Eco-Challenges in Africa

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/tools/eco/goals.html

Description: Address two of the more pressing issues confronting continental Africa -- the related concerns of growing desertification and the scarcity of clean water. Examine these issues within the context of Africa's development and the environmental, economic, and personal impact they have upon the African people. Explore a variety of Internet resources, learn about Africa's geography and natural resources, read and respond to African art and literature, and write and produce a documentary-style news broadcast report. This lesson supports the PBS Series on Africa. Standard 10.10.1

Author: , PBS Africa Series

Lesson ID: 337

EcoQuest: Desert Editions

http://members.aol.com/QuestSite/1/2.html

Description: This assignment requires you to explore different aspects of the desert environment by walking in the shoes of the people who live there. You and your group will be given a role in which to investigate the desert and its unique nature. Standards 3.1.0, 3.1.1, 3.1.2 and 4.1.3

Author:

Lesson ID: 344

Electronic Weather Scrapbook

http://www.educationcentral.org/stormy/scrapbook.htm

Description: Weather means many things to many people. Weather can be spectacularly beautiful or downright fightening. Weather affects people in many different ways. What do you find fascinating about weather and the storm systems weather creates? Think about how you might share this with others... One way to do this is to create a scrapbook... traditionally, a blank book or album for pasting in photos, pictures, cuttings, or other materials. Using the internet, you can collect multimedia, photos and text that illustrate a component of weather. Share this with others through an "electronic" weather scrapbook!

Author: Stephanie Stevenson, Division of Instructional Technology

Lesson ID: 351

Graphing Atmospheric Ozone

http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/ozone/graphing.html

Description: Visit the Exploratorium's Ozone graphing activity to use actual satellite data in your own "ozone hole" investigations. Use it to discuss social, political and economic issues related to reversing ozone depletion.

Author: The Exploatorium

Lesson ID: 470

Nature's Fury

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/00/nature/overview.html

Description: Examine accounts by Americans from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries of their life changing experiences with nature. Witness their experiments with the new technologies of motion pictures and panoramic photography to record the immensity of events with which they struggled. Read their moving personal accounts. Study the poignant lyrics of songs they wrote to memorialize each event. Use your research skills to search the American Memory collections to broaden your understanding of how people have dealt with disaster. Then share your learning by creating a presentation for others in which you assume the role of a witness to such an event and create your own personal account.

Author: Patricia Solfest and Kimberly Wardean, American Memory Project

Lesson ID: 748

Perfect Storm: A Problem-based Activity

http://www.educationcentral.org/stormy/perfect_storm.htm

Description: What happens when large storm systems affect the human system? In Sebastian Junger's book, The Perfect Storm, a vivid description of one such storm emerges. By looking at it you can learn how such super storms affect us and you can prepare for them. The book and movie, The Perfect Storm, show what happens when different kinds of extreme storms collide. How did this storm impact people's lives, and how do science and society work together to help minimize the devastating effects of major storms? Instead of just reading about the storm, you will create learning scenarios that help you to understand, not only what you see on the weather reports, but also the consequences of weather. You will look at the Perfect Storm as a whole, then analyze the interactions between the storm and the people in it. Next, you'll look at the storm from different human perspectives to begin to understand the dependencies and complex problems that occur when horrific storms and people come together.

Author: Stephanie Stevenson, Division of Instructional Technology

Lesson ID: 810

Storm Sampler

http://www.educationcentral.org/stormy/StormSampler.htm

Description: Just like a Whitman's Sampler lets you sample different kinds of chocolates, this Storm Sampler lets you sample these three different kinds of storms that have caused problems for people in the past. Think about the storms you have experienced. Have any of them been declared disasters? How did you learn about them? Could you read the signs and weather maps, or did you just take the weatherperson's word for it? What type of preparations did you have to make? Were you personally affected by the storm? Was anyone else that you know?

Author: Stephanie Stevenson, Division of Instructional Technology

Lesson ID: 983

Weather Hunt

http://www.educationcentral.org/stormy/weatherhunt.htm

Description: Weather Hunt is a puzzle allowing you to see the different pieces of weather's complexity. When you look through at each piece, you see the individual parts that make weather a whole and what these parts play in creating sunny days and stormy days. In Weather Hunt you'll focus on the basic elements of weather and find out how those elements interact with each other to make the big picture of weather. Weatherpersons no longer only show us maps with weather symbols, today we see satellite images of the dynamic weather systems affecting our daily weather. Understanding what we see and how to apply it to our lives is important in helping us to adapt our lives to our changing weather. At the end of this investigation you'll be ready to answer the big Question: Can you interpret maps that describe and forecast the weather?

Author: Stephanie Stevenson, Division of Instructional Technology

Lesson ID: 1206