Lesson Overview
Students will use the climate simulation tool to explore changes in Tivoli Bays, a freshwater tidal ecosystem.
Tivoli Bays Sea Level Rise Climate Simulation
Objectives
Students will know how climate change may affect a local ecosystem and will be able to explain the impacts of sea level rise in a wetland.
Time:
Two 45 minute periods
Setting:
Computer lab
Materials
Computers
Worksheet
Procedure
Students should load the Climate Simulation (this may take a few minutes).
Have students use the attached worksheet to work through the changes that will take place in the Tivoli Bays ecosystem as a result of rising sea levels.
Students will use the interactive webpage to explore change over time. Monitor student use of the website so they know how to see data in different views (graph or table), and how to turn on and off different years, and how to make different parts of the screen larger and smaller using the small tabs on the sides of each component of the screen.
Lesson Resources
- A pre-simulation worksheet and reading (pdf, 447 KB)
- Visual to help students understand the marsh (pdf, 355 KB)
- Student worksheet to use when viewing simulation (pdf, 431 KB)
- Field guide to organisms in the Tivoli Bays marsh (pdf, 4 MB)
NYS Standards
MST 1 - Mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design
MST 4- Physical setting, living environment and nature of science
MST 6- Interconnectedness of mathematics, science, and technology (modeling, systems, scale, change, equilibrium, optimization)
MST 7- Problem solving using mathematics, science, and technology (working effectively, process and analyze information, presenting results)
Benchmarks for Science Literacy
4B The Earth
5A Diversity of Life