipment.ASSIGNMENT:
Students will collect rainfall and maximum/minimum temperature data at stations located near the local reservoir. There will be a station right on the lake and other stations located at intervals away from the lake. This data will be collected over several years (by different classes) and the results analyzed each year to determine if an effect can be determined. Students will input the data to a spreadsheet program and use it to produce graphs and do statistical analysis. Data and results will be posted on the class web site. This would allow students from previous years to see how the project is coming along. It would allow the current students easy access to all of the data.Comments:
The minimum equipment would be a maximum/minimum thermometer and a rain gauge for each station. If you are rich, you could get automated equipment. The placement of the stations would probably have to vary from year to year. I think you would probably have to have selected students take the thermometer and rainfall gauge home and set them up so you would use locations where the students live. You could just use a few stations such as one at the lake with an automated recorder: One at the lake, one at the local weather station, and one at your school, or some such combination. Another possibility is to get historical data from the local weather station from before and after the reservoir was constructed. You might be able to see something from this. I know there are many factors that would confound the data, but I would like to try something along this line. I think it would be an interesting experience for the students.SOURCES:
I would have the students gather some general background on climate and weather. Their text book, The Weather Book and Texas Weather would be good places to begin plus some sites on the web.National Science Education Standards Addressed:
(http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/) This activity addresses the following components of the NSES (and maybe others):
Science Teaching Standards
Science Content Standards
UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES STANDARD
Conceptual and procedural schemes unify science disciplines and provide students with powerful ideas to help them understand the natural world. Because of the underlying principles embodied in this standard, the understandings and abilities described here are repeated in the other content standards. Unifying concepts and processes include
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY STANDARDS
In the vision presented by the Standards, inquiry is a step beyond "science as a process," in which students learn skills, such as observation, inference, and experimentation. The new vision includes the "processes of science" and requires that students combine processes and scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science. Engaging students in inquiry helps students develop
PHYSICAL SCIENCE, LIFE SCIENCE, AND EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE STANDARDS
Earth Science Standards (Grades 9-12)
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS
Grades 9-12
Abilities of technological design
Understanding about science and technology
HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE STANDARDS
Grades 9-12
Science as a human endeavor
Nature of scientific knowledge
Internet-Based Earth Systems Science
Robert Beese
INTRODUCTION:
"Snotel site" is a location in the mountains where accumulated snowfall or "snowpack" is monitored by telemetry. Information is collected using electronic instruments on a daily basis and transmitted to the NRCS data collection center in Portland, Oregon. This information is available to the public on the Internet.
In this lesson students gather information from Snowtel sites and make their own predictions for peak spring runoff on a river near their school. Students will have the opportunity to work with data which is nearly "real time" and to compare their hypothesis to an actual event.
THE QUESTION:
Your job is to predict how high the peak flow will be this year on the Yellowstone River. We will need some advance warning to fill the sandbags if serious flooding is expected. A local kayak group would like to schedule a race and they need a minimum amount of depth to clear the boulders. Predicting the rain is difficult and long range forecasts are beyond your capability so you can look to mountain snowpack for some solid information upon which to base your predictions.
PROCEDURE:
Obtain a USGS topographic map in the 1:24000 scale for the upper Yellowstone river basin.
Mark the boundary of the watershed for the upper Yellowstone River on the map. Maps can be obtained at outdoor stores, the USGS or from the MT.State Library: http://nris.mt.gov/gis/mtmaps.html (Maps of river basins and watersheds can be downloaded from this website).
Locate the river gauging stations on your map and the Snowtel sites for the watershed. Pick a gauging station which will be your point of reference. i.e.: Livingston.
Gauging Stations:
http://wwwdmthln.cr.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_tbl_pg
http://wwwdmthln.cr.usgs.gov/www/public/public_index.html
Snotel Sites:
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/bbook/bb9.html
Pick one or two Snotel sites which will give you a peek into the past and hopefully provide a clue to the future. Attempt to identify sites which provide representative information for the watershed. Current conditions and historical data is available for each site. Gather historical data on both your Snotel sites and your gauging station along the river. Create graphs representing the past 10 years of peak flow at your river gauging station. Create a graph which shows the maximum accumulation of snow at your Snotel sites over the past 10 years.
Compare the data and see if there is a correlation between the snowpack and river flows. Are there years when the snow pack is comparable and the river flows are dramatically different? Make note of the date when high water reaches your station each year. See if you can tell the approximate date when the snowpack reaches it's peak
snow data:
ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/snow/update/mt.txt
http://www.wrcc.sage.dri.edu/cgi-bin/sno-graph2.p1
stream data:
http://montana.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_tbl_pg
After this background work is completed you will need to keep tabs on your sites for several months. Begin by creating a graph which you can use to plot your data as the season rolls on. Make predictions regarding the maximum snow pack and stream flow, revising your predictions as events develop.
graph example:
http://montana.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_pg?station=06192500
Your Forecast:
By May 1st prepare you report for the "local officials" and the kayak club regarding the expected river conditions as you see it.
The Follow Up:
Collect the data on peak runoff and compare the actual date, gauge height, and cfs's to your best estimate. How close were you? What conditions are variables which can make predictions of this sort difficult?
Compare your work to the USDA, NRCS map of Western U.S. streamflow forecast:
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/bbook/bb11.html
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Visit your Snowtel site.(you may need xcountry skis!)
Visit your river gauging station
Meet with a representative of the USFS of USGS who can explain the features of the data collection stations.
When you are at Bridger Bowl skiing, locate the Snotel site. You can check the data to be sure that the rocks are covered.
Note to students: If one of the URL addresses above will not work, try eliminating information after the"/s" this will get you to the home page and you can navigate through the site from there.
SCIENCE TEACHING STANDARDS
Montana Standards for Science and Math Education
STANDARDS
With each of the Common Beliefs, Montana’s Framework includes standards that essentially
characterize the components of a responsive system of science and mathematics education. The
following section outlines these standards.
ALL STUDENTS
All Students can and must be successfully engaged in world class science and mathematics
programs in which they:
develop the discipline for making mathematically and scientifically informed decisions;
study significant mathematics and science within integrated contexts relevant to their
communities;
experience the scientific and mathematical phenomena in the world around them through
frequent hands-on activities;
routinely use basic facts, skills and technologies as tools for inquiry and application;
learn to work in inquiry teams to solve challenging problems; and
have regular and constructive interactions with and assessments by teachers, school
administrators, and community members.
DISCUSSION OF STANDARDS
This activity provides an opportunity for students to work with subject matter "relevant to their communities" and close enough to their own experience to be meaningful. This is a direct opportunity for students to experience science in the world around them and to make scientifically informed predictions based on the real data which they "collect". This is a challenging activity which uses "technology as a tool of inquiry". I think that this activity would lend itself well to either an individual or a team effort.
I believe that this extension is consistent with the "spirit and the letter" of the Montana Standards.
GENERAL DISCUSSION
This is an activity which I would like to try with my Junior High students. I purposely inserted the URL's throughout the lesson so that the students would be provided with enough structure and guidance to guarantee their success. The oceans present endless opportunities for extensions but I chose an activity which is very concrete and connected with the students immediate surroundings in order to grab their interest.
As a result of this activity I expect that the students will become more aware of the dynamics of the hydrosphere in their surroundings, will develop some of the skills and discipline associated with data collection and interpretation, and will appreciate the variables which a scientist needs to consider when making informed predictions.
I expect that an activity of this nature should make a lasting impression. If the optional field trips to the Forest Service or USGS are pursued, students will have some exposure to occupational opportunities in science related fields.
