Lessons and Units for Teaching Science - Earth Science Climate and Meteorology GIS and the Climate of New York State This lab attempts to address variables such as temperature, rainfall, landcover, snowfall, topography, and urban heat islands to give a better, clearer understanding of the climate of New York State. Climate is one of the main factors that determine where people live and recreate, and also influences how the land is used. Author: GIT Ahead Project Teacher Travis Crocker (Dryden High School) http://fli.hws.edu/gitahead/curricula/crocker_lab_final.doc   Spatial Analysis of North American Hurricanes Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) "Students examine North Atlantic hurricanes from 1851 to 2001 over space and time using GIS tools and methods, analyzing hurricane direction, patterns, specific damaging hurricanes, the characteristics of hurricanes near world and specific cities, hurricanes in specific states in the USA and Mexico, and characteristics of hurricanes that passed near the students' hometown." Source: USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center (Author: Joseph Kerski) http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/gislessons/hurricanelesson_3.html   Tornados: Blown Away "In this lesson students will spatially analyze the location and annual distribution of tornado activity in the United States. You will need the worksheet to complete the activity. This lesson was created by Tom Baker at U. Kansas and modified by the MSC." Source: Math Science Innovation Center (Author: Tom Baker - ESRI) http://arcims.mathsciencecenter.info/website/blownaway/InstructionsBAims.pdf   Mapping the Environment Lessons The following earth science lessons were developed through the Mapping the Environment project at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Mapping Climate Patterns Mapping Severe Weather - Tornados Mapping Severe Weather - Hurricanes http://www.mobot.org/education/mapping/mapcr.html   Mapping Rainfall in 3D Using data from spreadsheets and from ESRI, you'll select information specific to your state, and use the join function in ArcMap to merge new information onto existing shapefiles. Then, using the 3D Analyst Extension, you'll create a 3D model and contour map of rainfall in your state. Source: New Jersey City College http://faculty.njcu.edu/wmontgomery/NJCU_GIS_I/GIS_I_Exr03_AV92_Map_rain_in_3D_v2a.pdf   Canada's Climate "Climate affects the lives of all plants and animals. It affects where and how we live, our growth and our well being. Living creatures have adapted to live within a specific climatic niche. Human adaptability has allowed us to expand into more climate niches than most other creatures. Even so, the human environment and its cultures reflect the influence of climate. This is reflected in customs, shelter, clothing, food preferences, agricultural practices, transportation, and settlement patterns." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5692.asp   Topography Exploring Topographical and Watershed Characteristics This exercise will help you become more familiar with the functions of the GIS program ArcMap, as you use local data to explore uses of GIS as a visual and analytical tool. Author: GIT Ahead Teacher Travis Crocker (Dryden High School) http://fli.hws.edu/gitahead/curricula/crocker_gis_tompkins_county_final.doc   Historical and Current Floodplain Analysis The purpose of this lesson is to "understand how floods occur, and why floodplains are important to communities, with a case study of Boulder, Colorado, USA." Source: USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center (Author: Joseph Kerski) http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/gislessons/boulderfloodlesson.pdf   Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Creation and Analysis "In this lesson, you will create a DEM from interpolating elevations on a topographic map. You will then understand more fully what a DEM is and how it can be used. Then you will download a USGS DEM from the Internet and analyze it within GIS software." Source: USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center (Author: Joseph Kerski) http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/gislessons/creating_analyzing_dem_lesson.pdf   Virginia Physiography "In this lesson students will explore the physiographic provinces and the major watersheds in Virginia and relate some of the natural resources found in each province by mapping different locations across the state to develop a greater understanding of the use of Virginia resources." You may be able to adapt this for your state. Source: Math Science Innovation Center (Author: Joyce Tillar Watson) http://mathinscience.info/teach/612_science/earth_sciences/va_physio/va_physio.htm   Latitude and Longitude "This exercise will focus latitude and longitude. You will look at latitude and longitude from a global perspective while learning the location of some of the more significant lines of latitude and longitude." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5707.asp   Integrating GIS and GPS "In this lesson students are introduced to the basics of global positioning systems. They will collect a series of latitude and longitude points and then add then into an existing digital map." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5708.asp   Geology USGS Exploring Earthquakes Through Time "This module contains an exercise in which students are asked to examine the frequency and distribution of earthquake epicenters and compare these epicenters to the distribution of plate boundaries and cities. Students download earthquake epicenters for the last several days and for an entire year from the Internet, and map the information using ArcView geographic information system (GIS), and analyze the patterns that become evident." Source: USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center (Author: Joseph Kerski) http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/quakegis/main.html   Volcanoes of the World "This exercise is designed to be an introduction to volcanism and focuses on the location, processes, and effects of volcanoes in different regions of the world. Students will analyze a specific volcano as part of a case study research project." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5696.asp   Plate Tectonics "In this lesson students will analyze and interpret patterns in earthquake, volcano and fault data and relate the distribution of these to the location of tectonic plates by mapping the locations of each of these processes." Source: Math Science Innovation Center (Author: Joyce Tillar Watson) http://mathinscience.info/teach/612_science/earth_sciences/plate_tectonics/plate_tectonics.htm   Glaciation in Canada "This lesson pack focuses on the landforms created by glaciers in the areas of Northern Saskatchewan and Southern Ontario." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5684.asp   Earth Science Lessons from Spatial Sci "The mission of SpatialSci is to provide educators with a sustained environment for the integration of geo-technologies into classroom instruction. From relevant spatial data sets to GIS-based curriculum, SpatialSci is a one stop shop for teachers committed to implementing geo-technologies into K-12 classroom instruction." These lessons include: Modeling and Mapping Montana's Climate Stabilization Wedge Game: Solving the Emissions Problem GPS Drawing Using GIS to Investigate Plate Boundaries and Sands Groundwater and the Berkeley Pit Source: Spatial Sci, University of Montana, Missoula http://www.spatialsci.com/index.php/sID/dac9db2a/area/60ee04c4/fuseaction/curriculum.lessons.htm   Mount St. Helens - Before and After "In this lesson you will be introduced to some of the functionality of the 3D Analyst extension for ArcView GIS. On May 18th, 1980, the long dormant Mount St. Helens volcano erupted and over the course of several weeks the blast transformed the surrounding landscape from forested slopes into lava, ash and mud covered desolation." http://www.esricanada.com/english/5722.asp   Seismology "The study of earthquakes is an important phenomenon as they have a profound environmental and human impact. Each year there are thousands of earthquakes that can be felt by people and over one million that are strong enough to be recorded by instruments. In this exercise you will learn how an scientists determine the epicentre of an earthquake using data collected by seismographs." Source: ESRI Canada http://www.esricanada.com/english/5719.asp