Developing and Using Models
Below are lesson resources that target the Science and Engineering Practice Developing and Using Models.
Global Patterns of Desert Formation
Image: John Coppi, CSIRO - licensed under the CC Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Grade Level: 6-8
Performance Expectation Connections:
MS-ESS2-6. Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
Science and Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Systems and System Models
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Weather and Climate
Possible Guiding Questions: How can Wyoming and Australia have similar vegetation despite their distance apart? How do temperature and precipitation impact plant communities? Why do deserts form in certain locations around the globe?
Possible Instructional Uses: You may use this phenomenon to primarily investigate desert communities around the globe and the large, climatic patterns that impact biome formation. This lesson may also serve as a jumping off point for exploring differences in weather in the Northern and Southern Hemipsheres. You may also use this lesson to transition into exploring plant adaptation and genetic population dynamics.
Contributors: Martha Inouye, Clare Gunshanen, Sienna Wessel, Matthew Bisk
Date Uploaded: 1/9/2022