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

This is the first of a four-part series on the water cycle, which follows the journey of water from the ocean to the atmosphere, to the land, and back again to the ocean. Students review the video and answer questions.

Students review a video showing a global view of the top-of-atmosphere shortwave radiation from January 26 and 27, 2012 and answer the questions that follow.

Students can interact with NASA data to build a custom visualizations of of local, regional, or global plant growth patterns over time.  Use the Earth System Data Explorer to generate plots of satellite data as you develop models of this phenomenon.

See the following datasets in the Earth System Data Explorer:

• Monthly Leaf Area Index
• Monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

Review the animation showing seasonal chlorophyll concentration as it relates to net radiation.

Examine a model and answer questions about dust transport around the world.

Students observe images of daily average sea surface temperatures taken during 2017, as they analyze the plots for evidence of changes that are occurring throughout the year.

The world's ocean is heated at the surface by the sun, and this heating is uneven for many reasons. Earth's rotation, revolution around the sun, and tilt all play a role, as do the wind-driven ocean surface currents.This animation shows the long-term average sea surface temperature, with red and yellow depicting warmer waters and blue depicting colder waters.  

In this mini lesson, students explore the relationship of chlorophyll and solar radiation by analyzing line graphs from the North Atlantic during 2016-2018.

Teachers who are interested in receiving the answer key, please contact MND from your school email address at mynasadata@lists.nasa.gov.