Climate Change in the Great Lakes 2019   

Lauren Levites, Umit Aslan, Shruti Researcher
Biology, Environmental Science
10 class periods
High School
v5
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Overview

Phenomena: Students begin by analyzing 2 maps that show temperature and precipitation projections in the Great Lakes region. They determine a few major trends: increasing temperature throughout the region, higher amounts of change in the northern areas, increasing precipitation in the region, more variability in the location and amount of precipitation. 

Students then explore the why of the phenomena. They go through 2 major phases to understand the impact of climate change in the Great Lakes.

First, they explore the components of the system, and how the system has changed throughout the past 20 years.

Second, they determine changes that are expected in the system and explain those changes. 

Underlying Lessons

Standards

Next Generation Science Standards
  •   Earth and Space Sciences
    • [MS-ESS2-4] Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
  •   NGSS Crosscutting Concept
    • Patterns
    • Energy
    • Stability and Change
  •   NGSS Practice
    • Analyzing Data
    • Constructing Explanations, Designing Solutions
    • Using Models
    • Conducting Investigations
Computational Thinking in STEM
  •   Data Practices
    • Analyzing Data
    • Collecting Data
    • Visualizing Data
  •   Modeling and Simulation Practices
    • Using Computational Models to Understand a Concept
    • Constructing Computational Models
  •   Systems Thinking Practices
    • Understanding the Relationships within a System
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