Curricula
Arctic Climate Modeling Program (ACMP)
The place-based Arctic Climate Modeling Program (ACMP) is funded by the National Science Foundation under the I-TEST program (2004-2008). Resources include hands-on lessons, lecture videos, and recorded multimedia*.
All ACMP materials are reviewed by scientists at the UAF Geophysical Institute to ensure scientific accuracy. The curriculum was aligned to national and state science standards. You may use the search tool to find lessons with specific subject matter for a selected grade level, or download a lesson plan for elementary (grades K-4), middle-school (grades 5-8) and high school (grades 9-12) levels to teach a full unit. (Link to the TOC for each grade level)
Links:
*ACMP multimedia was originally designed to play using the Adobe Flash Media Player. In December 2020, the Adobe discontinued support for the Flash Media Player. To preserve the content long-term, screen recordings of the multimedia were made and are now available as a video resource.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number G-2591. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
UA is an AA/EO employer and educational institution and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination.
Section 1: Observing and Forecasting
Data Analysis
- Digital Elevation Models (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
Remote Sensing
- Close Up and Far Away (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Using Your Senses (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Zoom Out (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Satellite Sense (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Sea Ice and Satellites (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- GINA Over Alaska (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- The View from Space (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Viewing Sea Ice with GINA (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
Weather Observation
- Cloud Forecast (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Extreme Weather (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Timeline of Extreme Weather Events: Level I (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Timeline of Extreme Weather Events: Level II (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Weather (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Weather Observation Journal (K-4) (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Weather Report Chart (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Elder's Weather Forecasting (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Testing Weather Proverbs (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Traditional Weather Observations (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Weather Observation Journal (5-8) (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Weather Timeline (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Weather Versus Climate (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- GPS Mapping (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- The Long and the Lat of It (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Navigational Methods (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
Section 2: Weather Basics
Clouds
- Clouds as Art (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Clouds (K-4) (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Clouds and Your Imagination (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Cloud Haiku (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Cloud Types (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Clouds (5-8) (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Elders' Cloud Observations (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
Matter & Energy
- Melt Away (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Oobleck (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Soapy Solids (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Solid Water (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Touch and Discover (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- The Great Heat Escape (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Keep It Cool (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Melting the Ice: Energy Transfer (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Solar Box Cooker (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Introduction to Energy Transfer (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Lake Ice and Conductive Heat Flow (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Lake Ice and Energy Transfer (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- The Science of Snow (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
Precipitation
- Build a Precipitation Gauge (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Drinkable Snow (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Elders Predict Snow (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Make a Snowflake (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Measuring Snowfall (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Build a Psychrometer (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Humidity and Air Saturation (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Measuring Humidity (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
Seasons
- Masks (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Personal Observations (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Seasons (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Stories: Level I (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Stories: Level II (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Weather Proverbs (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Decision Making (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Masks (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Seasons (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Stories (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Subsistence Calendar (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Weather Proverbs (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
Temperature
- Build a Thermometer (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Measuring Temperature (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Oral History (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Temperature (K-4) (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Finding the Average Temperature (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Long-term Temperature Changes Essay (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Temperature (5-8) (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
Water Cycle
- Go Glacier Go! (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- The Water Cycle Game (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Water, Water Everywhere: Level I (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Water, Water Everywhere: Level II (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Evaporation (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Local Hydrologic Cycle (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Water Cycle Bag (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Water Wise (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
Wind
- Building a Weather Vane: Level I (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Building a Weather Vane: Level II (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Building an Anemometer (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Finding Wind Direction (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Measuring Wind Speed (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Traditional Stories about Wind (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Wind (K-4) (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Convection and Wind (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Name that Wind (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Native Language Ties (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
Section 3: Climate Systems
Climate Change
- Global Climate Change (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Understanding Albedo (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
Greenhouse Effect
- Carbon Footprint (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Greenhouse Effect (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Introduction to the Carbon Cycle (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
Permafrost
- Frost Depth (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Permafrost: Permanently Frozen Ground (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Walking on Frozen Ground (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Worming Your Way Through the Soil (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Collecting Compost (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Frost Depth Study (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Keep It Active (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Layering the Soil (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Permafrost (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Polygons, Pingos and Thermokarst, Oh My! (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Soil Permeability (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Tour of the Frozen Ground (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Features of the Frozen Earth...and Mars (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Finding Permafrost (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Frost Depth Measurements (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- The Ground was Frozen Then (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Growing Plants in a Variety of Soil Conditions (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Introduction to Permafrost (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Living in a Frozen Land (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Measuring Permafrost (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- The Shaping of the Arctic (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Uses of Permafrost (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
Sea Ice Dynamics
- Understanding the Ice (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Vanishing Coast: Erosion (Grades: K-4) (Grades: K-4)
- Displaying Sea Ice (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Identifying Sea Ice (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Observing Sea Ice (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Sea Ice Board Game (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- Sea Ice: Unscrambling the Egg Code (Grades: 5-8) (Grades: 5-8)
- A Coastal Arctic Food Web (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Investigating Ocean Currents (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)
- Tour of the Cryosphere (Grades: 9-12) (Grades: 9-12)