Description
The oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface and play a major role in regulating the weather and climate of the planet. Earth’s oceans absorb heat from sunlight, hold on to that heat, and transport it around the globe through the movement of ocean currents. The motion of the atmosphere, or winds, above it, also affects the oceans currents. The energy in the wind gets transferred to the ocean at the ocean surface affecting the motion of the water there. With the use of sensitive instruments we are able to get a better view of the functioning of our oceans and atmosphere.
This science guide will point teachers and students to resources to help develop a better understanding of some of the factors that impact Earth's weather and climate. Sites with recent research and satellite data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other organizations help students understand how changes in temperature or air circulation are part of complex, longer-term cycles. They'll also learn about the interconnections between air, sea, and land and that any change could have multiple causes—and multiple effects.
Ideas For Use
A Science Guide is a valuable classroom resource for science teachers interested in integrating the web into their teaching. Each guide consists of approximately 100 web-accessible resources (URLs) that have been aligned to the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and vetted across eight educational rubrics, such as Inquiry, Interactivity, Communication/ Collaboration, How Scientists Learn, etc. These URL resources have been assembled in a thematic drill-down structure with linked lesson plans, vignettes, samples of student work and MP3 files that demonstrate how the Guide’s URLs can be utilized in a classroom. Ultimately, a Science Guide is a resource that saves educators time by providing exemplary web resources that have been pre-evaluated and aligned to the National Science Education Standards.