National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
National Wildlife Federation
The Tide is High, but I’m Holding On… Using ICESat Data to Investigate Sea Level Rise
Based on the rate of melting observed from 2003-2007 in Greenland, it would take less than 10 minutes to fill the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium. The 17th instructional activity in a series of 21 has scholars use the ICESat data to understand...
Curated OER
Earth: Land Use Picture Project
Students explore how changes in human land use are impacting local environments. They also explore some of the social impacts of various land uses in their area. They identify and discuss some social impacts of the different land uses.
Curated OER
Life on the Edge: Land Use, Food Supply, and Economics in a Small African Village
Students examine the roles that natural events (such as droughts), population growth and other human factors play on land use and food supply.
Curated OER
Land Use and Lawmaking in California
Students design a plan for a housing development in their city. In this house development lesson plan, students observe pictures of land use, research lawmaking, and develop a plan for an environmentally friendly housing development in...
Curated OER
Scarcity of Land Throughout the World and in Hawaii
High schoolers discuss the importance of "land." They review the four types of land classification--urban, rural, agricultural and conservation--and participate in an activity involving an apple that demonstrates the use of land in...
Curated OER
Climate Change in My City
Students investigate the climate changes occurring locally, regionally and globally over the last one hundred years. They brainstorm and predict whether the current year's weather was warmer or colder than last year then check the...
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time in Areas of Deforestation and Urbanization
Is qualitative or quantitative research more convincing when it comes to climate change? In the eighth lesson during this 21-part series, scholars begin by performing a quantitative analysis of deforestation and urbanization. Then, they...
Curated OER
Annotating Change in Satellite Images
Students construct a movie using Landsat images to observe changes over time on Earth. In this satellite images instructional activity, students observe changes in land use over time and document one type of change they observe. They...
Curated OER
Land Use Change Over Time
Students use historical aerial photographs and current aerial photographs to compare the change over time to the land. In this land changing lesson plan, students analyze, compare, contrast, and list the land change in their own community.
Space Awareness
Continental Climate and Oceanic Climate
There's nothing better than a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Scholars explore how water affects change in temperature using a hands-on experiment on climate. They use measurement tools to compare the continental and oceanic...
Curated OER
Pocumtucks in Deerfield
As part of a study of colonial and Native American history, class members focus on the beliefs and land use of the Pocumtucks, who settled near Deerfield, Massachusetts. Students examine their beliefs about land use and ownership, the...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Rising Ocean Temperatures - Rising Sea Levels
As an anticipatory set, young environmental technicians watch a video about how ocean temperatures seem to be changing along with the global climate. They perform a laboratory demonstration with the purpose of observing what happens to...
Curated OER
Ecology Explorers: Historical Air Photo Interpretation
Students identify and analyze land use changes over time with historic aerial photographs, and classify different land use into categories.
Curated OER
Land Use Change Unit Assessment
In this geography skills worksheet, students respond to 33 multiple choice questions pertaining to land use and land changes.
Curated OER
Land Use Over Time
High schoolers view aerial photos and topographic maps of their local area. They compare and contrast major land use patterns over time by comparing these images to maps that are at least 50 years old. They analyze them using the four...
Curated OER
Terrestrial Ecosystem Response to Climate Change
An extensive investigation of the Earth's climate changes awaits your environmental science classes. This top-notch presentation begins by looking at the history of Earth's climate and then predicts the impact on each major terrestrial...
Curated OER
Change Since 1609
Students recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation. They explain these changes using a reconstruction of the land use changes in the Hudson Valley composed of confetti, Ziploc bags and other...
Teach Engineering
Egg-cellent Landing
The classic egg-drop experiment gets a new bounce with an activity that asks pairs to design a lander similar to one used to land a rover on Mars within a fixed budget. The activity provides a great introduction to the idea of terminal...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystem Services
The fourth activity in a series of five has classes participate in a jigsaw to learn about global impacts of climate change and then share their new information with a home group. Groups then research impacts of climate change (droughts,...
American Museum of Natural History
Climate Change
It actually is possible to have too much of a good thing when it comes to climate change. A slide show lesson describes how burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change. Individuals read about the scientific process and the...
Cave Creek Unified School District
Crusades and Culture in the Middle Ages
The Crusades sounds like a glamorous time period in the Middle Ages full of glory—but was it? Scholars find and review the truth of the Crusades' influence on the world through the resource. The study guides, separated individually by...
Polar Trec
Global Snow Cover Changes
Snow is actually translucent, reflecting light off its surface which creates its white appearance. Pairs or individuals access the given website and answer questions about snow cover. They analyze graphs and charts, examine data, and...
American Museum of Natural History
What do you Know About Climate Change?
Test the class's knowledge of the key components of climate change. A 10-question online quiz asks learners about weather, climate, greenhouse gases, and several other concepts related to climate change. Interactive and easy for...