April 2000

Mission Geography: Exploring Earth's Environment and Society

Grades K-4	Grades 5-8	Grades 9-12
1. Exploring Our Planet from Above Inquiry Question: What is remote sensing, how does it work, and what can we learn from images. Investigations Change Your Position, Change What you See. Why Have People Always Wanted to Take Pictures of  Earth from Above? How Does a Satellite Take Pictures of Earth? Why Do Geographers Use True and False Color Images? How Are Maps and Images from Space Useful?	1. Human Footprints on Earth as Seen from Space Inquiry Question: What can we learn from patterns of human activity as seen from space? Investigations What's Hot at the Mall? What are the Causes and Consequences of Urban Heat Islands? How Does the Loss of Trees Affect Ecosystems? Where in the World Are Major Environmental Changes?	1. Wha's Uaaaap with Earth's Water Resources? Inquiry Question: How will water resources keep pace with expanding regional water demands? Investigations Chesapeake Bay Water Shed: Resource Use and Abuse Will the Aral Sea Disappear? The Nile: A Timely Look at Its Uses Are You Ready for a Brown Christmas: The Importance of Snowmelt in the Southwestern United States
2. Paths: Visible and Invisible Inquiry Question: Why makes paths and why are paths where they are? Investigations Why Is Earth Called the Water Planet? Do Other Planets Have Water? Water Bodies, Where Are They? Water, How Does It Change Over Time?	2. Natural Hazards: Volcanoes--Destructive or Creative? Inquiry Question: Are volcanoes dangerous? Investigations Sensing Volcanic Effects from Space Tracking World Aerosol Hazards How Close Is Safe: Buffer Zone Development	2. Where Will Your Next Meal Come From: Inquiries about Food, People, and Earth Inquiry Question: Are the present systems of agriculture sustainable? Investigations Will There Be Subsistance Farmers in the 21st Century? What Is Industrial Agriculture? Who Will Feed the World?
3.  Water, Water, Almost Everywhere Inquiry Question: Why is Earth called the Water Planet and how does water affect Earth's surface? Investigations What Is There to See from Sea to Shining Sea? How Do NASA Images Help Us to Learn about Earth? Where Are Cities Located in the USA and Why? Which Night Lights Have Football Teams?	3. Earth and Mars: Living Comparisons Inquiry Question: Where do we find life on Earth and where might we find it on Mars? Investigations Where Do We Choose to Live on Earth and Why? Do Similar Physical Processes Occur on Earth and Mars? What Are Different Ways to Observe Human Footprints? Where on Mars Should We Search for Life?	3. What Are the Causes and Consequences of Climate Change Inquiry Question: What are the causes and effects of climate change? Investigations How About this Climate We're Having? What Are the Causes and Effects of ENSO? Why Should Tropical Nations Care: The Geography of Stratospheric Ozone? Are We Warming Earth?
4. Where on Earth do Humans Live? Inquiry Question: Where do people live and why do they live there? Investigations How Do Paths Look from Different Perspectives? Can You Recognize These Pathways from Space? How Do Disaster Paths Affect People's Lives?	4. In Development Inquiry Question: In Development	4. In Development Inquiry Question: In Development