LEARNING RESOURCE GUIDE GRADES K - 3

Transcription

1 LEARNING RESOURCE GUIDE GRADES K - 3

2 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION 2

3 Ice Worlds 4-D Experience is a SimEx-Iwerks 4-D adaptation of an original BBC production that introduces students to how the power of the sun drives our world s climate and affects the water cycle that gives life. It also explores how animals have adapted to the seasonal changes in temperature and light. INTRODUCTION 3

4 INTRODUCTION TEACHER BACKGROUND 4 The sun does a lot more than mark the time between day and night. It drives our planet s changing seasons, powers the endless cycle of water, and is the source of energy for nearly every life form on our planet. Take the changing seasons for example. The predictable succession of the four seasons winter, spring, summer and fall is a result of the Earth being tilted on its axis as it orbits around the sun. The amount of energy received at the Earth s surface from the sun changes with each season. When it is summer in North America the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, which means that it receives more solar energy than it does in the winter months when the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. As a result of the tilting of the Earth summer days are warmer and longer than winter days. At the Arctic (North Pole) and in Antarctica (South Pole) the seasonal changes are even greater. These areas are blanketed in total darkness during their winter months and endure extremely cold temperatures, but are bathed in near constant sunlight during the summer. How do animals survive, find food and shelter, and care for their young through the changing seasons, especially at the polar extremes? Mother polar bears in the Arctic spend the dark cold winter months in a snow cave. It s during this time that the mothers give birth to their cubs. The mother does not eat, but uses the energy she stored up in the fall to nurse the cubs.

5 TEACHER BACKGROUND In Antarctica, the emperor penguin survives the winter in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet where temperatures can drop to -60 Celsius. It is during this time that the males cradle a single egg on top of their feet covered by a pouch of warm feathery skin. After a nine week incubation period the baby penguins hatch, co-inciding with the return of the females. During their summer months, the Poles experience a period of constant sunlight. In the seas around the poles, sea ice melts and plankton thrive from the combination of near constant sunlight and the abundance of nutrients released from melting sea ice. The incredible abundance of the tiny plankton provides food for organisms like krill. These in turn are food for even larger predators like the seals, which are hunted by whales. Not only do the interactions between the sun and oceans affect our seasons, they also have a tremendous impact on our weather patterns. In the tropics, heat from the sun warms the oceans and evaporates water into the atmosphere. The water condenses to form clouds and falls as rain far from where it evaporated.. Most of the rain we experience on land starts in the ocean. Hurricanes and monsoons are examples of powerful weather systems that affect both the land and the animals and people that live there. In the tropical regions the temperature and amount of daylight are constant throughout much of the year. Instead of four seasons, these areas may experience just two typically one wet and one dry season. For animals living in these areas being able to survive drought is critical until the rains come or they can find water. 5

6 INTRODUCTION STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES 6

7 The Ice Worlds film and the activities in this resource guide support the following science standards and ocean and climate principles. NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS Content Standard B Physical Sciences Properties of objects and materials Content Standard C Life Sciences Characteristics of organisms Life cycle of organisms Organisms and environments OCEAN LITERACY PRINCIPLES #1. The Earth has one big ocean with many features. #3. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate. #5. The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems. #6. The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected. CLIMATE LITERACY PRINCIPLES STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES #1. Life on Earth has been shaped by, depends on, and affects climate. #3. The Sun is the primary source of energy for the climate system. #4. Earth s weather and climate systems are the result of complex interactions. #5. Earth s weather and climate vary over time and space. 7

8 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY TIS THE SEASON DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS: This activity is designed to introduce the concept of seasons and how they follow a predictable cycle. Discuss with your students the questions on the following page and ask them record their answers in the space provided. The Matching Game introduces students to some of the differences in each season, and asks them to put the seasons in their proper order. INTRODUCTION 8

9 SEASON MATCHING GAME Match the season with the picture below that best describes it. SPRING FALL WINTER SUMMER TIS THE SEASON What season is it now in your area? How do you know this? Put the seasons in the correct order. Start with the current season. Either write the name of the season in the space below, or draw or paste a picture of the symbol. How do you prepare for each season? 9

10 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY WATER AND ICE DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS: In this activity students discover what happens when water changes from a solid (ice) to a liquid (water), and back again. Learning that water can take many forms is central to understanding the water cycle. Ask the students to work in pairs and pass out an ice cube in a clear plastic cup to each group. Ask one student in each group to draw a picture of what he/she sees. Ask the other student to review the questions below and record their answers. What is in the cup? Describe the ice. What does it look like? Feel like? What is the ice made of? INTRODUCTION 10

11 How is ice made? What will happen if we leave the ice out on the desk/table? Why? How do you know? How long might this take? WATER AND ICE Pour the ice into a container of a different shape or size. What does it look like now? Does it look the same or different? Has the shape of the ice changed? Why do you think that is? 11

12 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY WATER AND ICE When the ice has completely melted, ask the students to make their final drawing and write their final description. DISCUSS AS A CLASS: Everything changes and change occurs all the time. Some changes happen fast, others so slowly that we might not notice. Did the change in the water happen slowly or quickly? How long did it take for the ice to turn into water? Do you think that there is any way to speed up this change? How? (Place the cup in a warm, sunny location, etc.) Is there any way to slow down this change? (Put the cup in an insulated cooler or refrigerator; place the cup in the shade, etc.) INTRODUCTION 12

13 EXTENSION ACTIVITY: In this activity students look at what happens to the amount of water as it changes from a solid to a liquid or from a liquid to a solid. They will learn that when water changes from liquid to solid ice and back again, the amount of water stays the same. Give each group a Ziploc baggie, some ice, paper towels, and a scale or balance. WATER AND ICE Ask the students to put the ice into the baggie and seal it. Record the weight of the bag of ice. Be sure to wipe off any condensation on the outside of the baggie before weighing. Students weigh the baggie periodically until all the ice melts. Weigh the baggie a final time. If a freezer is available, re-freeze the baggies and weigh again when frozen. DISCUSS AS A CLASS: Does the weight of the water change when it goes from a solid (ice) to a liquid? (No) Does the weight of the water change when it goes from a liquid to a solid? (No) How would you explain what you observed to someone who did not perform this experiment? (The amount or weight of water stays the same when it changes from ice to liquid and back. Scientists call this conservation of matter.) 13

14 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY POLAR BEARS VERSUS PENGUINS PART A - DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS: It is not only do people who have to be prepared for the changing seasons, animals do too. Animals have learned how to adapt to the changing seasons. In this activity students will be introduced to two animals from the film the polar bear and the emperor penguin and will get a better understanding of some of the similarities between the Arctic and Antarctica and to distinguish between the facts and the myths relating to penguins and polar bears. Younger students believe that polar bears and penguins live together. Actually they live at opposite ends of the globe. Show or ask students to find the North Pole (Arctic) and the South Pole (Antarctica) on a globe or world map. When it is summer in the Arctic it is winter in Antarctic and vice-versa. During the summer, the poles experience a period of 24 hours of daylight. In the winter, they experience a period of 24 hours of darkness. Ask your students to imagine living in a place where the sun doesn t set all summer long. How would they live? What would they do? INTRODUCTION 14

15 Ask you students to imagine living in a place where the sun did not rise all winter long. How would they live? What would they do? Polar bears inhabit the Arctic region in parts of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway and Russia. Winter temperatures in the Arctic are approximately -34 Celcius. Polar bears have thick fur to help them stay warm. They also have a layer of fat, called blubber, that helps them stay warm. In fact, sometimes polar bear can get too hot, especially if they have been running or have been very active. DEMONSTRATION: Prepare for this demonstration by providing layers of warm clothes (sweater, sweatshirt, etc.), a heavy winter coat, a hat, and gloves for a volunteer student. Ask the volunteer to be a polar bear. Dress the student in the layers of warm clothes, coat, hat and gloves. Ask the student to walk quickly (do not run) around the classroom until the student begins to feel very warm. Stop the demonstration and remove the extra clothing. Discuss with the class: How do you think the layers of clothing are like fur and blubber? What can you do if you get too warm? What do you think a polar bear does to cool down? POLAR BEARS VERSUS PENGUINS 15

16 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY POLAR BEARS VERSUS PENGUINS PART B - DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS: Penguins live in the Antarctic region. They are birds, but they cannot fly through the air, instead they fly through the water. They have insulating feathers and fat to keep them warm. There are 17 different kinds of penguins. One is called the emperor penguin. This penguin is unique because it lays its eggs at the coldest time of the year. The male penguins are in charge of protecting each egg. Instead of building a nest, he balances the egg on top of his feet to keep the egg off of the snow and ice. He covers the egg with a pouch of skin and feather to keep it warm. The males huddle together to stay warm. In the springtime, the egg hatches and a baby penguin is born. INTRODUCTION 16

17 ACTIVITY: You will need a large open space, one large plastic craft egg for each student and a stopwatch. Tell your students that they are going to pretend to be emperor penguins. Each student is given an egg. They need to care for and protect it for the whole winter. They must balance the egg on top of their feet like an emperor penguin and they must move slowly to stay warm. If the egg falls off their feet, the egg will not survive. When they have put the egg on top of their feet set the timer for winter to last two minutes. Tell students to start moving. If the egg falls off their feet, the student must leave the game and sit on the sidelines. After two minutes, how many penguin eggs survived? At the end of the activity, ask your class what it was like to care for the egg? Was it easy or difficult? POLAR BEARS VERSUS PENGUINS 17

18 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY WHAT S YOUR WEATHER? DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS: In the film, Ice Worlds, students saw how the weather, climate and changing seasons affect animals. In this activity, students conduct a simple experiment recording their observations of the daily weather in their area. Students will observe and record the weather in their area daily. It is best if students can observe at the same time every day. They should use the Weather Chart overleaf to record their observations. A simple Weather Key is provided below to help younger students identify the weather. They can either write in the word or put a picture that describes the weather for that day. Remember, more than one type of weather condition could happen at the same time (for example: rainy and windy) weather key: Sunny Partly Sunny Windy Cloudy Rainy Snowy INTRODUCTION 18

19 Older students can also record the temperature using an outdoor thermometer at school. If they do this, try to make the observation at the same time of the day. If you don t have access to a thermometer at school, students can also find the daily temperature on the Internet, or from the local newspaper or TV or radio stations. EXAMPLE: DATE WEATHER DAY 1 April 10 WEATHER CHART: DAY 2 April 11 DAY 3 April 12 DAY 4 April 13 DAY 5 April 14 WHAT S THE WEATHER DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7 Continue more daily observations. 19

20 NOTES: INTRODUCTION 20

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22 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND RESOURCES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Planet Earth: Ice Worlds is a BBC/Discovery Channel/HNK co-production in association with the CBC and is made available through a partnership with CineMuse. This Learning Resource Guide for the film, Ice Worlds 4-D Experience, was created by Educational Consultant Joe Harber for SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment. Educators may reproduce these materials for students. Design & illustration by Orlena Chan SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment Graphic Design Department INTRODUCTION 22

23 RESOURCES The following resources were used to develop this guide. Books Amazing Water by Melvin Berger Newbridge Educational Publishing. ISBN-10: I am Water by Jean Marzollo Cartwheel. ISBN-10: Websites EPA Climate Change for Kids Learn about climate change, become a climate detective, and test your climate change knowledge. National Snow and Ice Data Center Explore and learn about the frozen regions of the Earth with these NSIDC science resources. Information on snow, ice, glaciers, sea ice, and other elements of the cryosphere. Discovery Channel Learn more about the Planet Earth Series, from which Ice Worlds is adapted. Polar Bears International Contains lots of information about polar bears and how you can help protect them. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND RESOURCES 23

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