Biogeochemical Cycles: The Carbon Cycle Dice Simulation Journey of a Carbon Atom

A journey though the Global Carbon Cycle like you have never experienced before!

With a roll of the dice, students will travel around the classroom visiting nine of Earth’s carbon reservoirs: atmosphere, terrestrial plants, terrestrial animals, soil, rock, marine plants, marine animals, surface ocean, & deep ocean.

In the process, they will learn a whopping amount of information that will link to many other scientific units of study. Examples include: weather, circulation of air in the troposphere and stratosphere, carbonic acid, bicarbonate ions, calcium carbonate, photosynthesis and respiration, types of macromolecules (glucose, chitin, protein, lipids, DNA), decomposes, scavengers, detritivores and their role in ecosystems, consumers, herbivores, producers on land and in water, carnivores, bacteria, parts of the soil and soil erosion, combustion reaction, rock cycle and formation of sedimentary rock and limestone rock, hydrocarbons, tectonic plates, volcanic eruption, erosion and weathering, marine snow, downwelling and upwelling currents, dissolved carbon dioxide in cold and warm water, global ocean conveyor belt, and more.

Months of research went into compiling this 100% original resource that will serve not only as a fun get-out-of-your-seat activity but also, as an opportunity for students to get a wide-angle systems view of some of Earth’s processes.

Well worth a trip…or three…or eight…!

Crosscutting concepts: cause & effect, systems & system models, energy & matter, stability & change.

Included in this resource:

• Student record sheet (1-page);
• Teacher notes (1-page);
• Carbon reservoir posters, legal-sized, portrait orientation, two per reservoir taped together (18-pages);
• Carbon reservoir posters, legal sized, portrait orientation, one per reservoir (9-pages);
• TpT Easel version included for distance learning.

Equipment required for successful completion of this activity:

• one die per student (ideally) or, one die per carbon reservoir.

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