SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students reflect on their personal energy use, make a bar graph to analyze data from the class, and create a conservation poster for display.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson is suitable to build the capacity of students to understand energy sources and what they can power, to compute and audit their daily energy consumption, to share their energy footprint in group activities, and to raise awareness on energy consumption to a wide audience by creating a conservation poster. This lesson has passed our science review process and is recommended for classroom use.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson includes using a spreadsheet to create a bar graph. This may be the first time students learn this skill.
-Creating a conservation poster is a great way for students to feel empowered to take immediate climate action.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 2 of 6 in our 3rd-5th grade Renewable Energy unit.
-When you are collecting data for the spreadsheets and graphs, some students may respond that they spent 1,440 minutes using energy (which is the total amount of minutes in a day) due to use of electricity for refrigerators or the heating and cooling of their homes. Although true, having multiple data points of 1,440 minutes is not useful. Have them come up with a lower estimate.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Some students may have difficulty with data entry when adding numbers to their spreadsheet. It may be best to create groups of students so they can check each other's progress to make sure it is correct.
-It may be best to allow students to create conservation posters individually or with a partner.
-Some students may want to create conservation posters using digital tools like Canva or Adobe Spark.

In this design challenge lesson students explore the Denver Public School District’s solid waste plan and discuss how their school can save or decrease emissions by reducing solid waste at our school.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students advocate for renewable energy in their schools and communities.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson introduces students to understand the importance of renewable energy and how they can advocate for energy and climate justice in their community. All materials embedded in the lesson are thoroughly sourced. Accordingly, this lesson is recommended for classroom use.

POSITIVES:
-Students transform into activists in this final lesson in the unit.
-Students are able to engage with community stakeholders outside of the classroom.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 6 of 6 in our 3rd-5th grade Renewable Energy unit.
-It may be difficult to figure out how much renewable energy exists in your community or how much of your local electrical grid is powered by renewable energy. Your students could explore this interactive map from the EPA showing all energy infrastructure and resources.
-If you or your students do not know how to focus your activism, you can advocate for rooftop solar panels on your school if it makes sense.
-Support your students appropriately if they would like to take this project to the next level. Perhaps they could continue their activism before school, at recess, or after school. It may be nice to ask some of your fellow teachers to also support their efforts.
-This lesson plan might lead to the founding of a student activism group!

DIFFERENTIATION:
-There are many options for differentiation in this unit. Students can work individually or in groups as they design their own activism.
-Quieter students may want to write a letter to share their thoughts.
-More extroverted students may want to deliver a speech to a school or community leader or sit down with them for a one-on-one discussion.

This lesson provides guidance for students to create and practice a presentation about design challenge results that they developed in the previous unit lessons and how to present it to the school administration.

In this activity students utilize collected data and propose solutions to mitigate food waste in their school.

This lesson outlines for students how to design and carry out an investigation to audit their school’s food waste system.

This animated video discusses how climate change is altering the environment and increasing disease risk from air pollution, spread of disease vectors, increased high temperatures, violent storms and flooding. Ideas for community preparedness are offered.

This animated video explains how the molecular structure of atmospheric gases can absorb and re-radiate infrared energy. The video uses simple models and analogies to aid in student understanding.

Students explore the greenhouse effect in this lesson using a computer simulation and develop a model for how it works.

This is a kinesthetic activity that demonstrates how shortwave radiation emitted by the sun and longwave thermal radiation emitted by the earth interact differently in the atmosphere. It allows students to experience this difference and reinforces their understanding of greenhouse gases as well. Students should have an understanding of shortwave and longwave thermal radiation and of greenhouse gases before doing this activity, but there is a minimal amount of background information about those topics included in this pdf. Additional resources/background info for teachers can be found on the website for the Little Shop of Physics.

From this original story, young readers and listeners learn about four tools scientists use to study climate - climate stations, weather balloons, satellites, and buoys. The story is available at two reading levels and in three formats - text-only, illustrated booklet, and electronic book. Glossary included. Each issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle contains an original story that expands on the theme.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students will examine the 2020 Almeda Fire in Oregon and explore the disproportionate impacts of wildfires.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This engaging lesson helps students comprehend what wildfires are, the climatic factors that could start them and speed up their spread, and the potential losses and harm that they could do to vulnerable and marginalized populations. The wildfire simulator has been evaluated and is suitable for use by students. Additionally, the lesson's videos and other supporting resources have been examined, and this lesson has passed our science credibility process.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson clearly explains the connection between climate change and wildfires.
-This lesson allows students to realize how wildfires disproportionately impact different groups of people. It provides space for students to better understand the concept of climate justice.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Be sensitive to the needs of your students if they have been personally impacted by wildfire. Depending on the circumstances, this lesson may not be appropriate or may need to be adapted for your class.
-This lesson assumes that students have prerequisite knowledge of climate change, including understanding the basic science behind climate change.
-Each student will need access to a device in order to play with the Wildfire Simulation. If each student does not have a device, students may share devices. If there are no devices for students, teacher can project and play with the Wildfire Simulation on an interactive whiteboard.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Pay close attention to how student groups are formed in the jigsaw activity during the Investigate section. Students will be jointly constructing meaning from reading different parts of the article. Groups of students with varying reading levels will probably work best, as high-achieving peers can model meaning-making for students at lower reading levels.
-It may be best to steer students toward one or more options in the menu in the Inquire section, depending on their ability and preference for demonstrating their knowledge.
-In the Inquire section, it may not be possible for any or all of your students to create a wildfire emergency supply kit. Gathering and paying for all of those items is expensive. Be sensitive to your students. In some cases, it may be best to remove that option from the menu before sharing it with your students.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students unpack the complexities of the global food system and climate change.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson allows students to explore the impact of climate change on the global food system and why it is important to change food choices that would adversely impact on the climate. They would learn how to use concept maps to ideate high-impact solutions that would address climate change and food insecurity in their community. All materials used in creating the lesson were fact-checked, and this lesson has passed our science credibility process.

POSITIVES:
-Students think critically about the ways climate change and the global food system are intertwined.
-Students collaborate and build on ideas they explored in previous lessons.
-Students explore the relationships and connections in a highly complex system in a scaffolded and supported way.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 6 of 6 in our 6th-8th grade Climate Change, Food Production, and Food Security unit.
-Students will get the most out of this activity if they have completed most of the previous lessons in the Climate Change, Food Production, and Food Security unit.
-Students may need to gather materials, such as paper and markers, for students to create their concept maps.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Teachers can assign the Teacher Slideshow on Google Classroom and students can submit their work independently.
-Students can create the concept map as a whole class or they can work in small targeted groups.
-Students can create their concept maps independently.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson teaches students about the different ways farms and agriculture are being impacted by climate change.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson allows students to explore the impact of climate change on agriculture. They would be able to identify the underlying climatic variables that affect farming systems in different geographies. All resources were fact-checked, and this lesson has passed the science credibility process.

POSITIVES:
-Students are able to learn about specific climate change topics that are interesting to them.
-Students can learn about the many different ways in which climate change impacts agriculture.
-Students can learn from their peers.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 3 of 6 in our 6th-8th grade Climate Change, Food Production, and Food Security unit.
-While not necessary, it is helpful for students to have a general sense of some of the global impacts of climate change.
-You must create a free account to access the Newsela article.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Teachers can assign the Teacher Slideshow on Google Classroom and students can submit their work independently.
-Teachers can group students for the guided research section and assign them level-appropriate resources.
-Teachers can eliminate options in the guided research section if the options are overwhelming.
-Teachers can eliminate the video option in the guided research if they want to exclusively assign readings.
-Teachers can review the teacher slideshow as a class and answer the questions as a whole group assignment.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson teaches students about the different steps in food production and how each step contributes to climate change.

SCIENTIST NOTES: The lesson has students analyze carbon footprint from different sources of food. From production, packaging, transportation, consumption, and disposal, all these activities increase carbon footprint and cause harm to the environment. This lesson inspires students to take urgent action to reduce individual carbon footprint from the food system. All materials are well-sourced and were thoroughly fact-checked to ascertain their credibility. Thus, this lesson is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-Students are able to connect climate change to their everyday life by thinking about what foods they eat and how they may impact the planet.
-Students are able to analyze complex data in a way that is highly scaffolded and supported.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 2 of 6 in our 6th-8th grade Climate Change, Food Production, and Food Security unit.
-Students should be able to read a bar graph that has a key.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Teachers can assign the Teacher Slideshow on Google Classroom and students can submit their work independently.
-For the Data Explorer section, teachers can use an open-ended version that has broad questions or a guided version that has more specific questions to help students identify trends.
-Teachers can eliminate options in the guided research section if the options are overwhelming.
-Teachers can review the Teacher Slideshow as a class and answer the questions as a whole group assignment.

Students investigate how sea levels might rise when ice sheets and ice caps melt. By constructing a pair of models, students can observe the effects of ice melt in two different situations.

In this design challenge lesson, students examine their school food system and develop an investigation about food waste in order to know what should change.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students learn the story of William Kamkwamba, build their own renewable-powered project, and share their project with the broader school community.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson engages students to build a renewable energy product. It contains clear illustrations on how to create a product, test it out, and share the innovation with an audience. There are no misconceptions in this lesson. It is advised that this lesson be used in the classroom.

POSITIVES:
-Students learn the inspiring story of William Kamkwamba and how he brought power to his community.
-Students get to engineer with their hands!

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 4 of 6 in our 3rd-5th grade Renewable Energy unit.
-You will need to procure a copy of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind for this lesson.
-The Investigate section of this lesson plan is listed as 40 minutes long. However, some students may need more time to finish their projects. Perhaps they could keep building their projects before school, at recess, after school, or at home.
-It may be best to check with your administration or team teachers to see if your students can display their projects in a common area. Also, a "please do not touch" sign may be necessary for the display so your students' creations do not get broken.
-This lesson may need to be postponed if it is not sunny or windy enough on that day.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-You may not have enough specialized materials (small solar panel, hobby motor, etc.) for all students. Students can work in groups to share these limited materials.
-If you decide to have your students present to another class, encourage every student to have a speaking part.
-Perhaps you can allow students to bring in materials from home. Be mindful of students who have nicer materials and how other students feel if they are using school materials only.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students investigate plant growth by measuring their own plants.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson lets students discover the importance of plants in their environment and the basic materials plants need for growth. It also contains an activity for students to measure plant growth rate so as to discuss the factors that influence plant growth. All the accompanying materials in the lesson are well-sourced, and this lesson has passed our science credibility review.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson includes elements of project-based learning through hands-on activities.
-This lesson is cross curricular.
-The materials are easily accessible for teachers and can be collected by students from home. Consumable items can be collected from home, donated by families, or even local companies that support education. If donations are not possible, seed and bean costs are minimal and can be shared among multiple teachers in a school.
-Parts of the lesson can be conducted outdoors to connect with nature.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-For the Inquire section, students need access to outdoor space with living things to observe.
-The lesson time is approximately 90 minutes, but the lesson also requires ~10 minutes daily for 2 weeks after the lesson to measure and log plant growth in their journals.
-Students should have a basic understanding of the difference between living and nonliving things.
-Students should have an understanding of what living things need to grow.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-This lesson can be taught as three separate ~30 minute lessons.
-Students can graph growth at the end of the 2-week time period showing how their plants changed. This is an assessment opportunity for teachers to determine understanding of measurement.
-If there is no possibility of a nature walk or finding space outside for observation, substitutions can be made such as observing a living plant in a pot, a photograph of a space outside, a raised garden bed, etc.
-Due to the hands-on aspects of this lesson, English language learners can engage and be supported with vocabulary in their native language.
-The Plant Growth Journal can be edited to include additional writing opportunities.
-Measurements can be made through standard or nonstandard units of measure.
-Graphing can be included for students ready to engage in graphing based on grade level.
-Enrichment lessons can be included through designing outdoor space at students' homes or creating a school garden.

This video succinctly explains the mechanism of the natural greenhouse effect and the cause of global climate change (anthropogenic global warming). It is short, basic, and to the point. It's also available in 12 languages!