In this 6-part activity, students learn about climate change during the Cenozoic …
In this 6-part activity, students learn about climate change during the Cenozoic and the abrupt changes at the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary (65.5 million years ago), the Eocene/Oligocene boundary (33.9 million years ago), and the Paleocene/Eocene boundary (55.8 million years ago).
This presentation offers an overview of the developing concept of The Anthropocene …
This presentation offers an overview of the developing concept of The Anthropocene -- a term coined to describe our current geological epoch, in which human impact on the planet will leave a permanent trace.
Help students learn about archaeological methods and how archaeological interpretations are made. …
Help students learn about archaeological methods and how archaeological interpretations are made. It is organized around questions that include: What is archeology? What do archaeologists do? How do archaeologists determine how old things are?
This video shows where and how ice cores are extracted from the …
This video shows where and how ice cores are extracted from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The cores are cut, packaged, flown to the ice core storage facility in Denver, further sliced into samples, and shipped to labs all over the world where scientists use them to study indicators of climate change from the past.
Students are introduced to archaeology vocab through the case of "Barwick's Ordinary," a …
Students are introduced to archaeology vocab through the case of "Barwick's Ordinary," a historic tavern, gathering place, home, and center of business in 1700s Maryland. Students are briefly introduced to the story of the ordinary then explore a 3D "art gallery" with scans of artifacts from the site as well as maps, surveys, and drone photographs. Internet access is currently required. Paintings by John Lewis Krimmel help illustrate how things may have looked. An extension is to conduct some more detailed reading into the role of ordinaries, a ubiquituous feature of the European colonies in America. There are 3 activities to "meet" Barwick's, followed by 2 summative activities.
This video segment, from the 'Earth: The Operators' Manual' featuring climate expert …
This video segment, from the 'Earth: The Operators' Manual' featuring climate expert Richard Alley, shows how ice cores stored at the National Ice Core Lab provide evidence that ancient ice contains records of Earth's past climate - specifically carbon dioxide and temperature.
Students are asked to design and conduct an archaeological survey of the …
Students are asked to design and conduct an archaeological survey of the modern college campus, focusing on the provenience of litter and other trash, which is collected, sorted, and analyzed. Students develop a research question about college culture, waste management practices, and/or sustainability more generally and prepare an academic poster presenting their results.
The task requires the student to use logarithms to solve an exponential …
The task requires the student to use logarithms to solve an exponential equation in the realistic context of carbon dating, important in archaeology and geology, among other places. Students should be guided to recognize the use of the natural logarithm when the exponential function has the given base of e, as in this problem. Note that the purpose of this task is algebraic in nature -- closely related tasks exist which approach similar problems from numerical or graphical stances.
Mending is an important part of archaeology, as it can be used …
Mending is an important part of archaeology, as it can be used to establish relationships between different parts of an archaeological site. This resource is a tutorial detailing how to perform a ceramic mending activity with your students. Use it to support Maryland Math Standard 7.G.B.4-6 for grade 7 by focusing on the mending of round ceramics and determining their circumference or diameter from pieces. If you evaluate this resource or use it, please consider responding to this short (4 question) survey bit.ly/3rw0WQY
This NBC Learn video features climate scientists doing their research on Mt. …
This NBC Learn video features climate scientists doing their research on Mt. Kilimanjaro to study the climate of the past. The scientists put the recently observed changes on the glacier into perspective by comparing past climate fluctuations, stressing that the current observed rate of change is unprecedented. Note: you will need to scroll down the Changing Planet video page to get to this video.
This animation depicts global surface warming as simulated by NCAR's Community Climate …
This animation depicts global surface warming as simulated by NCAR's Community Climate System Model (CCSM) Version 3. It shows the temperature anomalies relative to the end of the 19th century, both over the entire globe and as a global average. The model shows the temporary cooling effects during 5 major volcanic eruptions and estimates future temperature trends based on different amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.
This teaching activity is an introduction to how ice cores from the …
This teaching activity is an introduction to how ice cores from the cryosphere are used as indicators and record-keepers of climate change as well as how climate change will affect the cryosphere.
This activity focuses on reconstructing the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) as an …
This activity focuses on reconstructing the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) as an example of a relatively abrupt global warming period. Students access Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) sediment core data with Virtual Ocean software in order to display relevant marine sediments and their biostratigraphy.
This video is part of the Climate Science in a Nutshell series. …
This video is part of the Climate Science in a Nutshell series. This short, animated video looks at evidence of a rapidly warming planet. It discusses how air bubbles in ice cores can be used to estimate Earth's average air temperature for thousands of years and how direct measurements document air temperatures from 1880.
This video resource is presented as a real-world application of chemistry in …
This video resource is presented as a real-world application of chemistry in the field of conservation archaeology. Conservator, Francis Lukezic, walks through the conservation practices for waterlogged archaeological wood and explains the chemical and cellular processes at work. Use to support Maryland/NGSS for Grades 5, MS, and HS. For 5-PS1-1 and MS-PS1-1, have students watch or perform the paper clip demonstration and discuss how the hydrogen bonding of water allows this then is disrupted by the soap; have students develop diagrams explaining the phenomenon of surface tension on the molecular level. For HS-PS2-6, have students watch or perform the sponge demonstration and discuss how the molecular structure of the wood makes it vulnerable to becoming waterlogged then brainstorm materials that are more resilient to water and discuss the uses of the materials. For interdisciplinary connections to geography and history, have students research why Maryland archaeologists do or do not discover the materials brainstormed instead of wood. If you evaluate or use this resource, please respond to this short (4 question) survey bit.ly/3DhRumA
This Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter is a detailed computer-based exploration in which …
This Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter is a detailed computer-based exploration in which students learn how various climatic conditions impact the formations of sediment layers on the ocean floor. They analyze sediment core data from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica for evidence of climate changes over time. In addition, they interact with various tools and animations throughout the activity, in particular the Paleontological Stratigraphic Interval Construction and Analysis Tool (PSICAT) that is used to construct a climate change model of a sediment core from core images.
Create Your Own Time Capsule is part of OLogy, where kids can …
Create Your Own Time Capsule is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they build a time capsule to help future generations understand how they lived. The activity begins with a brief explanation of artifacts and time capsules.Students are then given step-by-step directions for how to select significant items and build a time capsule to store them. As an example, two kids and the time capsules they built are shown.
This 10 minute video builds connections between topics that are important in …
This 10 minute video builds connections between topics that are important in climate science such as: the impact of variations in Earth's orbit and wobble on it's axis on climate; how the cores being sampled fit into the bigger climate picture; connecting greenhouse gases to melting ice and sea level changes; the sensitivity of the ice melt / sea level rise relationship; and computer model simulations showing connections between ice sheets and sea level. The companion website provides resources, an extensive list of activities, teacher guides, posters, and more.
Students will view fossils, sometimes with supporting illustrations, and answer questions about …
Students will view fossils, sometimes with supporting illustrations, and answer questions about them via deductive reasoning. The exercise is highly interactive, with the instructor providing hints and helpful questions. The questions concern ways in which fossil preservation reveals information about things like what kind of organism the fossil represents, how that organism lived, and how the fossil came into being.
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