What’s the Bigger Picture?
“Hot issues, such as climate change may not be subjects of contention within the scientific community, but it seems clear that the science is not being communicated in a way that has the necessary impact. Although art cannot directly communicate science or change minds, it can create a space for dialogue around difficult issues.” (Kieniewicz)
In this lesson, students will combine art and science to interpret and illustrate graphs in order to convey the ‘bigger picture’ of climate change.
[Tags: climate change, graphing, data visualization]
Authors: Joanna Chierici, Kathleen Couchon, Nancy (Harris) FitzGerald; EARTH 2016
Lesson Resources
- Lesson Plan (Word | PDF)
- Lesson Presentation (PowerPoint | PDF)
- Graph analysis worksheet (Word | PDF)
- Sources
- Exemplars: Penguin | Increase in Carbon Dioxide
- Summative Rubric (Word | PDF)
- Extension: Lesson | Tutorial | Sample
Example Graphs
Additional Resources
- The Movie, Antarctic Edge: 70° South, https://beyondtheice.rutgers.edu/ is a good resource of how the climate is changing in Antarctica
- Jill Pelto—http://www.jillpelto.com/#intro
- Good sources of data and graphs for many different ecological regions
- LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) https://lternet.edu/
- NASA Climate Change http://climate.nasa.gov/
- NOAA Clmate Change http://www.noaa.gov/climate
- National Geographic – Climate Change is Here http://www.nationalgeographic.com/climate-change/special-issue/
- National Geographic Climate Change http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/
- Gallery walk ideas
- Antarctica Could Lose Most of Its Penguins to Climate Change, National Geographic, June 29, 2016.
- Common Core English Language Arts Standards
- Writing – Grades 6-8 http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/6-8/
- Writing – Grades 9-12 http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/9-10/
