K-12 Lesson Plans Foraging for Fish in a Melting Arctic: the Black Guillemots' Quest to Feed Their Young Kindergarten and up. An active game inspired by a longterm scientific study of Black Guillemots nesting on an island near Barrow, AK. The game introduces the life cycle of the Black Guillemot, how it raises its young, and the adaptations it is making to adjust to life in a changing Arctic as arctic sea ice shrinks in area. Scientist PowerPoint presentation about the study. Lesson Plan (PDF, 913 KB) Scientist Presentation (PDF, 2.82 MB)
Bowhead Whale Unit Grades 1-3. Developed for students in a whaling community. It was created by a teacher whose students know the bowhead in a uniquely intimate way because of their environmental and subsistence circumstances, with the goal of approaching the acquisition of whale "knowledge" from a scientific learning perspective that will then support the environmental and subsistence knowledge that is vital to her students' way of life. Lesson Plan (PDF, 203 KB)
Arctic Smorgasbord High School. Students discover how different organisms that live in the Arctic depend on each other and what might happen to the food web if one or more organisms disappears from it. Students will build an Arctic food web. Lesson Plan (PDF, 102 KB) Arctic Food Web Cards (PDF, 650 KB)
Arctic Food Web in Language Arts High School. Students explain, both orally and in writing, a diagram used to illustrate a food web. This lesson is designed to follow a lesson in a Biology or Life Sciences class that involves the construction of a food web. It can be used as a followup to the lesson plan Arctic Smorgasbord. Lesson Plan (PDF, 99 KB)
Arctic Sea Ice Impacts on Temperature, Salinity, and Density of Sea Water Middle School and up.This lesson investigates the impact of melting and freezing arctic sea ice on the properties of salinity, temperature and density that contribute to the stratification of ocean waters. This lesson combines several learning approaches including a handson lab, a webquest and collaboration with students in Alaska and the Northeast U.S. Scientist presentation on arctic ocean processes and interactions with processes in other parts of the global ocean system. Lesson Plan (PDF, 130 KB)
These lesson plans were developed as part of the Arctic Ocean Ecosystem Workshop, held in Barrow, Alaska, on May 18?23, 2012. COSEE Alaska and its partners Alaska Sea Grant, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, the Alaska SeaLife center, Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) and the UAF Center for Crosscultural Studies collaborated with the North Slope Borough School District, the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB), and the Arctic Research Consortium of the
US (ARCUS) to engage scientists and teachers in lesson plan development. Major support was provided by the National Science Foundation.
Students play a game that demonstrates the importance of primary production by Arctic Ocean ice algae and the use of isotopes to trace sources of nutrients in food webs. They also discuss the implications of shrinking Arctic sea ice as a result of climate change.
Short vodcasts feature current research and the scientists involved. Four Climate Watch vodcasts, including ones on Changing Biomes and Permafrost, and a series on research at Lake El'Gypytgyn in Siberia involving coring through 3.5 million years of lake sediments to reconstruct Arctic paleo-environments were still in production on April, 2011.
Educator Guide. (PDF, 641 KB) Quick reference with links to:
- Lesson plans and units in the online Alaska Seas and Rivers K-8 curriculum produced by Alaska Sea Grant
- Resources and lesson plans related to planning and carrying out ocean science fairs and projects that can be entered into the Alaska Science and Engineering Fair.
The guide lists Alaska state science standards and grade level expectations and national Ocean Literacy Principles addressed by each lesson plan and the resources are aligned with Alaska standards for cultural relevance.
Special collection of multimedia resources developed by WGBH Boston featuring Alaska Native knowledge, concerns, and the response of Alaska Native communities and cultures to climate change.
Variety of resources including lesson plans to assist K-12 educators in meeting Alaska's science standards and addressing standards for culturally-relevant education.
NASA-sponsored scientist-teacher partnership program for student collection of data about snowflakes as part of the Global Snowflake Network and lake ice and snow pack temperatures using a Thermochron probe.
Lesson plans, journals, photos, and opportunities to interact with teachers and researchers on a variety of expeditions and cruises to the Arctic and Antarctic.
Bettina Kaiser, Editor. Ice is featured as one of six polar themes. The book provides an excellent summary of current sea ice research and understandings and includes teacher-tested hands-on science activities.
COSEE Alaska is sponsoring ocean science fairs in rural Alaskan communities that integrate Alaska Native culture by requiring that projects have cultural or community relevance.
COSEE Alaska Office: 1007 West Third Avenue, Suite 100 • Anchorage, AK 99501 • tel (907) 274-9612 • fax (907) 277-5242
email • Nora.Deans@nprb.org, Program Director or msigman@alaska.edu, Program Manager
