LEARNING RESOURCE GUIDE GRADES K - 3 INTRODUCTION 2 INTRODUCTION Ice Worlds 4-D Experience is a SimEx-Iwerks 4-D adaptation of an original BBC production that introduces students to how the power of the sun drives our world’s climate and affects the water cycle that gives life. It also explores how animals have adapted to the seasonal changes in temperature and light. INTRODUCTION
3 INTRODUCTION 4 TEACHER BACKGROUND longer thanwinter days. the tiltingofEarthsummer daysare warmerand hemisphere istiltedawayfrom thesun.Asaresult of winter months when the the northern in does it than which meansthatitreceives more solarenergy the northern hemisphere istiltedtowards thesun, season. WhenitissummerinNorthAmerica each with received attheEarth’s surfacefrom thesunchanges as itorbitsaround thesun.Theamountofenergy and fall–isaresult oftheEarthbeingtiltedonitsaxis succession ofthefourseasons–winter, spring,summer Take thechangingseasonsforexample.Thepredictable of energy fornearlyeverylifeformonourplanet. powers theendlesscycleofwater, andisthesource day andnight.Itdrivesourplanet’s changingseasons, The sundoesalotmore thanmarkthetimebetween the energy shestored upinthefalltonursecubs. birth totheircubs.Themother doesnoteat,butuses snow cave.It’s duringthistimethatthemothersgive in theArctic spendthedarkcoldwintermonthsina especially atthepolarextremes? Motherpolarbears care fortheiryoungthrough thechangingseasons, How doanimalssurvive,findfoodandshelter, and sunlight duringthesummer. temperatures, butare bathedinnearconstant their wintermonthsandendure extremely cold These areas are blanketedintotaldarknessduring (South Pole)theseasonalchangesare evengreater. At theArctic (NorthPole)andinAntarctica
TEACHER BACKGROUND
In Antarctica, the emperor penguin survives the winter in Not only do the interactions between the sun one of the most inhospitable places on the planet where and oceans affect our seasons, they also have a temperatures can drop to -60 Celsius. It is during this tremendous impact on our weather patterns. In the time that the males cradle a single egg on top of their tropics, heat from the sun warms the oceans and feet covered by a pouch of warm feathery skin. After a evaporates water into the atmosphere. The water nine week incubation period the baby penguins hatch, condenses to form clouds and falls as rain far from co-inciding with the return of the females. where it evaporated.. Most of the rain we experience on land starts in the ocean. Hurricanes and monsoons are During their summer months, the Poles experience a examples of powerful weather systems that affect both period of constant sunlight. In the seas around the poles, the land and the animals and people that live there. sea ice melts and plankton thrive from the combination of near constant sunlight and the abundance of nutrients In the tropical regions the temperature and amount released from melting sea ice. The incredible abundance of daylight are constant throughout much of the year. of the tiny plankton provides food for organisms like krill. Instead of four seasons, these areas may experience just These in turn are food for even larger predators like two – typically one wet and one dry season. For animals the seals, which are hunted by whales. living in these areas being able to survive drought is critical until the rains come or they can find water.
5 INTRODUCTION 6 STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES The Ice Worlds film and the activities in this resource guide support the following science standards and ocean and climate principles.
NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS
Content Standard B – Physical Sciences
• Properties of objects and materials
Content Standard C – Life Sciences
• Characteristics of organisms • Life cycle of organisms • Organisms and environments
OCEAN LITERACY PRINCIPLES
#1. The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
#3. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.
#5. The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.
#6. The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected. STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES STANDARDS CLIMATE LITERACY PRINCIPLES
#1. Life on Earth has been shaped by, depends on, and affects climate.
#3. The Sun is the primary source of energy for the climate system.
#4. Earth’s weather and climate systems are the result of complex interactions.
#5. Earth’s weather and climate vary over time and space.
7 INTRODUCTION 8 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY to puttheseasonsintheirproper order. of thedifferences ineachseason,andasksthem The MatchingGameintroduces studentstosome in thespaceprovided. following pageandaskthemrecord theiranswers Discuss withyourstudentsthequestionson of seasonsandhowtheyfollowapredictable cycle. This activityisdesignedtointroduce theconcept DIRECTIONS TOTEACHERS: ‘TIS THESEASON SEASON MATCHING GAME
Match the season with the picture below that best describes it.
SPRING FALL WINTER SUMMER ‘TIS THE SEASON
What season is it now in your area?
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How do you know this?
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Put the seasons in the correct order. Start with the current season. Either write the name of the season in the space below, or draw or paste a picture of the symbol.
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How do you prepare for each season?
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9 INTRODUCTION10 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY ______What istheicemadeof? ______Describe theice.Whatdoesitlooklike?Feel like? ______What isinthecup? the questionsbelowandrecord theiranswers. of whathe/shesees.Asktheotherstudenttoreview Ask onestudentineachgroup todrawapicture ice cubeinaclearplasticcuptoeachgroup. Ask thestudentstoworkinpairsandpassoutan forms iscentraltounderstandingthewatercycle. thatwatercantakemany and backagain.Learning water changesfrom asolid(ice)toliquid(water), In thisactivitystudentsdiscoverwhathappenswhen DIRECTIONS TOTEACHERS: WATER ANDICE
How is ice made?
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What will happen if we leave the ice out on the desk/table? Why? How do you know? How long might this take?
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______WATER AND ICE WATER
Pour the ice into a container of a different shape or size.
What does it look like now?
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Does it look the same or different?
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Has the shape of the ice changed?
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Why do you think that is?
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11 INTRODUCTION12 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY • • • DISCUSS ASACLASS: final description. students tomaketheirfinaldrawingandwrite When theicehascompletelymelted,ask WATER ANDICE place thecupinshade,etc.) (Put thecupinaninsulatedcoolerorrefrigerator; Is there anywaytoslowdown thischange? sunny location,etc.) this change?How?(Placethecupinawarm, Do youthinkthatthere is anywaytospeedup intowater? How longdidittakefortheicetoturn in thewaterhappenslowlyorquickly? slowly thatwemightnotnotice.Didthechange the time.Somechangeshappenfast,othersso Everything changesandchangeoccursall EXTENSION ACTIVITY:
In this activity students look at what happens to the amount of water as it changes from a solid to a liquid or from a liquid to a solid. They will learn that when water changes from liquid to solid ice and back again, the amount of water stays the same.
Give each group a Ziploc baggie, some ice, paper towels, and a scale or balance. WATER AND ICE WATER
Ask the students to put the ice into the baggie and seal it. Record the weight of the bag of ice. Be sure to wipe off any condensation on the outside of the baggie before weighing. Students weigh the baggie periodically until all the ice melts. Weigh the baggie a final time. If a freezer is available, re-freeze the baggies and weigh again when frozen.
DISCUSS AS A CLASS:
• Does the weight of the water change when it goes from a solid (ice) to a liquid? (No)
• Does the weight of the water change when it goes from a liquid to a solid? (No)
• How would you explain what you observed to someone who did not perform this experiment? (The amount or weight of water stays the same when it changes from ice to liquid and back. Scientists call this conservation of matter.)
13 INTRODUCTION14 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY would theylive?Whatdo? where thesundoesn’t setallsummerlong.How Ask yourstudentstoimaginelivingina place of darkness. In thewinter, theyexperienceaperiod of24hours poles experienceaperiodof24hoursdaylight. Antarctic andvice-versa. Duringthesummer, the When itissummerintheArctic itiswinterin or worldmap. (Arctic) andtheSouthPole (Antarctica) onaglobe Show oraskstudentstofindtheNorthPole ends oftheglobe. penguins livetogether. Actuallytheyliveatopposite Younger studentsbelievethatpolar bearsand relating topenguinsandpolar bears. and todistinguishbetweenthefactsmyths the similaritiesbetweenArctic andAntarctica – andwillgetabetterunderstandingofsome from thefilm–polarbearandemperor penguin In thisactivitystudentswillbeintroduced totwoanimals howtoadaptthechangingseasons. have learned for thechangingseasons,animalsdotoo.Animals It isnotonlydopeoplewhohavetobeprepared PART A-DIRECTIONSTOTEACHERS: VERSUS PENGUINS POLAR BEARS Ask you students to imagine living in a place where the sun did not rise all winter long. How would they live? What would they do?
Polar bears inhabit the Arctic region in parts of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway and Russia. Winter temperatures in the Arctic are approximately -34 Celcius. Polar bears have thick fur to help them stay warm. They also have a layer of fat, called blubber, that helps them stay warm. In fact, sometimes polar bear can get too hot, especially if they have been running or have been very active.
DEMONSTRATION:
Prepare for this demonstration by providing layers of warm clothes (sweater, sweatshirt, etc.), a heavy winter coat, a hat, and gloves for a volunteer student. Ask the volunteer to be a polar bear. Dress the student in the layers of warm clothes, coat, hat and gloves. Ask the student to walk quickly (do not run) around the classroom until the student begins to feel very warm. Stop the demonstration and remove the extra clothing.
Discuss with the class: How do you think the layers
of clothing are like fur and blubber? What can you do POLAR BEARS VERSUS PENGUINS if you get too warm? What do you think a polar bear does to cool down?
15 INTRODUCTION16 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY hatches andababypenguinisborn. together tostaywarm.Inthespringtime,egg skin andfeathertokeepitwarm.Themaleshuddle snow andice.Hecoverstheeggwithapouchof the eggontopofhisfeettokeepoff ofthe each egg.Insteadofbuildinganest,hebalances year. Themalepenguinsare incharge ofprotecting because itlaysitseggsatthecoldesttimeof called theemperor penguin. Thispenguinisunique There are 17different kindsofpenguins.Oneis feathers andfattokeepthemwarm. they ‘fly’through thewater. Theyhaveinsulating birds, buttheycannotflythrough theair, instead Penguins liveintheAntarctic region. Theyare PART B - DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS: VERSUS PENGUINS POLAR BEARS ACTIVITY:
You will need a large open space, one large plastic craft egg for each student and a stopwatch.
Tell your students that they are going to pretend to be emperor penguins. Each student is given an egg. They need to care for and protect it for the whole winter. They must balance the egg on top of their feet like an emperor penguin and they must move slowly to stay warm. If the egg falls off their feet, the egg will not survive.
When they have put the egg on top of their feet set the timer for ‘winter’ to last two minutes. Tell students to start moving. If the egg falls off their feet, the student must leave the game and sit on the sidelines. After two minutes, how many penguin eggs survived?
At the end of the activity, ask your class what it was like to care for the egg? Was it easy or difficult? POLAR BEARS VERSUS PENGUINS
17 INTRODUCTION18 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY weather key Sunny Partly Sunny : Windy example: rainyandwindy) condition couldhappenatthesametime(for day. Remember, more thanonetypeofweather put apicture thatdescribestheweatherfor weather. Theycaneitherwriteintheword or below tohelpyoungerstudentsidentifythe observations. AsimpleWeather Keyisprovided the Weather Chartoverleaftorecord their at thesametimeeveryday. Theyshoulduse their area daily. Itisbestifstudentscanobserve Students willobserveandrecord theweatherin of thedailyweatherintheirarea. a simpleexperimentrecording theirobservations affect animals. Inthisactivity, studentsconduct the weather, climateandchangingseasons In thefilm,IceWorlds, studentssawhow DIRECTIONS TOTEACHERS: WHAT’S YOURWEATHER? Cloudy Rainy Snowy Older students can also record the temperature using an outdoor thermometer at school. If they do this, try to make the observation at the same time of the day. If you don’t have access to a thermometer at school, students can also find the daily temperature on the Internet, or from the local newspaper or TV or radio stations.
EXAMPLE:
DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DATE April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14
WEATHER
WEATHER CHART: THE WEATHER WHAT’S
DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4
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DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7
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Continue more daily observations.
19 INTRODUCTION20 ______NOTES: ______
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21 INTRODUCTION22 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND RESOURCES Graphic DesignDepartment SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment Design &illustrationbyOrlenaChan these materialsforstudents. SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment.Educatorsmayreproduce was created byEducationalConsultantJoeHarberfor Resource Guideforthefilm,IceWorlds 4-DExperience , available through apartnershipwithCineMuse.ThisLearning co-production inassociationwiththeCBCandismade Planet Earth:IceWorlds isaBBC/DiscoveryChannel/HNK ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
RESOURCES
The following resources were used to develop this guide.
Books
Amazing Water by Melvin Berger. 1996. Newbridge Educational Publishing. ISBN-10: 1567841295
I am Water by Jean Marzollo. 1996. Cartwheel. ISBN-10: 0590265873
Websites
EPA Climate Change for Kids Learn about climate change, become a climate detective, and test your climate change knowledge. http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids
National Snow and Ice Data Center Explore and learn about the frozen regions of the Earth with these NSIDC science resources. Information on snow, ice, glaciers, sea ice, and other elements of the cryosphere. http://nsidc.org
Discovery Channel Learn more about the Planet Earth Series, from which Ice Worlds is adapted. http://dsc.discovery.com
Polar Bears International
Contains lots of information about polar bears and how ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND RESOURCES you can help protect them. http://www.polarbearsinternational.org
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