In this curriculum module, students in high school life science, marine science, and/or chemistry courses act as interdisciplinary scientists and delegates to investigate how the changing carbon cycle will affect the oceans along with their integral populations.

The oceans cover 70 percent of the planet and play a critical role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide through the interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes. As a result of anthropogenic activity, a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 concentration (to 760 ppm) is expected to occur by the end of this century. A quarter of the total CO2 emitted has already been absorbed by the surface oceans, changing the marine carbonate system, resulting in a decrease in pH, a change in carbonate-ion concentrations, and a change in the speciation of macro and micronutrients. The shift in the carbonate system is already drastically affecting biological processes in the oceans and is predicted to have major consequences on carbon export to the deep ocean with reverberating effects on atmospheric CO2. Put in simple terms, ocean acidification is a complex phenomenon with complex consequences. Understanding complexity and the impact of ocean acidification requires systems thinking – both in research and in education. Scientific advancement will help us better understand the problem and devise more effective solutions, but executing these solutions will require widespread public participation to mitigate this global problem.

Through these lessons, students closely model what is occurring in laboratories worldwide and at Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) through Monica Orellana’s research to analyze the effect CO2 has on ocean chemistry, ecosystems and human societies. Students experiment, analyze public data, and prepare for a mock summit to address concerns. Student groups represent key “interest groups” and design two experiments to observe the effects of CO2 on seawater pH, diatom growth, algal blooms, nutrient availability, and/or shell dissolution.

The students will be introduced to a historical account of global climate change and the human events that may have impacted those changes. Fire has been used by humans throughout history to modify their environment, particularly forests, for human benefit. Over time, the management of forests has changed and the result is an increase in catastrophic wildfires. This storyline explores the use of fire as a forest management tool to improve the health of forests thereby decreasing the incidence of catastrophic fires and the role fire plays in climate change. 

The goal of the high school carbon sequestration in forests storyline is to build on the science of carbon sequestration from the middle school storyline. In this storyline, carbon sequestration refers to the removal of carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. Carbon storage refers to the amount of carbon bound up in woody material above and below ground. High school students will develop an understanding of the variables and considerations that arise from managing forests for different purposes including carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services. 

El objetivo del caso de la captura del carbono en los bosques a nivel escuela preparatoria es basarse en la ciencia de la captura de carbono del caso de la escuela secundaria. En este caso, la captura de carbono se refiere a la eliminación de carbono (en forma de dióxido de carbono) de la atmósfera a través del proceso de fotosíntesis. El almacenamiento de carbono se refiere a la cantidad de carbono unido al material leñoso por encima y por debajo del suelo. Los estudiantes de preparatoria desarrollarán una comprensión de las variables y consideraciones que surgen del manejo de los bosques para diferentes propósitos, incluida la captura o secuestro de carbono y otros servicios del ecosistema. 

Se presentará a los estudiantes un relato histórico del cambio climático global y las acciones humanas que pueden haber afectado esos cambios. El fuego ha sido utilizado por los seres humanos a lo largo de la historia para modificar su entorno, en particular los bosques, en beneficio de los seres humanos. Con el tiempo, el manejo de los bosques ha cambiado y el resultado es un aumento de incendios forestales catastrófico. Este caso explora el uso del fuego como una herramienta de manejo forestal para mejorar la salud de los bosques, disminuyendo así la incidencia de incendios catastróficos y el papel que juega el fuego en el cambio climático.

This is a solutions-oriented storyline that leads students through a series of investigations to quantify and qualify the ecosystem and social benefits of an urban forest. At the end of the storyline, students will be able to design, evaluate and refine a chosen solution for urban forest ecosystem benefits.

Our Patterns Biology development team of teacher leaders has been working hard through the spring and summer of 2020 to develop distance learning versions of the Patterns Biology units. Between March and May they released Distance Learning versions of units 4 and 5, as well as paper packets that can be printed for students who do not have access to technology at home. In preparation for fall of the 2020-21 school year, the team has just published Distance Learning versions of units 1 and 2 (see below links for each unit's page). Our Distance Learning units can be used in either a fully online or hybrid school model. A Distance Learning version of Unit 3 will be released by the end of September.

This role-playing activity allows students to learn more about the six general ways Americans respond to climate change and engage in conversations while embodying these groups. Students will be able to describe the different ways Americans respond to climate change and develop arguments to support their claims.

In this activity, students research various topics about ocean health, e.g. overfishing, habitat destruction, invasive species, climate change, pollution, and ocean acidification. An optional extension activity has them creating an aquatic biosphere in a bottle experiment in which they can manipulate variables.

The increasing scarcity of drinking water has captured the world’s attention and driven scientists and conservationists to find solutions. This ten-minute video and accompanying lesson has students examine how the country of Namibia has tapped an unlikely source of water to combat shortages and experiment with water filtration materials and strategies.

This lesson is not under an open license; however it is provided free for educational services.

This activity describes the flow of carbon in the environment and focuses on how much carbon is stored in trees. It goes on to have students analyze data and make calculations about the amount of carbon stored in a set of trees at three sites in a wooded area that were to be cut down to build a college dormitory.

Students will compare the basis of the derivatives for different plastics in order to determine their expected carbon-14 content. They will then compare ratios of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in plastic samples and categorize the sample according to its percent bio-based composition. Teacher Background Information: This lesson is more of a context design to be used with an existing nuclear chemistry lesson plan. The goal is for students to see the applicability of nuclear chemistry beyond carbon-dating by showing how carbon-dating can be used to determine the carbon sources of products.  Students will need a basic understanding of the carbon cycle, and nuclear equations. The lesson will need students to learn about half-lives halfway through the lesson and that is left open to teach as you wish. There is room for extension to mass spectrometry if you want to incorporate it here for AP Chemistry or as an honors extension. I would suggest using the Flinn POGIL on Mass Spectrometry.   

Students experience civil and environmental engineering by planning a housing development in an existing biome, while also protecting the native species that live there. They conduct research, draw plans, make brochures and give presentations, with each team having a member serving as a project manager, civil engineer, environmental engineer and graphic designer. The best designs creatively balance the needs and resources necessary to support both the native species and human infrastructure.