English/Language Arts
Explore imagery in writing
Author Cobb lends a great visual to explain just how cold it is where polar bears roam. It is difficult NOT to raise your hand to your lashes as she describes them breaking with the freezing cold. Have students choose a piece of their writing and add an example to describe the weather/temperature condition in their piece. Discuss whether that kind of imagery in description adds or detracts from the writing piece as a whole.
Social Studies
Explore the social, political and economic effects of global warming
This Minute opens up the opportunity to discuss global warming with your students. As with many scientific concepts, global warming has a multitude of social, political and economic consequences. Have students brainstorm to see what kinds of spheres of influences come from the theory of global warming. Why would some people prefer to treat this as a political concept, thus something to support or not support instead of a scientific theory that can be measured and one that has measurable consequences we are going to experience? What are the monetary consequences of recognizing this theory and creating policies to address the effects? Are all of the economic outcomes bad or are there good economic outcomes?
STEM
Explore insulation
Insulators protect and can be found all around us. Have students work in table groups to think about the definition of insulation and list as many examples as they can see (clothing they are wearing, pugs and electrical lines that are visible, double paned windows, to name just a few). Have them brainstorm to add items from nature that act as insulators. Can they see connections between the two? What have we learned from nature’s insulators? What kind of engineering benefits from thinking about what happens in nature in order to create?
Explore body temperature and environment connections
Use this Minute to introduce or reinforce the biology behind warm and cold blooded animals. How does being warm blooded determine the environment where an animal can live and thrive? What would human development look like if we were cold blooded instead of warm blooded?
Explore technology: night vision goggles
How do they work? What are the pros and cons? What are the alternatives? What led to the development of this technology? Who uses them? How are they used?
Explore the effects of global warming on different biomes
Author Cobb describes one of the possible outcomes of global warming in the harsh tundra conditions. Have students explore how global warming might affect other biomes in the world. Are there pros and cons? What are they? What can we do to protect our future against harsh side effects of global warming?
Research Skills
Explore effective search strategies
Author Cobb throws in a fact that should leave readers with a question. She tells us that polar bears, unlike their warmer weather relatives, do not hibernate except for pregnant females. If pregnant females do not follow their peers in winter, then where exactly do they spend their time? Have your students use their research skills to figure it out and record their thinking paths. What keywords did they use? Where did they look first for answers? What produced a reliable answer in the most efficient time frame? If you require students to think about how and where to search before you let them loose, you can run research races. Following these activities, gather students to talk about the best ways and places to search for particular kinds of information.
Explore imagery in writing
Author Cobb lends a great visual to explain just how cold it is where polar bears roam. It is difficult NOT to raise your hand to your lashes as she describes them breaking with the freezing cold. Have students choose a piece of their writing and add an example to describe the weather/temperature condition in their piece. Discuss whether that kind of imagery in description adds or detracts from the writing piece as a whole.
Social Studies
Explore the social, political and economic effects of global warming
This Minute opens up the opportunity to discuss global warming with your students. As with many scientific concepts, global warming has a multitude of social, political and economic consequences. Have students brainstorm to see what kinds of spheres of influences come from the theory of global warming. Why would some people prefer to treat this as a political concept, thus something to support or not support instead of a scientific theory that can be measured and one that has measurable consequences we are going to experience? What are the monetary consequences of recognizing this theory and creating policies to address the effects? Are all of the economic outcomes bad or are there good economic outcomes?
STEM
Explore insulation
Insulators protect and can be found all around us. Have students work in table groups to think about the definition of insulation and list as many examples as they can see (clothing they are wearing, pugs and electrical lines that are visible, double paned windows, to name just a few). Have them brainstorm to add items from nature that act as insulators. Can they see connections between the two? What have we learned from nature’s insulators? What kind of engineering benefits from thinking about what happens in nature in order to create?
Explore body temperature and environment connections
Use this Minute to introduce or reinforce the biology behind warm and cold blooded animals. How does being warm blooded determine the environment where an animal can live and thrive? What would human development look like if we were cold blooded instead of warm blooded?
Explore technology: night vision goggles
How do they work? What are the pros and cons? What are the alternatives? What led to the development of this technology? Who uses them? How are they used?
Explore the effects of global warming on different biomes
Author Cobb describes one of the possible outcomes of global warming in the harsh tundra conditions. Have students explore how global warming might affect other biomes in the world. Are there pros and cons? What are they? What can we do to protect our future against harsh side effects of global warming?
Research Skills
Explore effective search strategies
Author Cobb throws in a fact that should leave readers with a question. She tells us that polar bears, unlike their warmer weather relatives, do not hibernate except for pregnant females. If pregnant females do not follow their peers in winter, then where exactly do they spend their time? Have your students use their research skills to figure it out and record their thinking paths. What keywords did they use? Where did they look first for answers? What produced a reliable answer in the most efficient time frame? If you require students to think about how and where to search before you let them loose, you can run research races. Following these activities, gather students to talk about the best ways and places to search for particular kinds of information.
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission