The National Geographic is currently promoting their Cryosphere collection of resources. If you have chosen to complete a study of the Cryosphere as part of the Earth's Natural Systems topic you may find some of these resources useful.
Click the links below to access the resources. Included in the collection is:
There are also a range of linked articles and encyclopedia articles that you might find useful. Click to view the entire National Geographic Cryosphere resources.
0 Comments
In a previous post the authors shared a sample teaching program for Earth's Natural Systems. That program followed one of the approaches in the NESA Teaching advice by investigating natural cycles and circulations across a variety of global environments and contexts, incorporating content from Powerful Geography 1. Sample Teaching Program 2 being shared today takes the second approach. Students learn about processes, cycles and circulations connecting Earth’s Natural Systems through a study of the Cryosphere and a place study of Patagonia. GEOstories and Visualise This are integrated throughout. This teaching program extends to include a coverage of anthropogenic change from the overview of Human – Environment Interactions focus area. This was a logical progression from studying natural change in the cryosphere to human changes and impact of both on Earth’s land cover. Resources additional to the book, such as video clips, are hyperlinked to promote easy access and useability. For ease of compatibility, you can download the PDF document below, but if you would like to be able to edit the program to customise and adjust it for your students you may like to download the editable Word version of the file.
The Cryosphere is one of the longer case studies in the Earth's Natural Systems section of Powerful Geography 1. The Cryosphere represents all the world’s water that is frozen, permanently or seasonally, and can be found on every continent. The Cryosphere is a dynamic environment impacted by seasonal change, long term by natural processes, and accelerating change from anthropogenic causes. The cryosphere has become the “canary in the coal mine” for global climate change. Anthropogenic change is causing ice mass loss, a reduction in ice sheet extent, rising sea levels, melting permafrost. This topic would be an excellent opportunity for a overnight trip to Kosciuszko National Park, where you may be able to visit sites which demonstrate evidence of glaciers such as Moraine Pass, Blue Lake, Albina Cirque, Club Lake or Lake Cootapatamba. NPWS may be able to facilitate your field trip. View Going up the Mountain excursion. View Above the Treeline excursion.
To build conceptual knowledge and understanding and to ensure maximum usability of Powerful Geography content, a conscious effort was made to link content. Each Visualise This, GEOstory and Case study is a stand alone resource but there are connections between them.
For example: Studying the Arctic Region in the Content Focus Area: Human - Environment Interactions draws on content from Chapter 2: The Cryosphere and Chapter 3: Forest Systems (Boreal forests) from Earth’s Natural Systems.
The migration of birds from the southern hemisphere to the Arctic in GEOstory 1.1 reinforces the importance of Arctic environments for global biodiversity and Arctic ecosystems. The GEOstory, Churchill, the polar bear capital of the world, looks at challenges facing communities in the Arctic as a result of climate change and the changing behaviour of polar bears. Iceberg Alley describes changes to icebergs along the coast of Newfoundland. Visualise This explain important concepts relevant to the Arctic, many of which link to climate change - glacial and interglacial cycles, ecological succession after glaciers and ice sheets retreat, tipping points, feedback loops and permafrost. Much of the Arctic Ocean is considered ‘high seas’, one of the five recognised global commons that require treaties to govern their sustainable use. Over the coming weeks we will illustrate connections between other Case studies, Visualise This and GEOstories. Some of these connections link to Case studies for Year 12 that will be in Powerful Geograpphy 2. |
AuthorsLorraine Chaffer Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
|