How does climate change lead to an increase in size, intensity, and frequency of wildfires in California? Students will use the phenomenon of wildfire intensity increasing in California to explore the causes, effects and solutions to climate change in California.

This resource is a hub for information about teaching climate change across grade levels and content areas. 

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students explore four major categories of climate change, identify one to further research, and create a fact sheet.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson introduces students to factsheets and infographics and how powerful they can be in providing and relaying information. Students start the lesson by reading through a factsheet/infographic about New Jersey’s changing climate followed by a partner discussion about how the factsheet makes them feel. Students are then able to pick one of four categories, do research about their topic, and create their own factsheet and infographic. Student factsheets/infographics are shared and compared/contrasted with one another. This lesson allows for multiple instances of student autonomy and provides a creative outlet for discussing climate change. It is hereby recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in English, social studies, computer science, digital art, or science classes. It can be easily adjusted to be multidisciplinary.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students become agents of change in their own communities, identifying problems and solutions.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should be familiar with the basics of climate change.
-Students should be familiar with school-appropriate websites from previous school-related research.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students’ communication can be as simple or as thorough as you desire. They will need more time to research and craft their communication if you want their writing to be more fact-based and robust.
-Students can work independently or in a group with adjusted requirements.
-Teachers can use subject and grade level vocabulary already being learned in class. Teachers can add more vocabulary words in the glossary slide of the Teacher Slideshow.
-To deepen a social studies or global connection, students can explore the history of their chosen issue, how other countries are addressing the issue, or focus on a global solution strategy.
-To connect to computer science or digital art, students can create their infographic and fact sheet digitally.
-To further develop practical science or engineering skills, students can work together to create and implement a workable solution at the school, home, or community level.
-Some students may wish to communicate their advocacy via social media. Make sure to follow all school rules and monitor students’ progress if you allow this in the classroom.

This lesson has students create, compare, and solve linear, quadratic, exponential, and cubic functions based on a primary source from Weather Underground about the melting of the polar ice caps. If the formatting is an issue, contact me at rob.leichner@gmail.com for a Google drive link to the lesson plan.

This activity is designed to help students visualize and explain the relationships between various terms and concepts related to the science of climate change. After performing this activity students will (hopefully) be able to define various climate change terms and explain the process of climate change.

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This poster is about Climate Change: A Call to Action. This material can be used in mitigating Climate Change around the world. 

This course provides a broad overview of issues related to climate change, with an emphasis on those aspects most relevant to computer scientists. Topics include climate science, climate models and simulations, decision-making under uncertainty, economics, mitigation strategies, adaptation strategies, geoengineering, policy-making, messaging, and politics.The course will culminate in a presentation of a research project which might include a paper, a blog, software etc.

Environmentalists passionately opposed to a giant pipeline that would transport crude oil from the tar sands of Canada to the Gulf coast are going head-to-head with proponents of the project. Students explore the controversy surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline and the strategic questions it raises for environmentalists.

Through a mock summit simulation, students explore current questions about climate change issues and the validity of climate change claims. Students argue for and against implementation of solutions, using research to support arguments. During the research phase, students use an online Chrome extension (Diigo) to create a shared database of current climate change multimedia information that will support their claims. During the summit, students assume the role of an ambassador for a specific country. Then, students use their collected research to take a position which either validates or denies current climate change assertions such as: Climate change is a global issue and demands a unified response.Climate change is caused by human activity. We should demand utility companies to use 20% electricity from renewable energy sources.We should regulate CO2 as a pollutant.  Finally, students create a multimedia presentation that represents their country’s final stance on the climate change issue and the summit’s suggested solutions.Standards:Ohio Science (Grade 7)CCSS ELA (Grade 7) 

This article features children's literature about weather, climate, and climate change. What’s the difference between weather and climate? How do scientists observe, measure, and predict weather phenomena? How is Earth’s climate changing, and why? This month’s bookshelf will help students develop a solid grasp of weather-related concepts. It will also introduce students to global warming and climate change and inspire them to do what they can to combat the problem.

This video focuses on the science of climate change and its impacts on wildlife on land and in the sea, and their habitats in the U.S. There are short sections on walruses, coral reefs, migrating birds and their breeding grounds, freshwater fish, bees, etc. Video concludes with some discussion about solutions, including reduce/recycle/reuse, energy conservation, backyard habitats, and citizen scientists.

Use this site to learn about the science of climate change and its potential effects on our nation's wildlife and their habitats.

In this activity, students learn about how climate change is affecting the Arctic ecosystem and then investigate how this change is impacting polar bear populations. Students analyze maps of Arctic sea ice, temperature graphs, and polar bear population data to answer questions about the impact of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem.

Students are asked to make a general hypothesis about whether Atlantic hurricane have been changing over time in response to recent climate change. It is expected that at an introductory level with only the most basic background instruction, students will focus on numbers, locations, or intensities of hurricanes. Example hypotheses might be

The numbers of hurricanes are increasing (or decreasing)
Hurricanes are becoming more intense
Hurricanes are forming in new locations
Hurricane season is lengthening

They are then asked to develop more pointed questions that they can test. Some example questions for each hypothesis are given below:

Hypothesis 1 might lead to questions like "More hurricanes (or tropical storms) are forming each year" or "More hurricanes are striking land each year."
Hypothesis 2 might lead to questions such as "The maximum wind speed for hurricanes is increasing" or "The minimum barometric pressure is decreasing."
Hypothesis 3 might lead to questions like "Hurricanes are forming further north."
Hypothesis 4 might lead to questions such as "Hurricanes are forming earlier and later."

To answer these questions would require students to understand some background about hurricanes, like how many typically occur in the past (which leads to questions about data collection and observing hurricanes), how hurricane intensity is measured, or at what latitudes hurricanes typically form.

Then they are given a table or map data (derived from NOAA GIS data of hurricane tracks and intensity) to test their hypotheses.

The results of their inquiries and data collection will be shared with the class as parts of small groups initially, and will culminate as a small group presentation.

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We are concurrently experiencing two global crises - the climate crisis and COVID-19. What are connections between the two? Why are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities disproportionately affected by both? This asynchronous Canvas course explores these questions and more. The course includes recordings from two guest speakers. Dr. Isabel Carrera Zamanillo from Stanford University presents on climate justice connections. Dr. Carrie Tzou, Professor and Director of the Goodlad Institute for Educational Renewal at UW Bothell, shares strategies and instructional resources for teaching about COVID-19. 

In this 50-minute guided lecture, students learn the peculiar threats to migratory animals, given the projected spatial variability of climate change on the planet. This activity uses a climate departure analysis to assess threat to the monarch butterfly.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

SYNOPSIS: This lesson educates students on the impact that climate change has on national parks.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson demonstrates the impact of climate change on national parks and lets students investigate and communicate through infographics the best solutions for building climate resilience in the parks and other ecologically sensitive habitats. All materials embedded in the lesson are factual, and this lesson has passed our scientist review.

POSITIVES:
-Students are introduced to the causes and effects of climate change.
-Students are able to make real-world connections on how climate change impacts national parks across the United States.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should have a basic understanding of climate change vocabulary in order to comprehend the reading material.
-Students should be comfortable using technology to be able to create the infographic.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-The Warming Up to Adaptation: Everglades National Park video can be paused midway to discuss with students and assess their understanding of the impacts and mitigation solutions.
-Students with lower level reading skills can be paired with a peer with higher comprehension skills.
-If a student is not comfortable creating the digital infographic, they can be paired with a more tech-savvy peer.
-Students can also create infographics on paper or posters.
-Infographics can be printed and placed around the room for a gallery walk. Students can walk around the room, observe the different infographics, and discuss their observations with their classmates.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students explore how climate change is impacting public health in New Jersey, understand the difference between climate mitigation and climate adaptation, and create a video advocating for a climate adaptation strategy related to public health in New Jersey.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson challenges students to consider the impacts of climate change on public health. The video defines public health in simple terms and how it affects and will affect students’ lives. Students are then encouraged to discuss how some of the quotes from the video make them feel and to investigate how climate change is linked to public health and justice. The differences between climate mitigation and climate adaptation are outlined, and sources are provided for further investigation. The lesson also includes links to credible sources to help students with their investigation. Students are encouraged to use their creative thinking skills to create a short video about climate adaptation strategies that could benefit New Jersey. This is a good lesson to challenge students' critical thinking and creative skills.

POSITIVES:
-Students collaborate with their peers to create short videos as the assessment in this lesson.
-Students get voice and choice as they select a climate adaptation strategy that matters the most to them.
-If you teach multiple classes, you may be able to share the videos from all of your classes with all of your students.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should have access to the Teacher Slideshow on their own devices in order to explore example climate adaptation strategies, access links, and conduct research.
-There may be student confusion when explaining the difference between climate mitigation and climate adaptation. Students may need more guidance as they choose their climate adaptation strategy. For example, students may gravitate toward "more renewable energy" or "more electric cars." Both of these are examples of climate mitigation strategies. Guide them toward climate adaptation strategies instead.
-Some students may select climate adaptation strategies that are not directly related to public health. This may include building sea walls or planting more drought-resistant crops. These are climate adaptation strategies, but they are not directly related to public health.
-Students can use the examples of how climate change impacts public health in New Jersey on the Teacher Slideshow to brainstorm ideas when choosing a climate adaptation strategy.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-It may be best to group students of mixed ability. Conducting research for their videos might be the trickiest part of the lesson, and students with strong research skills and media literacy may be able to guide their groups.
-Students can take turns being the videographer for their group.
-You may require all students to have speaking roles in their videos. One student may also be the designated videographer for the group.
-You can have students write scripts for their videos before recording. Other groups, however, may simply want to record their videos over and over again until they get a good take.
-Students can record their videos on school-approved devices like laptops, iPads, or iPods. If these devices are not available, it may be necessary to have students use their personal devices.

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes scientist Lars-Erik Liljelund, Director General of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, for a discussion of Swedish policy for addressing climate change and global warming. He reflects on his own career which combines work in public policy and science. He also talks about the distinctive quality of the global warming problem and the obstacles for finding and implementing solutions. 54 min)

Through this lesson plan your students will learn that human induced climate change causes biodiversity disturbances and could be responsible for the increased risk of animal virus spillover into human populations. Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Biological and Environmental Sciences. The lab allows students to explore the impact of climate change on an organism of their choice by doing a diachronic analysis of data from Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).