Associated Videos:
Neil Degrasse Tyson on Cherry Picking Science
Weather Station Activity
A possible activity relating to climate change is to have students record the temperature at the same time during the day for 1 month. The teacher can record this data and keep it in a safe place for next year. At that time, the same process can be repeated and a comparison of the averages can be made. In this way, the students can witness the increase in global temperature that is expected for themselves. This also creates a record of temperatures created by the students themselves, hopefully giving the students a sense of scientific accomplishment. The data can be emailed to the CWC, and we will post it on our website if that is desired.
Math Activity (for more advanced students)
Students with a higher aptitude for math could be asked to generate a general equation that relates the increase in temperature from sunrise to noon as a function of time. The resulting equation, of course, would be a simple linear function of the form y=mx+b. The assumption of linearity in this could either be presented to the students at the beginning of the lesson, held back as a talking point if the students do not arrive at the realization of the assumption themselves, or simply ignored for the sake of simplicity.
Climate & Weather Consortium 