In this video profile produced for Teachers' Domain, meet teacher Dustin Madden, an IŰ__ŒóíŠupiaq who hopes to inspire students to take an active role in protecting the natural environment by giving them a foundation in math and science.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores the Sun's role in warming Earth, the albedo (reflectivity) of Earth's diverse surfaces, and how the decline of Arctic sea ice is affecting Earth's energy balance. Science lessons introduce the concepts of solar energy, reflection, and absorption to elementary students. The issue also includes an overview of the natural resources and energy sources found in the polar regions as well as lessons that allow students to develop the concepts of natural resources, energy sources, and energy efficiency.

Students explore the biosphere and its associated environments and ecosystems in the context of creating a model ecosystem, learning along the way about the animals and resources. Students investigate different types of ecosystems, learn new vocabulary, and consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence of an ecosystem can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our communities. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

In this activity, students use authentic Arctic climate data to explore albedo and its relationship to seasonal snowmelt as a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, which is then applied to large scale global climate change.

Students will explore time series plots and raw data to understand the role of sea surface temperature increases on arctic ice melt. This is part three of a four-part activity on polar science. The activity builds on the knowledge gained in Using Data and Images to Understand Albedo (part 2). Extension activities examining air and sea surface temperature in relation to changing Earth albedo are included. Information is provided on data access using the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Web site. This activity is one of several learning activities connected with the 2007 GLOBE Earth system poster.

This activity introduces students to the Arctic and Arctic climate. Through a virtual exploration of the geography of the Arctic students become familiar with the region. They are then introduced to meteorological parameters that Arctic research teams use.

This article discusses the many lichens found in the Arctic and Antarctica and their unique characteristics.

This article provides science content knowledge about forces that shape the Earth's surface: erosion by wind, water, and ice, volcanoes, earthquakes, and plate tectonics and how these forces affect Earth's polar regions.

This article presents some aspects of the societal and scientific challenges of sharing what is known about climate change by offering insights from Native Alaskans and Western scientists.

In partnership with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the legislature-funded ClimeTime program, the Gonzaga Climate Center has created the Climate Literacy Fellows program. This lesson was developed in collaboration with the Gonzaga Science in Action! program.  The Science in Action! Program helped test the kits included in these lessons and helped guide Gonzaga undergraduates in developing the accompanying lessons. We thank Gonzaga SIA! for their collaboration and support!  

In this video adapted from Bullfrog Films, GwichŰ__Ű__ŒŒÇin Chief Evon Peter of Arctic Village, Alaska, describes his people's connection to the caribou and their passion to protect Alaska Native land and traditions.

This article features science lesson plans to teach elementary students about the sun's energy, the relationship between light and heat, albedo, and the absorption of different surfaces. National standards and literacy integrations are provided for each lesson.

This article provides links to standards-based science and literacy lessons about weather, climate, polar climates, and climate change.

Students brainstorm and discuss the different types of materials used to build houses in various climates. They build small models of houses and test them in different climates.

This article reprints and links to informational text about the art and science of igloos. Versions are available for students in grades K-1, 2-3 and 4-5. Related science and literacy activities are included.

This set of three videos illustrates how math is used in satellite data analysis. The videos feature NASA senior climate scientist Claire Parkinson. Parkinson explains how the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice covers are measured from satellite data and how math is used to determine trends in the data. In the first video, she leads viewers from satellite data collection through obtaining a time series of monthly average sea ice extents for November 1978 – December 2012, for the Arctic and Antarctic. In the second video, she begins with the time series from the first video, removes the seasonal cycle by calculating yearly averages, and proceeds to calculate the slopes of the lines to get trends in the data, revealing decreasing sea ice coverage in the Arctic and increasing sea ice coverage in the Antarctic. In the third video, she uses a more advanced technique to remove the seasonal cycle and shows that the trends are close to the same, whichever method is used. She emphasizes the power of math and that the techniques shown for satellite sea ice data can also be applied to a wide range of data sets.

In this video segment adapted from the National Film Board of Canada, learn how the Inuit people have used their traditional knowledge to understand and adapt to changes in their Arctic environment, particularly when hunting and navigating the landscape.

This article highlights seven science lessons that teach elementary students about seasonal change. Suggestions for integrating literacy and science include two lessons that use informational text and cause and effect relationships.

This article sets an historic context for Jules Verne's novel Captain Hatteras (1866), and presents an overview of day-to-day survival on the typical 19th century arctic voyage portrayed in this fictional account.