Students observe seasonal images of Monthly Leaf Area, looking for any changes that are occurring throughout the year.

This mini-lesson guides students' observations of soil moisture anomalies (how much the moisture content was above or below the norm) for the continental US in May 2018.

The purpose of this activity is to have students use an Earth Systems perspective to identify the various causes associated with changes to Earth's forests as they review Landsat imagery of site locations from around the world.

This content has been moved. You can find it under Creation of Urban Heat Islands Story Map link.

Global Phytoplankton Distribution Story Map

Students will identify and describe the relationship between land cover classification and surface temperature as they relate to the urban heat island effect. Students will also describe patterns between population density and the locations of urban heat islands. 

Students will analyze how surface (skin) temperatures vary across a community and determine what factors contribute to this variation. Students will describe how human activity can affect the local environment. 

Students identify patterns and describe the relationship between chlorophyll concentration and incoming shortwave radiation. 

This story map lesson plan allows students to explore global phytoplankton distribution using chlorophyll concentration data in a 5 E-learning cycle. Students will investigate the processes that allow phytoplankton populations to thrive, as well as how their role in the carbon cycle impacts the other spheres of the Earth System. 

Students identify patterns in chlorophyll concentration data to formulate their explanations of phytoplankton distribution.