Look for: When students are working in their groups to…

9.A Analyze and interpret carbon dioxide levels collected from ice core data (graphs) to collect evidence of whether the changes in these levels are cyclical in nature and a normal occurrence or are changing at an non-normal rate.

When students are working in their groups to analyze the data, listen for them to notice that there have been normal, or cyclical, increases and decreases in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over time, but the increase that is happening right now is not normal. Students should also notice that the first graph does show an increase in carbon dioxide since the 1950s, but the amount of increase that is represented since then in the second graph is much steeper when it is compared to 800,000 years ago. They should argue that this is another piece of data that shows this increase is not normal.

If students are struggling with comparing the two graphs, ask them questions about what is being represented on the graph by referring them back to the x- and y- axes. Then ask them questions about how the changes in the slope of the lines compare. Are they both increasing? Support them in finding where 1950 is represented on the second graph to help them figure out if the increase is something that seems like a normal occurrence.

Once students have reached the end of the StoryMap and had a few minutes to look at the graphs, say, We looked at some data that was collected from scientists using ice core samples to find the amounts of different greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in the past. Because we said we were most concerned about figuring out changes in carbon dioxide, the graphs we looked at only included changes in carbon dioxide over time. What did you see in the data? ✱ Is the amount of increase in carbon dioxide that we are seeing today part of a normal cycle? Has this been happening over time? Students should say:

No! This is not normal!

• There have been increases and decreases in the amounts of CO2 in the air, but never in the past have the levels been as high as today.
• CO2 in the atmosphere increased a lot over time.

Climate.gov

Say, The ice core data tells us that CO2 levels in the atmosphere are increasing at a faster rate than normal cycles. What do you think is different now than in the past that is causing more CO2 to be in the atmosphere?

Listen for students to suggest:

more people,

more pollution,

burning fossil fuels,

fewer trees or trees being cut down, and

cities and more people “stuff.”

Tell students that in the next lesson, they will explore this question and figure out what is causing more CO2 to be in the atmosphere.

Additional Lesson 9 Teacher Guidance

SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN MAKING CONNECTIONS IN ELA

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.7: Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
• Students integrate information from the ice cube observations with the information provided in text, media, and graphs in the StoryMaps to make sense of how scientists track CO2 levels over long periods of time.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN MAKING CONNECTIONS IN MATH

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.4 Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:

• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.B Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.C Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.
• This lesson provides an opportunity for students to revisit mathematics standards developed in 6th grade as they analyze the CO2 data over time. Students study the graphs closely to understand what is being measured and describe the general pattern and variability over time.