Space Awareness
The Intertropical Convergence Zone
Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...
Curated OER
Wind Circulation, Surface Currents and Climate
Students describe connections between wind patterns, surface currents, and ocean climate zones. In small groups, they color the ocean climate zones in four different shades of blue. Students then answer questions like what four...
My Schoolhouse
Global Warming or Climate Change?
In this online interactive global warming and climate change worksheet, students respond to 10 multiple choice questions regarding the information included in the provided paragraphs.
Curated OER
Global Warming or Climate Change?
In this online interactive global warming and climate change worksheet, learners respond to 10 multiple choice questions regarding the information included in the provided paragraphs.
NASA
Earth's Global Energy Budget
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
NOAA
A Laboratory Simulation of Ocean Surface Currents
Stimulate interest in ocean currents with a simulation. The first installment of a five-part middle school series teaches future oceanographers about the forces that interact to cause ocean currents. A simulation shows how wind and the...
Curated OER
Ocean Impacts of an El Nino Event
Students study sea surface height and temperature and other characteristics of an El Nino. In this ocean impacts lesson students examine the factors that influence an El Nino or La Nina.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a lesson that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and what they think...
Curated OER
Hurricane Winds: A Spatial Hierarchy of Processes at Different Scales
In this earth science lesson, students study a satellite image of hurricane Isabel and write answers to 5 questions that follow. They match predictions to the map locations.
Curated OER
A Comparison of Cloud Coverage over Africa
Young scholars identify different climate regions and local weather patterns. For this cloud coverage lesson students use NASA satellite data and import it into Excel.
NOAA
Currents
Learn how ocean currents are vital to humans and marine life. The eighth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program, focuses on ocean currents and how they affect global climate. The...
Curated OER
Convection
Students experiment with the cyclic process of convection and apply the principal to everyday events.
Curated OER
Ocean Currents and Sea Surface Temperature
Students use satellite data to explore sea surface temperature. They explore the relationship between the rotation of the Earth, the path of ocean current and air pressure centers. After studying maps of sea surface temperature and ocean...
Curated OER
Ocean Currents
Students examine ocean currents. In this investigative lesson, students examine ocean currents and the relationship between the ocean, our atmosphere, and the weather. They will create a model of an ocean current.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
You know climate change is happening when you see a bee take off its yellow jacket. Part four in a series of five lessons explores all factors affecting climate change: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and carbon dioxide. By...
Curated OER
Tracking El Nino Conditions
Students identify major changes in ocean temperatures during an El Nino season. In this climate lesson students complete an Internet assignment using datasets to determine periods of El Nino.
Curated OER
Twisting the Air Away - The Coriolis Effect
Students examine the Coriolis Effect and its effects on the different hemispheres. For this Earth science lesson students divide into groups to they make predictions. Students then complete an activity to explore movement as it relates...
Curated OER
The Great Ocean Conveyor
Students investigate water density. In this water density lesson, students conduct an experiment with food coloring, water and salt to see how the salt effects bodies of water.
Curated OER
Polar Day: Arctic Clean Up
Students explore the concept of pollution. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students examine primary sources to research the complexity of pollution and its effect on the Arctic.
Curated OER
Geographic Effects on Precipitation, Water Vapor and Temperature
Students investigate the factors affecting climate using Live Access Server. In this geography lesson, students graph atmospheric data using Excel spreadsheet. They compare and contrast temperature, precipitation and water vapor of two...
![Global Wind Systems [Pdf] Website](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Global Wind Systems [Pdf] Website")
Idaho State University
Global Wind Systems [Pdf]
A great description of the global scale circulation and heat energy. Discusses a single-cell model, a three-cell model, jet streams and more.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Water Vapor Circulation on Earth
This simulation from the National Center for Atmospheric Research portrays annual patterns in water vapor and precipitation across the globe, illustrating general circulation patterns as well as seasonal and regional variation. [4:52]
NOAA
Noaa: Southern Region Weather: Global Circulations
"Global Circulations explain how air and storm systems travel over the Earth's surface. The global circulation would be simple (and the weather boring) if the Earth did not rotate, the rotation was not tilted relative to the sun, and had...
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanography Institute: Deep Ocean Circulation
What causes the circulation of ocean waters that are too deep to be affected by wind? Find out how salinity and temperature drive the deep sea currents. This resource has several videos and an online quiz.