North America Phenology Campaign Learning Activities

Learning Activities

Elementary Level

Middle school Level

High school level

 

Elementary Level Activities

  • A First Look at Phenology (PDF): Students will observe, compare, and classify plants during green-up or green-down and then make inferences based on the patterns they observe; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • A Sneak-Preview of Budburst (PDF): Students will do simple explorations to observe the relationship between budburst and temperature; a GLOBE learning activity. 

  • Green-up Cards (PDF):  Students will arrange plant growth pictures taken from the bud, shrub canopy, grass clump, landscape and regional perspectives; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • Are You Red-dy to Change? (PDF): from the Natural Inquirer Investi-gator Student Science Journal. Natural Inquirer is a free science education journal produced by the USDA Forest Service. Also, see this blog post by GLOBE guest blogger Eliza Balch on using this journal article with the “What Can We Learn About Our Seasons” activity and the Green-Down protocol.

  • The Mystery of the Missing Hummingbirds: In this Elementary GLOBE Seasons module, a storybook helps students learn about the environment's seasonal changes. In the module’s learning activities, students observe how the local habitat's colors shift throughout the year, learn how to document these shifts, and describe why these changes affect local hummingbird populations.

  • Observing Annual Vegetation Changes: My NASA Data. Students observe monthly images of changing vegetation patterns, looking for seasonal changes occurring throughout 2017.

  • What Can We Learn About Our Seasons? (PDF): Students observe and record seasonal changes in their local study site; a GLOBE learning activity.

Middle School Level Activities

  • A Sneak-Preview of Budburst (PDF): Students will do simple explorations to observe the relationship between budburst and temperature; a GLOBE learning activity. 

  • Green-up Cards (PDF):  Students will arrange plant growth pictures taken from the bud, shrub canopy, grass clump, landscape and regional perspectives; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • What's in Tree Buds? (PDF): Students get familiar with the structure of the buds of chosen deciduous trees, they observe the bud sprouting and changes that deciduous trees undergo in spring; from GLOBE Czech Republic.

  • Global Patterns in Green-Up and Green-Down (PDF): Students will analyze visualizations and graphs that show the annual cycle of plant growth and decline; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • Investigating Leaf Pigments: Students will conduct an experiment using paper chromatography to separate pigments present in leaves; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • A First Look at Phenology (PDF): Students will observe, compare, and classify plants during green-up or green-down and then make inferences based on the patterns they observe; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • Are You Red-dy to Change? (PDF): from the Natural Inquirer Investi-gator Student Science Journal. Natural Inquirer is a free science education journal produced by the USDA Forest Service. Also, see this blog post by GLOBE guest blogger Eliza Balch on using this journal article with the “What Can We Learn About Our Seasons” activity and the Green-Down protocol.

  • Observing Annual Vegetation Changes: My NASA Data. Students observe monthly images of changing vegetation patterns, looking for seasonal changes occurring throughout 2017.

  • What Can We Learn About Our Seasons? (PDF): Students observe and record seasonal changes in their local study site; a GLOBE learning activity. 

High School Level Activities

  • GLOBE Carbon Cycle activities:

    • Biomass Accumulation Model (PDF): Students learn to use a simple computer model to predict biomass, and carbon storage over time for any geographical biome. Can be done as a stand-alone activity or as a follow-up to conducting Carbon Cycle field measurements.

    • Tree Biomass and Carbon Analysis (PDF): Conduct after completing the Tree Circumference and Tree Mapping carbon protocols. Students will observe and understand patterns and trends in their field measurement data.

  • Green-up Cards (PDF):  Students will arrange plant growth pictures taken from the bud, shrub canopy, grass clump, landscape and regional perspectives; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • Global Patterns in Green-Up and Green-Down (PDF): Students will analyze visualizations and graphs that show the annual cycle of plant growth and decline; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • Investigating Leaf Pigments: Students will conduct an experiment using paper chromatography to separate pigments present in leaves; a GLOBE learning activity.

  • Observing Annual Vegetation Changes: My NASA Data. Students observe monthly images of changing vegetation patterns, looking for seasonal changes occurring throughout 2017.

  • What Can We Learn About Our Seasons? (PDF): Students observe and record seasonal changes in their local study site; a GLOBE learning activity.