• This lesson teaches students about albedo, feedback loops, the difference between weather and climate, the polar vortex, and the jet stream.
  
• It outlines eight different activities designed to be used with the TILclimate podcast episode about winter storms and includes demonstrations, an experiment, animations, a video, readings, graphs, and maps.
  

Positives

• Through these activities, students are able to practice collecting data, reading scientific texts, and interpreting maps and graphs.
• Each activity from the guide can be used independently, so teachers can pick and choose which activities best fit their classroom and curriculum requirements.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should already know about greenhouse gas emissions and the greenhouse effect.
  
• Some activities require devices with Internet access. However, if this is not available, the teacher guide provides possible modifications.
• Some activities require specific materials or conditions, such as infrared thermometers or sunshine.
  

Differentiation

• All activities can be done independently, with a partner, or in small groups.
• The activities lend themselves well to a station rotation or jigsaw format. Teachers can be creative in how they structure the activities based on the time available and the needs of their students.
• Teachers can use the discussion questions in the guide at the end of the lesson to ensure students understand the connections between the topics covered in each activity.
• These activities can be helpful additions to Earth science lessons covering various topics, such as albedo, weather vs. climate, air masses, rising global temperatures, sea ice melt, and extreme weather.
• Cross-curricular connections can be made with social studies classes by discussing how extreme winter weather impacts communities.
• The guide includes links to additional resources that can provide background for teachers or be used to further student exploration.
  

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.