What happens if the polar ice caps melt?

The effect of melting ice caps promises to be extensive. It could change the entire make-up of the ocean. Polar ice caps contain fresh water, so when they melt into the ocean, it will cause the ocean water to have a lower concentration of salt. This could in turn affect the plant and animal life if they do not properly adapt to it. The diluted salt water could also affect ocean currents. The way that currents flow has to do with the salinity of the water.

Another concern of polar ice caps melting is the risk of ocean overflow. The amount of water melted into the ocean could possibly cause flooding and loss of low level land. The effects of this would be devastating for many humans living along coasts, but that's not it. Changes in crops and living space near the coast could affect humans living in all areas!

I like this experiment because it makes you think. Investigative science is a wonderful way to learn!

Lesson Plan Reflection

What I enjoyed most about this lesson plan is the fact that I will get to implement it next year with my fifth graders! My lesson involved students creating earthquake proof buildings which are tested on a shake table to simulate a real earthquake.

I found the 5 E's strategy helpful, though it was a much more extensive than I am used to using for planning a single lesson. I do naturally follow these guidelines, including an Engagement (an anticipatory set), Exploration, and Explanation. I liked coming up with ideas for the Elaboration step of the planning process. Enrichment activities are something I always enjoy but often find myself out of time to actually follow through with them. Time is one of my worst enemies as a teacher! I also liked the Evaluation step because it reminds me to slow down and think if my students have truly absorbed the material as I hoped they would. Do they really understand it? Could they take it a step further? What additional questions do they have? The whole point of a lesson to for the students to learn, so this step ensures the success of the task. Learning should be engaging, and I like that the 5 E's model reinforced that students should be engaged at all times.

If I were to actually implement this lesson in my classroom, I would need to make sure I had plenty of supplies for the students to use. I would also need to allow sufficient time for students to build their buildings. Part of my anticipatory set is to have a guest speaker from the Red Cross talk to my class about working to aid in earthquake relief in Japan. This may be a hard person to secure to come to my classroom. As a back up plan, I would show the students pictures and video clips on my Promethean board from the devastation caused by the 2011 earthquake in Japan.

I felt the hours it took me to create this lesson plan are not something I will, or even could if I wanted to, reciprocate in my everyday lesson planning. I am not only a science teacher, but additionally teach reading, math, social studies, grammar, and writing. I just do not see how it is possible to create this extensive as a plan for every lesson I teach! That being said, I do believe this planning process helped me focus on the important parts of the lesson. I am excited that I have a really good lesson to use next year!!