Observing Change in Air Temperatures

Overview

This mini lesson engages students in writing a commentary for a NASA video regarding changes in global temperatures from 1880 to 2017. 

Student Directions

This mini lesson engages students in writing a commentary for a NASA video regarding changes in global temperatures from 1880 to 2017. 

Steps: 

1. Check with your instructor on how to submit your answers.
2. Watch the video Global Surface Air Temperature Anomalies from 1880 to 2017 once stopping to write comments.
3. Write a commentary of the events as they happen in the NASA video on global temperatures. A commentary is a descriptive, spoken account about an event or situation. As if you were a NASA broadcaster, you will explain what is happening in this video.
4. Watch it again and review your commentary. Does it contain all the points for your broadcast?

Teacher Note

Purpose:  Consider using this mini lesson during the last 10 minutes of the class period/lesson to assess students formative learning. 

Teacher Directions: For this mini lesson, have students write the commentary for the NASA video on global temperatures from 1880 to 2017. Instruct students to explain what is occurring in this video.

Options for scaffolding:

• Depending on what you talked about during the day, you can narrow down the portion of the video student should make commentary on to only 20 seconds.
• You can show the full video then provide students with three pictures that they need to provide commentary too. You can give each group the same three pictures or you can divide up the video so as a class you create the full commentary for the video.
• Depending on the age of your students, you can choose to not provide an example of commentary.
• Option:  Consider using FlipGrid, or other technological tool to differentiate the task.

Teachers, these mini lessons/student activities are perfect "warm up" tasks that can be used as a hook, bellringer, exit slip, etc. They take less than a class period to complete. Learn more on the "My NASA Data What are Mini Lessons?" page.

Teachers who are interested in receiving the answer key, please complete the Teacher Key Request and Verification Form. We verify that requestors are teachers prior to sending access to the answer keys as we’ve had many students try to pass as teachers to gain access.

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