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Earth as a System is Essential: Seasons and the Seas (EaSiE)

EaSiE is a three-year project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Literacy Program for K-12 Education.

The overarching goal of EaSiE is to transform the traditional middle school study of seasons and weather into an exploration of the dynamic interactions between Earth’s land, oceans, atmosphere and living world.

Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire middle school teachers are working with NOAA scientists and the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance to develop a relevant, unifying systems theme that bridges the gap between existing materials and concepts related to seasonal and climatic changes in the Gulf of Maine. Through workshops, field trips and online discussion, teachers are gaining further understanding of Earth as a system, learning instructional strategies that support student learning, and helping to develop lessons and podcasts that incorporate NOAA resources to support student thinking about Earth system science. The EaSiE units and podcasts will be available to educators on our project website.

EaSiE units will include lessons that integrate national and state science standards and NOAA’s Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts related to:
• Earth as a System
• Weather and Climate
• Data and Graphing
• Seasons
• Climate Change