Trash Tote Overview Guide 2.0

Many of you have heard the phrases “go green,” “eco-friendly,” and “sustainable lifestyle” tossed around on social media, the news, and in conversation. But what do these phrases mean and how do they affect us, the planet, and other living organisms?

This 4-H Idea Starter helps students answer some of those questions for themselves and their families.

Download AIS Intro PowerPoint Slides

Download Ballast Water PowerPoint Slides

Updated February 15, 2022

In this Great Lakes Invaders Investigation students will learn the difference between native, non-native, and invasive species. Students will learn about invasive species introduced to the Great Lakes, how they were introduced, why these species are a problem, and various management practices that can be used to prevent further spread or introduction of aquatic invasive species.

After completing this investigation, students in grades 5-8 will be able to:

• Differentiate between native, non-native, and invasive species.
• Identify Great Lakes aquatic invasive species and state why they are a problem.
• Suggest management recommendations based on species characteristics.

The lesson plan is best used with an invasive species education kits called the Attack Pack. Attack Packs include examples of invasive species associated with the lesson plan and information cards on each organisms. To borrow an Attack Pack for free contact your local Ohio Sea Grant Educator.

• Sue Bixler, bixler.42@osu.edu (Toledo area and southeast Michigan)
• Tory Gabriel, gabriel.78@osu.edu (Oak Harbor area)
• Sarah Orlando, orlando.42@osu.edu (Sandusky/Lorain area)
• Scott Hardy, hardy.116@osu.edu (Cleveland area)
• Jill Bartolotta, bartolotta.2@osu.edu (Mentor/Ashtabula area)

Workbook for students on field trips at Stone Lab.

Sunlight is a renewable source of energy for Earth. The demand for cleaner energy sources and the development of strategies to harness the sun’s energy has led to an explosion of technology worldwide. Now, you can become part of the clean energy boom with this solar technology curriculum, feating four in-depth and hands-on lessons for educators to use in their classrooms to teach solar technology to a new generation.

Solar technology seems very complex, but it can actually be rather simple. This interactive lesson is designed to help students learn the mechanics of energy transformation through the use of a small solar-powered toy.

The sun provides energy to earth via light and heat. Humans can harness that unlimited clean energy to power our world through a number of methods. In this lesson and activity, students will construct their own solar thermal tubes to determine what materials most efficiently transfer solar energy.

Solar panels are typically placed deliberately to maximize energy output, but how exactly does the layout of an array, or, more accurately, the circuit, affect the energy output of solar cells? In this activity, Students will experiment with different cicuit types and layouts to determine the optimal design for greatest energy production.

The sun is an infinite source of clean energy, but it can be difficult to capture all of its energy because it moves across the sky, meaning that a position that may optimize energy production in the morning may not be very efficient in the evening. As such, solar arrays are designed to maximize output throughout the day and year. In this activity, students will use real-time data to learn how solar panel placement affects its energy production and use that knowledge to design their own arrays for a given location and season.

A reference sheet for use with the solar technology curriculum. It includes detailed instructions on how to use a multimeter and a list of useful vocabulary relevant to the lessons and activities.

Compiled PDF of all lessons from Ohio Sea Grant’s Solar Technology Curricula. Components include an introduction, four complete lessons on solar technology, and a reference sheet of vocabulary and how to use a multimeter.

Solar energy curriculum developed by Ohio Sea Grant for Nearpod.com.

Solar energy curriculum developed by Ohio Sea Grant for Nearpod.com.

Solar energy curriculum developed by Ohio Sea Grant for Nearpod.com.

The Great Lakes are home to a vast ecosystem of algae, insects, fish, birds, and more! Do you know how all of these species act together to creat one big food web?

fun and educational activity sheets for kids.

Limnology worksheet for Stone Lab science field trips

Dichotomous key for identifying Ohio fish

Workbook for Stone Lab field trip groups

Activity sheet for using proxy data to find the growth rate of trees based on sample cross-section “tree cookies.”

Activity sheet for learning how climate is measured and how climate changes affect our environment.

This lesson introduces the relative size of the Great Lakes, surrounding populations, and human impacts on the environment.

A complete set of Great Lakes Climate Change Curriculum lessons in one PDF download.

Download the separate Google Earth Tour file required for How Will Climate Change Affect a Great Lakes State? here.

Notes on adapting Climate Ready Great Lakes Module 3 for Ohio audiences

ABSTRACT:

The Climate Ready Ohio PowerPoint slides are designed to replace or complement some of the slides in NOAA’s Climate Ready Great Lakes. In addition, these notes provide suggestions for small alterations to the standard module text to make the presentation more applicable to Ohio audiences.

In this activity, learners will construct the five Great Lakes from string and use paper “water” and “fish” to show comparisons between the lakes.

ABSTRACT:

Many people, including a large portion of those who live close to the Great Lakes, do not a have a basic understanding of the individual characteristics of and the differences between the lakes. Since it is difficult to understand many of the Great Lakes issues, such as global climate change, pollution, and water use without a basic understanding of the lakes, this activity is designed to help visualize the differences in volume, shoreline length, human population distribution, and fish populations of the Great Lakes.

In this activity, students construct a web of things that may increase or decrease as a result of beach litter.

ABSTRACT:

Although marine debris is a major pollution problem of the 21st century, it is a solvable problem. Beach litter can be comprised of marine debris that has been washed ashore, or it can be deposited along the coast by inland storms or human activities. Understanding the causes and effects of beach litter helps us to make environmentally responsible decisions with waste. As we consider the impacts of beach litter, there are a number of ways of visualizing those changes. In this activity, students will construct a web of things that may
increase or decrease as a result of beach litter.

Adaptation of Climate Ready Great Lakes Module 1

ABSTRACT:

The Climate Ready Ohio PowerPoint slides are designed to replace or complement some of the slides in NOAA’s Climate Ready Great Lakes. In addition, these notes provide suggestions for small alterations to the standard module text to make the presentation more applicable to Ohio audiences.

Adaptation of Climate Ready Great Lakes Module 2

ABSTRACT:

The Climate Ready Ohio PowerPoint slides are designed to replace or complement some of the slides in NOAA’s Climate Ready Great Lakes. In addition, these notes provide suggestions for small alterations to the standard module text to make the presentation more applicable to Ohio audiences.

PowerPoint module to incorporate into presentations

ABSTRACT:

This presentation is based on “Trees on the Move, Activity A,” a lesson in Ohio Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Climate Change Curriculum. The original lesson is available at climategreatlakes.com/curriculum-trees-on-the-move-can-maples-and-buckeyes-migrate, and reading through it might help in adapting this presentation for your needs.

In this activity, students analyze, interpret and make inferences from web-based data on Great Lakes water levels.

ABSTRACT:

Most scientists agree that climate change will affect the levels of the Great Lakes. While sea level is expected to rise, changes in the Great Lakes region are likely to result in lower water levels, though there will be differences from lake to lake. In this activity, students analyze, interpret and make inferences from web-based data on Great Lakes water levels.

PowerPoint module to incorporate into presentations

ABSTRACT:

This activity visualizes the connections between different climate change effects, and encourages thinking beyond obvious factors like increased temperatures. It can be used to introduce the topic of climate change to an audience, or it can be a culminating activity to draw different aspects of multiple topic areas together. Depending on the impact cards used, the activity can be part of a wide range of topic area presentations.

This activity is adapted from “Visualizing Changes in the Great Lakes,” a lesson in Ohio Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Climate Change Curriculum. Reading through it might help in running the activity.

This set of 4 lessons for midde and high school focuses on sugar maple and buckeye trees as species that will be affected by climate change.

ABSTRACT:

Activity A: What do climate models predict about tree ranges?
This lesson introduces examples of how General Circulation Models [GCMs] predict possible scenarios of climate change. Three methods of visualizing change are introduced, and students compare how the climate niches of sugar maples and buckeye trees are likely to be altered.

Activity B: How can trees migrate?
The seeds of maples and buckeyes are “dispersed” in an outdoor simulation of how far a tree species might be able to spread over several tree generations.

Activity C: How does temperature affect maple seed germination?
Students examine research data on seed germination at different temperatures to infer some of the impacts of temperature on species survival.

Activity D: After the maples, then what?
Students study an outdoor area that has sugar maples and other species. They catalog the size and relative abundance of species in the plot and infer what species is likely to succeed if maples disappear.

These activities explain some of the beneficial environmental functions wetlands contribute and what may happen to some estuaries as climate change occurs.

ABSTRACT:

These activities explain some of the beneficial environmental functions wetlands contribute and what may happen to some estuaries as climate change occurs.

In this hands-on lab, students simulate a portion of the greenhouse system using carbon dioxide.

ABSTRACT:

The Earth’s climate depends on the amount of solar radiation received and the atmospheric abundance of clouds and greenhouse gases. Certain gases have been increasing in concentration in the atmosphere on a timeline concurrent with increasing global temperature. In this hands-on lab, students simulate a portion of the greenhouse system using carbon dioxide.

Groups of students graph data reflecting temperature anomalies over a short period in the recorded climate history of the world or in part of the Great Lakes region. ABSTRACT:

Groups of students graph data reflecting temperature anomalies over a short period in the recorded climate history of the world or in part of the Great Lakes region. Using only their own data, they predict how their actual temperature anomaly trend might continue; then student groups assemble and observe the trend of the 130-year data set. In addition to the science of the lesson, important conclusions can be drawn about how the construction of a graph scale can influence how data are interpreted.

This lesson uses examples of climate change from one Great Lakes state, Ohio, to determine local relevance of climate change.

ABSTRACT:

To make climate change relevant to students, they need examples of changes that are occurring or are expected in areas near them. This lesson uses examples of climate change from one Great Lakes state, Ohio, to determine local relevance of climate change. An online source provides similar information for other states.

Students role play a courtroom trial to discuss energy use as it is related to climate change.

ABSTRACT:

This activity encourages discussion about energy use decisions, greenhouse gases, and global warming. Students role play a courtroom trial to discuss energy use as it is related to climate change: Cars are accused of emitting a dangerous gas (carbon dioxide) into the
atmosphere, and students (the jury) must decide how harmful they think automobiles really are and what, if anything, should be done about them.

Students use references, inference, and observation to match cards that identify aquatic nuisance species and explain the effects of global climate change on these species.

ABSTRACT:

Students use references, inference, and observation to match cards that identify aquatic nuisance species and explain the effects of global climate change on these species.

In this activity, students construct a concept map of things that may increase or decrease as a result of a changing climate.

ABSTRACT:

Teacher Activity A: Which Great Lakes factors will increase and which will decrease as a result of climate change?
As we consider the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes, there are a number of ways of visualizing those effects. In this activity, students construct a concept map of things that may increase or decrease as a result of a changing climate.

Teacher Activity B: What will people see on the long walk to the water’s edge?
Students examine information about how climate change will likely impact the Great Lakes of North America and assume that they are in a part of the region experiencing a water level decline of over two meters! They listen to [or read] a story in which they imagine that they have spent a lifetime visiting the Great Lakes. With their “memories” and their science information, they describe the changes they have noticed in the Lakes during their lifetime.