Using a “fun-size” bag of rainbow bite-sized candies learners will place different colored candies on a diagram of the Sun-Earth system to show different space weather conditions during solar minimum and solar maximum.

Students explore albedo, sea ice, and the relationship between changing albedo and changing sea ice using data visualizations. 

Guided by the 5E model, this lesson allows students to work together to uncover how changes in sea ice extent in the Arctic and Antarctic regions are connected to Earth’s energy budget.

This mini lesson helps students visualize how the Hydrosphere and Cryosphere interact to produce changes in land and sea ice.