GLOBAL WARMING PRESS CONFERENCE

“I love watching the

excitement generated when

students take charge of

their own learning and feel

the thrill of working as a

team with an important

purpose in mind.”

- Mrs. Jane Niebch

Left to right - Mrs. Jane Niebch; Skylar Hines, Gabe Agrama, Shane Lunsford, Cassandra Messinger, Noelle Bedard, and Jack Swank.

A first time press conference was conducted in the 6B Earth Science classroom on Friday morning, January 10, 2014. St. Mark’s science teachers, Mrs. Niebch and Mrs. Quinlivan, collaborated by bringing sixth grade and seventh grade together to consider evidence of global warming. Students addressed the national level debate regarding the questions "Is global warming real?" and "Is the rise in ocean temperature of one degree Celsius attributable to natural causes or human activity?" A panel of six Earth Science students sat poised at their desks bearing their titles: Gabe Agrama (Graphic Artist), Cassandra Messinger (Graphic Artist), Skylar Hines (Environmentalist), Noelle Bedard (Scientist), Shane Lunsford (Journalist), Jack Swank (Paleontologist), and Holly Pruitt (computer technician). The sixth grade panel responded to questions asked by their seventh grade audience. Several days prior to the press conference, the panelists and their support teams researched the causes of global warming by reading articles they found through EBSCO. They previewed videos from YouTube and science web sites, and they formulated PowerPoint presentations and Publisher documents. Individual students shared newspaper articles on the document camera, trying to bring the latest information to their teammates.

6B Earth Science January 10, 2014

A panel of six Earth Science students responded to questions asked by their seventh grade audience.

deeper waters since the ocean’s temperature has risen. Skylar Hines handled a question about the impact of global warming on agriculture; she explained that the Florida citrus may have to move north as the climate could become too hot in south Florida. Noelle Bedard asked to show and explain a compelling graph she found. It displayed the exponential rise in the number of research papers given by scientists with conclusive evidence that points to human behavior as the primary cause for global warming. There was no shortage of investigative questions, nor well-documented thoughtful answers. The session ran without a break or interruption right up to the lunch bell. Students concluded that the climate changes seem to be related to both natural and human-made causes.

Key questions that developed include: What is global warming? What is the greenhouse effect? How does deforestation affect global warming? How can we tell that carbon emissions are

increasing? The mood that took shape was serious, businesslike, and intense as the session commenced. Jeremy Rawe, a seventh grader in the audience, asked the first question. Gabe Agrama focused his eyes on the audience and spoke without any notecards addressing the question about the natural causes of climate change. Gabe mesmerized his audience with an in-depth explanation about the Glacial and Interglacial period, the sun's cycle, and natural phenomenon like volcanoes. Shane Lunsford jumped in and discussed the recent asteroid that made impact on the earth in Russia, comparing it to the mega asteroid that hit Earth during the Cretaceous period, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. The seventh grade pressed on with more questions, looking for proof that there is a climate change. Cassandra Messinger referred to a graph on the SmartBoard depicting temperatures rising over the past ten years and the correlation with seas rising simultaneously. Holly Pruitt skillfully changed images and PowerPoint slides at the computer as each speaker made their reference to graphic materials. One student asked about habits of fish populations that point to global warming. John Flora, a member of the support team, explained the disappearing of the Bluefin tuna is due to overfishing, and the tuna’s prey disappearing to

Noelle Bedard explains a compelling graph she found as part of her project research.

John Flora and Bella Benavente work together to explain the reason for dwindling numbers of Bluefin tuna.

Holly Pruitt skillfully changes images and PowerPoint slides at the computer as each speaker makes reference to their graphic materials. Shane Lunsford discusses the recent asteroid that made impact on the earth in Russia.