This week you should refer to the resources listed under Readings, References, & Recommendations, and you need to complete the assignment listed under Sphere Study Assignment & Rubric. This week’s assignment focuses on …

• Identifying and researching the key concepts for the third sphere you will be studying
• Helping your Sphere Group members understand the key concepts and critical questions
• Identifying interactions between the event of the week, ice shelf disintegration, and your sphere

Suggested Activities for Your Students
Global Ice and Water Activities

"Sea Level: The Highs & Lows Create the Flows." Welcome to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise: Educational Activity Supplement. pp. 59-65.

Do: Have students perform the following experiment that may demonstrate how poorly they think in geographic terms. 

1. Ask students to name a well-known location that cannot be seen from the school (e.g., a shopping mall or a sports stadium). 
2. Ask them how far away they are from that location and in which direction (e.g., south-southeast) is the location. 
3. Have the students use a string, originating from the school's position on the map, to plot their locations on a city map. 
4. Help students become oriented to the compass points. 
5. Try this activity again with another well-known location.

Sphere Study Assignment & Rubric
This week you and your Sphere Group will become experts in the relationship of individual spheres to an Earth event.

You will need to read about ice shelf disintegration  before you can do the Sphere Study Assignment & Rubric.

Note: Refer to Group & Team Formation to find out which sphere you should be studying this week.

Read: “Sea Level.” Welcome to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise: Educational Activity Supplement. pp. 55-58

Read: Welcome to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise: Educational CD-ROM

• Distribution of Earth's Water
• Ice Sheets
• Polar Sea Ice
• Global Snow Cover
• Glaciers

Read: "Remote Sensing & Ground Truth Primer." Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook. pp. 31-34.

Read: "Sandboxes & Satellites." Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook. pp. 47-48.

Recommended Web Sites:
NASA's Observatorium: Under Educator's Resources, see "Learning Without Touching," and "Remote Sensing in History."

See the Exploring the Environment™ modules for examples of using remotely sensed imagery in the classroom.