Research

Christie-Blick, Kottie. “Ocean Influences Climate: Modeling to Understand the Interdependence of Earth's Systems.” Science and Children 59, no. 4 (March 2022): 38–43. https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=13899&i=740031&p=10&ver=html5.

Summary:  Students in this article complete an activity that reminds them how the water cycle works and shows how Earth’s systems interact. When the ocean’s temperate changes, it alters the water cycle. The teacher in this article created models of coastal towns. These were sealed and contained water. The teachers asked guiding questions to get students thinking about why water was on the top and sides of their models and connected this to what they already knew about the water cycle. When touching the outside of the models, students could feel that the temperature was warmer near the “ocean” or bottom of the model and cooler at the top. The class drew water cycles based on what they were seeing in their models. Next, students compared their original model to another similar model with more condensation and discussed why that might be happening. After drawing another water cycle, students write their findings using scientific vocabulary such as precipitation, condensation, evaporation, and heat source.