Lesson Idea | Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

Appropriate for: 5th grade-8th grade.

Standards for: 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade.

Prep Time: 20 minutes.

Activity Time: 60 minutes.

Subjects: Arguing from evidence and physical science.

Do sea levels rise when ice melts? Does it matter whether the ice is on land or in the ocean? Students design an experiment to find out. They collect data, graph their results, and interpret their findings. Along the way, they learn about density, displacement, and climate change.

Objectives

Students will:
1. Plan, carry out, and interpret results of a scientific investigation.
2. Explain why melting land ice causes sea levels to rise, but melting sea ice does not.
3. Recognize the far-reaching effects of global climate change.

Teacher tip: This activity can be performed as a demonstration or in student groups.

This activity was selected for inclusion in the NSF/NOAA/DOE-funded Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network’s (CLEAN’s) collection of educational resources!

CLEAN is a nationally recognized project in which climate scientists and educators rigorously review and select high-quality online resources to be part of a collection.

This lesson was also used by the National Parks Service to create a demonstration video.

Materials

- 2 identical clear food storage boxes (approximately 6 inches square) per group.
- 8 sticks of classroom modeling clay per group.
- 1 ruler per group.
- 1 tray of ice cubes per group (may need to start storing ice cubes ahead of time).
- 1 liter of water per group.
- Sea Level Rise Worksheets (1 per student).

Introduction

1. Have a discussion about global climate change and sea level rise. Ask students:
- Where is there a lot of ice in the world?
- Is the ice on land or on water?
- Will one or both cause sea level to rise when they melt?

Tip: You can cover the explanation for why ice is less dense than water (and therefore floats) here, or you can wait until after the experiment.

2. Guide students through the development of a question about the melting of ice and sea level rise. Which type of melting will cause an increase in sea level? Have each student record the question and a prediction on the worksheet.

For further information, please visit California Academy of Sciences website.