Climate change Global Warming Ice Core Lesson, Lab, and Graphing Activity

What others say

"This was such a fun activity for my class since they love anything hands on. Prep was alot but good pay off"

Emma K.

"This resource was exactly what I was looking for! It is a perfect way to introduce proxy data to my students!"

Kelli S.

Description

It can be difficult to find fun, hands on activities to use when teaching climate. Include ice cores in your climate and geologic time unit to increase engagement!

Included in this lesson:

1. A 26 slide PowerPoint lesson on glaciers and ice cores. It teaches students how and where ice cores are drilled, how they are analyzed, and what we can learn from them. Key vocabulary: Glaciers, ice cores, glaciologist, proxy record, isotopes, albedo effect.

2. An ice core lab (4 page student worksheet, teacher directions, tips, and answer key). In this lab students will analyze a simulated ice core, and then graph real temperature and carbon dioxide data from an Antarctic ice core. FYI- this lab will take a few days to prepare, so plan early!

You might also be interested in:

Dendrochronology lesson and labs

Climate change station activity

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Climate change Global Warming Ice Core Lesson, Lab, and Graphing Activity

Name: Climate change Global Warming Ice Core Lesson, Lab, and Graphing Activity
Brand: Science Lessons That Rock
SKU: 4584579
Price: 5.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.88 (59 reviews)

Science Lessons That Rock

10.5k Followers

$5.00

Highlights

Digital downloads

Microsoft PowerPoint, PDF

Grades

8th - 10th

Subjects

Biology, Earth Sciences, Environment

Standards

NGSSMS-ESS3-5

NGSSHS-ESS3-5

What others say

"This was such a fun activity for my class since they love anything hands on. Prep was alot but good pay off"

Emma K.

"This resource was exactly what I was looking for! It is a perfect way to introduce proxy data to my students!"

Kelli S.

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176

Description

It can be difficult to find fun, hands on activities to use when teaching climate. Include ice cores in your climate and geologic time unit to increase engagement!

Included in this lesson:

You might also be interested in:

Dendrochronology lesson and labs

Climate change station activity

Be sure to follow my TpT store by clicking on the "follow me" button next to my seller picture to receive notifications of new products and upcoming sales.

Don't forget to leave feedback to earn TpT credits that can be used for future purchases!

Want free tips and resources sent to your inbox once a week? Subscribe to my newsletter! You can also...

♻️ Check out my blog

♻️ Follow me on facebook

♻️ Follow me on instagram

♻️ Follow me on pinterest

Report this resource to TPT

Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines.

4.9

Rated 4.88 out of 5, based on 59 reviews

59
ratings

Mostly used with 8th and 11th grades

Reviews

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

11th

12th

All verified TPT purchases

Great Activity

Rated 5 out of 5

May 17, 2026

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

This was such a fun activity for my class since they love anything hands on. Prep was alot but good pay off

Emma K.

47 reviews

Grades taught: 6th, 7th, 8th

Ice Core lab

Rated 5 out of 5

April 29, 2026

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

I used this lab as part of my instruction on climate change. My high school students absolutely loved it. They were engaged and helped make what they considered a relatively boring topic interesting. They enjoyed making guesses about what various items in a layer might indicate. They also enjoyed that there was not necessarily one correct answer as long as they could justify their guess. Another bonus was that this activity involved more than interpreting graphs.

Michelle T.

25 reviews • Ohio

Grades taught: 10th, 11th, 12th

Student populations: Learning difficulties

Perfect resource!

Rated 5 out of 5

January 19, 2026

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

This resource was exactly what I was looking for! It is a perfect way to introduce proxy data to my students!

Kelli S.

937 reviews • Illinois

Grades taught: 8th

Fun and Engaging

Rated 5 out of 5

December 27, 2025

So much fun for my environmental science class. Just make sure to remember to prep the samples ahead of time!

Jocelyn G.

572 reviews

Grades taught: 11th, 12th

A well designed resource

Rated 5 out of 5

December 8, 2025

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

Made for a fun day of learning and reinforcement.

Monica W.

47 reviews • Ohio

Grades taught: 6th, 7th, 8th

LOVE IT! This was an awesome lab!

Rated 5 out of 5

August 3, 2025

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

This was a highly engaging activity for the students and it made data collection hands on for the students. It was a bit difficult as the weather turned hot and the ice was melting, but the students really liked working with the "ice cores" I wish there was a reusable container for making the ice cores though, not much of a fan of pringles:((

Dawn M.

959 reviews • New York

Grades taught: 9th, 11th, 12th

Rated 5 out of 5

July 22, 2025

This was SUCH a wonderful activity for my AP Enviro. kids. It definitely can be used 9-12th, but It was a quick lab that conceptually hit for my 11th grade APES students that were already feeling a bit stressed with the loom of AP exams. The directions were extremely helpful, and the slides and student graphing were engaging as well. Make sure to prep a few days in advance! I was able to do it in one full day with the help of my work from home partner.

Candace V.

28 reviews

Grades taught: 11th, 12th

Rated 5 out of 5

May 8, 2025

Had a great lesson in my Climate Change unit using the Ice Core Lab. The layers frozen relatively well.... about 3 -4 layers a day, so it took about three days to prepare. It was a unique and appealing lab that got their interest.

Christine J.

205 reviews

Grades taught: 6th

Questions & Answers

Standards

to see state-specific standards (only available in the US).

NGSSMS-ESS3-5

Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. Examples of factors include human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and agricultural activity) and natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity). Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities. Emphasis is on the major role that human activities play in causing the rise in global temperatures.

NGSSHS-ESS3-5

Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth's systems. Examples of evidence, for both data and climate model outputs, are for climate changes (such as precipitation and temperature) and their associated impacts (such as on sea level, glacial ice volumes, or atmosphere and ocean composition). Assessment is limited to one example of a climate change and its associated impacts.