Carbon Reservoirs and Global Carbon Cycling – Introduction
Overview (PDF, 341KB) (includes learning outcomes and Standards alignment)
Students begin to explore the carbon cycle, including the main processes or flows that move carbon between reservoirs on Earth. They first do a Quick Write and share ideas with a partner to access their prior knowledge and learn more about carbon flows and reservoirs by sorting carbon cards and viewing a video. Students then make a sketch from an image of the local estuarine/harbor ecosystem, labeling all the carbon reservoirs and flows. A reflection provides the opportunity to compare their ideas before and after the activity, and to consider what questions still remain.