A well-written lesson plan, second in a series of four, gets high schoolers exploring how the Antarctic food web is impacted by climate change and the associated melting of polar ice sheets. It begins with a PowerPoint presentation about the polar ecosystem. Small groups use beads and game cards to model how decreasing sea ice impacts the food web. To close, a class discussion ensues about ocean acidification and what pupils learned from the activity. Be sure to consider using the entire unit in your environmental studies course.

Concepts

global warming, climate change, human impact on the environment, environmental stewardship, food webs

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Additional Tags

food web, antarctic ecosystem, climate change, global warming, human impact on the environment, interdependence, acidification, science

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Pros

• Intentionally meets Next Generation Science Standards
• Detailed script and lecture notes accompany the slides of the PowerPoint
• A collaborative learning game is used to model impact of climate change on food webs
• A reading selection in the homework can be used to address Common Core State Standards in scientific literacy
• Well-written lesson plan and attractive handouts

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.9-10.1 RST.9-10.2 RST.9-10.4 RST.9-10.10 RST.11-12.1 RST.11-12.2 RST.11-12.4 RST.11-12.10