GLOBE Teacher's Guide: Earth System Science Chapter

The learning activities in this teacher’s guide chapter allows students to study annual variations in environmental parameters (the seasons and phenology) by examining the connections among the various phenomena measured in GLOBE on local, regional, and global spatial scales. K-12 students from all over the world are participating in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program by taking environmental measurements at their schools and sharing their data via the Internet. As students conduct the full range of GLOBE measurements, they should gain a perception that the environment is the result of an interplay among many processes that take place locally, regionally, and globally on time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. Student measurements covered in this chapter include: budburst, green-up, green-down, ruby-throated hummingbird, phenological gardens, lilac phenology, arctic bird migration, and seaweed reproductive phenology. Two learning activities are presented: Seasons and Phenology and Exploring the Connections. Educational levels: Primary elementary, Intermediate elementary, Middle school, High school