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

One of the key "vital signs" of Earth's vegetation is the total green leaf area for a given ground area. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites collects global Leaf Area Index (LAI) data on a daily basis.

My NASA Data (MND) recognizes the importance of data literacy, especially in the Earth Sciences because data are the foundation of science.  But what does data literacy look like?

NASA offers petabytes of global Earth science data collected from

STEM holds different meanings to users in the education communities.

MND recognizes that teaching science is about helping students make sense of the world around them, not memorizing facts and principles. MND makes teaching Earth Science easier (and more interesting) by organizing NASA data with the phenomena that they support.

The advance-and-retreat cycle of snow cover drastically changes the whiteness and brightness of Earth. Using these two 2017 maps created using NASA satellite data, have students review the seasonal differences of snow and ice extent.

This digital version of the 2016 GLOBE Earth System poster provides links to the data visualization tool for important Earth System variables.

Credit: NASA NEO