Exploration Summaries

At each station, students will: Watch the corresponding YouTube video provided by the Transatlantic Outreach Program to learn more about each location. Read the background information. Use Google Earth to develop a sense of place. Analyze a climograph and describe patterns of temperature and rainfall used to classify the location climate type. Evaluate data and observations related to signs of climate change. Explore the effects of climate change. Explain the impacts of climate change. Consider responses to climate change. Engage in an activity. Specific signs of climate change by location are: Bremerhaven—sea-level rise and storm surge Isenthal—Alpine glacial ice loss Seneghe—invasive species Kanak—Desertification Ikenge—African rainforest changes Queen Maud Land—Antarctic ice changes Satitoa—sea-level rise and ocean acidification Gambell—Arctic sea ice loss and permafrost thaw Hallig Langeness—sea-level rise Activities at Klimahaus Stations: Bremerhaven (Germany): Students will propose a mitigation and/or an adaptation strategy for sea level rise and storm surges. Isenthal (Switzerland): Students should learn that glacial melting and recession are associated with mudslides and rock slides in mountainous regions. They will create a virtual or a physical model to show why landslides occur when glaciers recede. Seneghe (Sardinia, Italy): Students will create a slideshow presentation on what desertification means for the ecosystem in the affected region. Kanak (Niger): Students should observe how vegetation could mitigate desertification. Ikenge (Cameroon): Students will observe evapotranspiration. Queen Maud Land (Antarctica): Students will model land ice melt. Satitoa (Samoa): Activity 1: For the first activity, students will model seawater expansion by designing a system. Activity 2: For the second activity, students should model ocean acidification. Gambell (Alaska, U.S.): Students will create a visual model of methane from thawing of permafrost. Hallig Langeness (Germany): Students can identify materials that are the most environmentally friendly for inhabitants of the Halligen islands to use for human-made hills called terps.

Between 2004 and 2006, Bremen-based architect Axel Werner undertook a journey to discover the global climate connections among locations along the eighth meridian, a line of longitude that runs through Bremerhaven, Germany. Traveling with Israeli American filmmaker B. Z. Goldberg, Werner talked to people on five continents as Goldberg captured the stories of people living along the eighth meridian. Throughout the journey, Werner and Goldberg focused on local climate and the effects of climate change on the local environment and people. Their documentary captured the unexpected and unintended consequences of human activities that affect climate on a global scale. Goldberg’s eighty-one documentary film segments are the focal points for exhibits at the Klimahaus , a unique interactive experience on the eighth meridian in Bremerhaven, Germany. Opened in 2009, the Klimahaus interactive experiences are constantly updated to reflect the latest scientific findings. To do so, Klimahaus partners with some of the most prestigious climate research organizations in Germany, including the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, the German Weather Service, and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Visitors to the museum explore climate and climate change mechanisms. Although students will not experience the Klimahaus in person, they can gather information using the unit readings.

Total of eighteen 50-minute class periods

Tour readings (digital or paper copy) Internet access Bremerhaven, Germany Germany Prepares for Mediterranean Climate NASA Global Climate Change Klimahaus Isenthal, Switzerland Climate Change Taking a Big Bite Out of Alpine Glaciers Global Ice Viewer at NASA Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet Climate Change in Switzerland Seneghe, Italy Extreme Weather on the Rise in Europe Rapidly Warming Mediterranean Headed for Desertification, Study Warns NASA Vital Signs Climate Time Machine Kanak, Niger How do You Stop the Desert? Niger May Have the Answer NASA Vital Signs Climate Time Machine AFR100 Ikenge, Cameroon—Observe Evapotranspiration Indoor or outdoor plant (depending on your local weather conditions and climate) Clear plastic bag String, twist tie, or tape Magnifying glass, smartphone camera magnifier lens, or portable USB microscope Scientists Examine How Africa’s Rainforests Will Fare as the Climate Changes Global Climate Change NASA Vital Signs Queen Maud Land, Antarctica—Model Land Ice Melt Ice cube tray Distilled water Blue food coloring 1-liter plastic bottle Salt Access to a freezer Eindrücke aus dem Ewigen Eis: die NEUMAYER-STATION III Study: ‘Major Decline in Antarctic Penguin Population Ice Sheets Alfred-Wegener-Institut Satitoa (Samoa) Activity 2: Model Ocean Acidification 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask Rubber stopper with glass tube and flexible tubing Test tube or small beaker Salt water Baking soda Vinegar Bromothymol blue What Is Coral Bleaching? Everything You Need to Know about Coral Bleaching and How We Can Stop It Sea Level Rise NASA Global Climate Change Vital Signs of the Planet

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) MS-ESS3 . Key Literacy Connections RST.6-8.1. RST.6-8.9. WHST.6-8.8. MP.2. Relevant Domain(s) of Disciplinary Core Ideas ESS3.D. Global Climate Change Science and Engineering Practices Asking Questions and Defining Problems: Ask questions to identify and clarify evidence of an argument. Crosscutting Concepts Stability and Change: Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time.

Outcomes for Student Learning

Students who demonstrate an understanding can: Describe Germany’s commitment to addressing climate change on a national and global scale. Identify the effect of natural events and human activities on global climates. Ask questions that identify and clarify evidence of an argument. Analyze climate and climate change impacts in their own community. Create visual representations of their evidence. Communicate their findings using evidence to support their claims. Use evidence to structure an argument for action that can be taken to adapt to or mitigate effects of climate change in their community.

Summative Performance Task

This summative performance task should be done by students after they have virtually visited all stations at the Klimahaus . You can present the essential question at the beginning of this unit and restate it at the end of each station for students. Essential Question How do our actions at home contribute to climate change around the globe? Task In groups, students will make a presentation or short film on how their actions, actions by their community, and actions by their country contribute to global threats of climate change. They should use evidence from what they have learned along longitude 8° 34’ E. Elaborate Students will share their presentation or film by presenting it to their class, their school, and key community members (e.g., local government officials).

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2022). English Language Arts Standards Science & Technical Subjects Grades 6-8. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RST/6-8/ Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2022). English Language Arts Standards Writing Grade 6-8. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/6-8/#CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8 Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2022). Standard for Mathematical Practice Reason abstractly and quantitatively. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/MP2/ National Science Teaching Association. (2014). Disciplinary Core Ideas Earth and Space Science – Global Climate Change. Retrieved from https://ngss.sdcoe.net/Dimensions-of-the-NGSS/Disciplinary-Core-Ideas/DCI-Earth-and-Space-Sciences/ESS3D-Global-Climate-Change Next generation Science Standards. (2022). 3. Weather and Climate. Retrieved from https://www.nextgenscience.org/topic-arrangement/3weather-and-climate

Rubric Climate Change (PDF, 34 KB)

Bibliography Climate Change (PDF, 62 KB)

Career Connection Exploration

Ask students to explore career connections/opportunities on GetMyFuture or My Next Move .

Introduction video to the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven © Benjamin Büttner, Transatlantic Outreach Program

Climate Change Unit Plan
Climate Change

At the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven, students will learn about climate change. Each of the eight stations at the Klimahaus will give students a better understanding of how climate change is impacting communities along longitude 8° 34’ E. They will also explore how our actions can contribute to climate change around the world.

↓ Unit Overview
↓ Explorations
↓ Explore Further Units

Essential Question

How do our actions at home contribute to climate change around the globe?

Unit Overview

As an introduction to this unit, watch the video Welcome to the Klimahaus available on YouTube by the Transatlantic Outreach Program.

During a visit to the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven, students will explore global climates and observable changes in glaciation, rainfall, sea level, and surface temperatures. Students will examine claims, analyze and evaluate data, and pose questions to clarify patterns in the evidence used to support a claim. Students will conduct explorations to understand the science behind observed climate change effects.

In this unit, students travel around the globe along the eighth meridian east. The lessons begin in Bremerhaven and will take the students to Isenthal (Switzerland), Seneghe (Sardinia, Italy), Kanak (Niger), Ikenge (Cameroon), Queen Maud Land (Antarctica), Satitoa (Samoa), Gambell (Alaska, U.S.), and Hallig Langeness (Germany).