Nick Jarosz 2/24/13 CI 402 Smartboard Activity Learning Objectives: Students will be able to identify CO2, CH4, and

and N2O as greenhouse gasses. Students will be able to predict a climate of higher average temperatures when extra greenhouse gasses are added to the atmosphere Students will state the greenhouse gasses reflect photons (heat) emitted from the Earth, keeping the heat in and raising the temperature

Assessment Criteria: Students will identify the CO2, CH4, and N2O as the gasses used in the PhET greenhouse gas java simulator (worksheet question 1) ( and homework paragraph) Students take average readings of temperatures at various levels of greenhouse gasses (Table 1) Worksheet Question 9 (and homework paragraph)

Standard: NGSS MS-ESS2-n: Use models of Earths atmosphere and surface to support the explanation of the greenhouse effect Prior Knowledge: Students should have already been introduced to the greenhouse effect in Peters demonstration lesson in which ice is melted inside of a greenhouse. Here, we seek to build on this concrete example and extend understanding to the more abstract ideas of the atmosphere and greenhouse gasses, instead of the physical greenhouse. Students should be told that the word photon in the simulation is defined (for our purposes) as a particle of light. The more photons there are, the more light we see, and the more energy there is. Students should know that hot objects radiate temperature away in the form of infrared photons. Instructional Strategies: This activity is a short exercise. Each group of students shouldnt take much more than 10 minutes to complete the questions. Students will be able to see a real time model of how greenhouse gasses hold in thermal energy from the sun. Due to the fact that most classrooms only have one smartboard, I suggest that this activity be incorporated into more heavily book or seatwork lesson. This will give each of the students an opportunity to change the pace of instruction, and work with an interactive model in a small group. This activity should be incorporated into sub-unit 1: Earth Systems, after the greenhouse

demonstration lesson, perhaps on a research day in which students look for information in their books or in a computer lab about the greenhouse effect. Materials and set-up: SmartBoard capable of running java simulations (this can be done through an internet browser as well) Companion worksheets Stopwatch Internet access to PhET simulation site: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/greenhouse

Time Required: 10 minutes per small group. This activity can run alongside other activities such as research or class work. The activity can take place on multiple days. Instructional Sequence: 1) Introducing the Lesson Students have already been introduced to concept of the greenhouse effect, but while they are working on classwork or researching, they can now come explore a simulation of how this phenomenon works in the Earths atmosphere. There is a worksheet that will guide them through this lab-like activity. 2) Body of the Lesson While students work on their main activity, separate them into small groups that can work on the smart board exploration. No more than four students should be in a group together, or the effectiveness of the activity will be reduced. One by one, allow the groups to come up and move through the worksheet and the simulation. Guide the students (both the groups working on the smartboard, as well as those doing research) and keep them on task, answer any questions that arise. Sample Worksheet: Directions: 1) Open up the Greenhouse Effect simulations if it isnt already 2) Pause the simulation and click the reset all button 3) Run the simulation by clicking play Questions: 1) What greenhouse gasses are in the atmosphere that this simulation records? Anticipated response: CO2, CH4, and N2O 2) What are the yellow dots, and where are they coming from? Anticipated response: They are sunlight photons, they where emitted from the sun

3) What happens with the sunlight photons strike the Earths Surface? Anticipated response: They heat up the Earth 4) What are the red dots, and where do they come from? Anticipated response: They are the heat radiated away from the Earth 5) Do all of the infrared photons travel straight out into space? If not, where do they go? Anticipated response: No, some of them are reflected back towards the Earth by the atmosphere. Investigation 2: How does the amount of greenhouse gasses influence temperature. Directions: 1) Pause the simulation, click reset all and select the ice age atmosphere 2) Press play and record the temperature (in F) three times, twenty seconds apart 3) Average your temperature readings and record the result 4) Repeat for each time era Temperature 1 Ice Age 1750 Today Temperature 2 Temperature 3 Average Temp

Questions: 6) Put the three time eras in order from least to most greenhouse gas concentration Anticipated response: Ice age, 1750, today 7) Put the three time eras in order of increasing average temperature Anticipated response: Ice age, 1750, today 8) What do you notice about the average number of infrared photons present on the screen compared to the average temperature? Anticipated response: More photons means a higher temperature 9) How do the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere affect the number of infrared photons retained on Earth? How does this correlate to temperature? Anticipated response: The greenhouse gasses reflect photons (heat) emitted from the Earth, keeping the heat in and raising the temperature. 3) Wrapping up the Lesson Ensure that all groups have had time at the smartboard. If they have questions be sure to answer them. If the activity that the rest of the class is working on permits, facilitate a group discussion relating to worksheet questions 1 and 9 as well as the data they collected. Make connections to the greenhouse demonstration the students saw. What kept the infrared photons in the greenhouses that melted the ice? Anticipated response: The plexiglass and the air in the boxes What keeps the Earths infrared photons in?

Anticipated response: Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses For homework, as the students to write a paragraph describing where the Earths heat comes from. Provide students with a rubric that shows they must identify the sun as the source of heat, they must show the Earth absorbs the light and emits infrared photons, and some of these photons are reflected back to the Earth by the greenhouse gasses. The students should also name the greenhouse gasses. 4) Evaluating the lesson Evaluations relating to the assessment criteria are worksheet questions 1 and 9, as well as the data table. Further, the students should fully articulate their understanding of the greenhouse effect in their homework. Design Rationale: Students have already been introduced to the concept of the greenhouse effect. The purpose of this activity is to extend the students understanding of this phenomenon to a more abstract setting. The lesson builds off of what they students have seen in their greenhouse demonstration lesson, and makes a connection between the concrete example of a greenhouse and the abstract concept of greenhouse gasses. The activity does not lend itself well to being the center of attention, as is often the case with smartboard activities. If students are to truly interact with the simulation in a one on one basis, they must have time to do so individually or at least in small groups. Therefore, I suggest that this activity be layered over another less intensive activity. The students will have some time to read and research topics in class in sub-unit one, in which they learn about Earths natural systems, particularly those related to climate change. Different levels of learning can be addressed by appropriately creating groups. In this way, students who need extra attention can be placed in a group where the teacher can work with them while they work on the simulation. The other students should be working on their own work alone. Similarly, the teacher can assist any students who need help with their research while the groups who do not need extra help are at the smartboard.