Arctic Sea Ice vs. Time
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Provided by: MIT Climate Action Through Education|Published on: February 4, 2025
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will explore sea level rise data, learn about the difference between melting ice on land versus water, explain the correlation coefficient (R), and graph the data over time to look at the y-intercept and slope.
- Students will learn how melting sea ice is an indicator of climate change, how scientists measure sea ice, and the impact of feedback loops.
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics
Authors: Gary Smith
Region: Polar Regions, Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The questions in the student worksheet invite students to use critical thinking and analysis skills.
- The resource includes guidance for teaching this topic through SEL and place-based learning lenses.
Prerequisites
- Students will need to download the basic (free) version of Vernier Graphical Analysis or have access to graphing calculators.
- There are resources linked in the lesson to support student knowledge of the basics of climate change.
Differentiation & Implementation
- When watching the video, some students may benefit from pausing or slowing the video to read the text. Teachers can also play the video for the class and read the text aloud.
- After completing this lesson, students can discuss the impact of land ice melt on sea level rise and, consequently, coastal communities.
- Teachers can also use this Geometry Lesson: Calculating Sea Level Rise to support this topic.
- To help students understand the differences between sea ice and land ice with a hands-on activity, teachers can use the resource, Is Ice, Ice Baby?, which includes videos and experiments.
This data-rich resource from MIT's Climate Action through Education (CATE) initiative provides teachers with a lesson plan to explore the transformation of arctic sea ice. The lesson plan includes teacher notes, resources, materials, and the technology needed. Links within the plan provide additional information, up-to-date data, interactive maps, and graphs, with additional links to even more related information. All links work, and the references and source material utilized for this lesson plan are from reliable organizations and present up-to-date information. This activity would be a valuable resource for educators seeking to enhance climate-related learning experiences in the classroom.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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