A New World View [1st of Four Themes] introduces all of the other Guides in the Global Systems Science series, and presents four key ideas that thread through the entire course: First, the Earth has tremendously diverse environments, yet it is a single planet that we all call "home." Second, we can better understand the Earth if we think of it in terms of systems. Third, everything is connected to everything else. And fourth, the goal of global studies is to find out what we can do to sustain life on Planet Earth-now and in the generations to come. To learn about the value of laboratory work for investigating Earth systems, students design and conduct controlled experiments to determine how to sustain life inside a terrarium.

A New World View is part of the GSS high school curriculum education project.