Date: 11/3/21 Group Size: 24 Allotted Time: 50 minutes- 1 hr

Grade Level: 3rd

Subject or Topic: How does Climate change affect the environment?

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

· 4.3.4 E: Environmental Health Identify how human actions affect

environmental health.
Learning Targets/Objectives:

The student will be able to

● After learning about how global warming happens, students will identify how

climate change affects the environment.

● Using their knowledge, students will conduct an activity demonstrating the

effects of melting ice caps caused by climate change.

● The student will show their knowledge by completing an observation sheet while

doing the activity.

1. Observational/ fill out the sheet using inquiry skills

Assessment Approaches:
2. 6 statements displaying an understanding of the
1. Inquiry sheet
2. 3..2.1 topic
Assessment Scale:

A. Inquiry sheet
1. Observational

B. 3-2-1

1. Six on topic statements-proficient

2. 3-5 on topic statements- basic
3. <2 on topic statements- below basic
Subject Matter/Content:

Prerequisites:

● Basic understating of rising sea levels and its effects.

● An understanding of melting ice caps
● An understanding of endangered arctic animal habitats

Key Vocabulary:

● Habitats- the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

● Icecaps- a covering of ice over a large area, especially on the polar region of a plane
● Arctic- relating to the regions around the North Pole
● Pollution-substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects into the evivroment.
● Glaciers-huge mass of ice that moves slowly over land.
● Ice floe-sheet of floating ice

Content/Facts:

Effects of climate change.

Why are ice caps melting?-The melting of polar ice caps is caused by the increase
in global temperatures causing ice caps to melt, sea levels rising, endangering
arctic habitats, and extreme weather changes.

● Melting ice caps are caused by:

· Greenhouse gases trap heat and prevent it from leaving the Earth's
atmosphere.
· Humans raise the temperature by burning fossil fuels, increasing the
greenhouse effect and causing sea levels to rise.
● Rising sea levels- An increase in the level of the world's ocean due to the effects
of global warming

· Sea levels rise due to melting ice sheets and glaciers. When ice
caps melt, ice flows into the ocean, raising sea levels.
· Melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, which increases storm
surge as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent
and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons.
· During the months of summer, icebreaking ships head to the
north into the Arctic Ocean. Breaking through the ice at sea, the
ships end up leaving trails of open waters.

● Endangered arctic animal habitats- a species that is at critical risk of no longer existing
on Earth.
● Climate change has affected the life cycle of animals, destroying the environment
habitats that animals rely on for food and shelter.
● Disruption of animals' natural habitats results in loss of animal life and some
extinction of certain animals.
● In the Arctic, as sea ice melts, wildlife like walrus are losing their home, and polar
bears are spending more time on land, causing higher rates of conflict between
people and bears.
● Wind and ocean currents transport pollutions to the Arctic, causing high toxic
levels to polar bears and seals.
Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:

● Grabbing the students' attention using the phrase "When I say pizza, you say hut,"

the students will respond with "Pizza Hut" after repeating the phrase.

● After grabbing the student's attention, ask them to be seated and turn their

attention towards the whiteboard where a quote writes "Earth provides enough to

satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed."- Mahatma Gandhi

● Call on a student to read the quote on the whiteboard. Then, have the students turn

and talk to their table about their interpretation of the quote.

- Provide students with a two through three-minute conversation for a

group discussion about their answers.

● After students discuss their responses, call on a few students and ask what their

table responded with.

● After hearing the responses explain to students what the topic of the lesson will be

today.

● "Alright, my friends, yesterday we discussed how global warming happens. Today

we will be talking about the impacts climate change has on the environment,

specifically observing the damages caused by climate change."

● Pulling up Climate Change Animation Shows Devastating Effects video

Climate Change Animation Shows Devastating Effects tell students they will

be watching a short, animated video on how climate change affects the

environment, humans, and animals.

 ● After watching the video tell the students, they will be learning how rising sea

levels and melting ice caps affect endangered animal arctic habitats such as polar

bears.

Development/Teaching Approaches

● Pull up slide one of the Melting ice caps presentation.

● Tell students, "We will be discussing the severity of melting ice caps and how it

affects the environment and arctic animals."

● Pulling out an Earth globe, identify the globe where Antarctica is.

● After finding where Antarctica is, call on a student to describe what Antarctica is.

After the student explains what Antarctica is, explain where polar ice caps are

located "Polar ice caps on earth are located at the North and South Pole of

Antarctica."

● Move to slide 2.

-Explain the four images listed on the slide are all causes of melting ice

caps.

- Ask students to identify each image.

- Explain to the students the different functions of each image and how it

results in ice melting.

- Move to slide 3.
 -Read the information from the slide.

-Ask students, "how do you think this affects animals that live in the arctic?"

-After listening to the student's answers, state, "Great answers; let's dive in

deeper on how melting ice caps and rising sea levels affect arctic animal habitats."

-Move to slide 4.

- Read information off slide

- After reading the slide, explain to students that they will be watching a video of

the effects of melting ice caps and polar bears

- Pull up the YouTube video Polar Bear Dying From Global Warming

Polar bear float activity:

● Explain to students, "That polar bears live on the ice. When they hunt for food

(seals), they travel across the ice floes. They swim from ice floe to ice floe. Since

ice flies are melting, polar bears have to swim further to find food and go to find

different ice floes."

● After explaining, gather two volunteers to demonstrate what happens when the ice

melts by having students pretend to be polar bears.

● Materials of blue construction paper will be placed onto the floor to represent the

ice floe.
 ● Have the two students step on the blue construction paper while waiting for the

next set of directions.

● Explain to students, "Alright, my friends, since you two will be the polar bears, I

want you to hunt and find food for yourself and your cubs. I will play music, and

your job is to jump from one ice floe to another. When the music stops, one ice

floe will be taken away."

● Playing a song, the students will jump from one piece of construction paper to the

other as fast as they can while the music plays.

● Each time the music stops periodically, explain the "ice" is disappearing because

the temperature is getting warmer, causing ice to melt.

● After each ice floe is taken away, ask students to jump to any other ice floes.

● When they respond, ask, "Do you have as much space as you did before I took the

ice floes?"

● After hearing the responses have students sit back at their seats and move on to the

next activity.

Melting Sea Ice Activity

● Ask two students to help hand out materials. "I need two friends to help pass out

materials for our next activity."

● Hand out inquiry sheet Inquiry sheet for students to complete while doing the

activity
● Once materials are handed out, say, "Since we know what the causes are for

melting ice caps, we will be doing an activity of what happens to polar bears when

the ice melts, using a hairdryer to melt the ice in the container. Each time the ice

melts, take out a piece of ice and move your polar bears closer together."

● A sheet of broken ice in the container with clay modeled polar bears sitting on top

of the ice.

● Tell students they will be working in pairs with the table next to them

● After plugging in the hairdryer, have students use the hairdryer at high speed for

5-10 minutes

● While melting the ice, another student will fill out the inquiry sheet, observing
what they are doing.
● Walking around, the teacher will observe and listen to the students' thought
processes.
● As more ice begins to melt, students will watch the ice dissolve into the water and
move the polar bears to any remaining piece of ice.
● After drying the ice for another 5 minutes, have the students stop the hairdryer and
discuss what they observed while doing the activity.
● Asking "How long did it take for your ice to melt?" to each group
● After hearing the responses ask, "Was your polar bear able to stay on the ice, or
did the water rise having your polar bear fall into it."
● Collect inquiry sheet.
Closure/Summarizing Strategies:

· To bring the lesson close pull up video

Climate crisis up close: Journey to Greenland’s melting glaciers

· Direct the student's attention to the video and say, "Now that we have

identified the causes of melting ice caps, let's see up close of melting ice

glaciers."

Skip to 5:54 and watch until 7:19

- After watching the video ask students to describe what happened in

the video

· Wrapping up the end of the lesson, tell students they will be learning

more tomorrow on how human activity affects the environment.

Accommodations/Differentiation:

Follow all IEPs

- Student(s) with a visual impairment will be accommodated with

enlarged images of instructions when conducting the activity.

Materials/Resources:

- Melting ice caps presentation

- 4 sheets of blue construction paper

- 6 containers of ice

-2 hair dryers

- 24 copies of inquiry sheets Inquiry sheet

Refrences

Polar Bear Activity and Melting Sea Ice Activity for Kids. (2021, April 7). Kitchen

Counter Chronicles.

https://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com/polar-bear-activity-melting-sea-ice/

Best Documentary. (2017). Polar Bear Dying From Global Warming. In YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAN4RCOaqeE

Climate crisis up close: Journey to Greenland’s melting glaciers. (n.d.).

Www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Du3sBkFO4o

‌
 Chelsea Harvey,E&E News. (2018, April 12). Why Are Glaciers Melting from the

Bottom? It’s Complicated. Scientific American.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-glaciers-melting-from-the-bot

tom-its-complicated/

Conservation Concerns | Polar Bears International. (n.d.).

Polarbearsinternational.org.

https://polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bears-changing-arctic/conservation-conce

rns/

World Wildlife Fund. (2016). The Effects Of Climate Change. WWF.

https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/effects-of/climate-change