Earth System Satellite Images - Analyzing One Image

Overview

The Earth System Satellite Images available on My NASA Data provide teachers and students opportunities to explore data and identify relationships between/among different components of the Earth system. The Earth System Satellite Images, along with the Data Literacy Cubes, help the learner visualize how different Earth system variables change over time, establish cause and effect relationships for a specific variable, identify patterns, and determine relationships among variables.   

In this lesson, students will focus on one image.

This lesson has been adapted and modified from the GLOBE Earth System Poster Learning Activities.

Materials Required

• ​​​​​​2021 Earth System Satellite Images (Global or North America)
• Data Literacy Cube Template or number cube (1 per group)
• Data Literacy Map Question Sheets (1 per student)
• Task Cards 
• Pen, Pencil 
  
  NOTE: Consider laminating the resources in this list for future use. 

Procedure

Teacher preparation before the lesson:

1. There are sets of six satellite image cards, one for every other month in a year, for each Earth system variable as listed below.
   • Aerosols
   • Cloud Cover
   • Insolation (incoming solar radiation)
   • Precipitation
   • Surface Skin Temperature
   • Vegetation
2. Print copies of only ONE image from the Earth System Satellite Images (Global or North America) for each group.
3. Print one Data Literacy cube template for each group.
4. Print a map question sheet for each student. 
5. There are four different map question sheets.
   • Question Sheets are leveled for both Lexile and English-language proficiencies. 
   • The leveled question sheets contain labeled (bottom left) and unlabeled versions for you to use at your discretion to help you differentiate your instruction.
   • Note: The Lexile range provided on each question sheet represents the text’s difficulty. 
   • The students’ reading comprehension levels should be taken into account when selecting the appropriate question sheet.
   • Regardless of level, the students in each group will be able to follow along, because the cube has the same six set of question categories: Examine, Search and Find, Analyze, Ask, Connect, and Assess.
   • Some of the question sheets include sentence stems to help struggling readers/writers participate in responding to the questions.

Part I. Using the Cube:

1. Divide the class into small groups. It is best to not have more than 6 students per group/team. 
2. Each group will have: 
   • One single image for the same month. 
3. Distribute: 
   • Map question sheet (for each student)
   • Cube for each group
   • Earth System Satellite Images (Global or North America)
4. Optional: Use the task card to assign their roles (project manager, data manager, chief engineer, and communications manager). Be creative and assign other roles! 
5. Assign a person in each group to roll the cube.
6. In their groups, they will answer questions 1–6 on the map question sheet.

Part II. Close Lesson

1. To wrap up the activity, use 3-2-1 to check for comprehension.  Ask students to answer the 3-2-1 Prompt.
   • Three things that they have learned from analyzing the map.
   • Two questions that they still have.
   • One aspect of class that they enjoyed.

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