This short video, adapted from NOVA, explains how Earth's position relative to the Sun might be responsible for the dramatic shift in the climate of what is now the Saharan nation of Djibouti.

In this short video from ClimateCentral, host Jessica Harrop explains what evidence scientists have for claiming that recent global warming is caused by humans and is not just part of a natural cycle.

This video is one of a series produced by the Switch Energy project. It reviews the pros and cons of natural gas as a source of energy.

Students characterize how climate change impacts natural hazards and pose research-based solutions to the county Emergency Management Agency. Presentations require the use of local data, created figures, and reliable sources. This activity builds from an assignment which has students identify and describe projected local climate trends using the USGS National Climate Change Viewer followed by Unit 1 and 2 of the Map Your Hazards InTeGrate Module.

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SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students analyze videos about students challenging the government to protect natural resources, research why natural resources are a source of conflict, and create a video summarizing their findings.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson presents the public trust doctrine through two video resources and tasks students to produce their own videos that investigate how natural resources are a source of conflict. All of the materials are well-sourced, though the videos are a little out of date. The lesson also includes a list of credible sources to get students with their investigation. This lesson is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-Students use their unique voices and perspectives to communicate a complex topic.
-Students use their creativity and collaborative skills to create a video explaining their summary of the lesson.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-The resources from Project Look Sharp require a free login to download the materials.
-Laptops or other recording devices required.
-One-to-one technology is recommended.
-Students must have working knowledge of credible sources.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-The length of the student videos can be lengthened or shortened depending on student ability.
-Students can be placed in mixed ability groupings.
-The number of required citations can be increased or decreased depending on student ability.
-Optional Extension: Videos may be sent to local, state, or federal government to increase the likelihood of change being enacted.

In this video segment, adapted from Navajo Technical College, two Navajo Elders speak about climate change and differences in the environment that they have observed.

In this video segment adapted from Navajo Technical College, meet two members of the Navajo Nation, one Elder and one scientist, as they share their observations about how precipitation has changed since they were children.

This lab exercise is designed to provide a basic understanding of a real-world scientific investigation. Learners are introduced to the concept of tropospheric ozone as an air pollutant due to human activities and burning of fossil fuels. Students analyze and visualize data to investigate this air pollution and climate change problem, determine the season in which it commonly occurs, and communicate the results.

This video contains a visualization and explanation of the Arctic sea ice and how it has changed over the 25 years. In September 2012, the National Snow and Ice Data Center recorded the lowest extent of Arctic sea ice. The video discusses the climate importance of ice thickness, reflective properties, and self-reinforcing feedback mechanisms.

This video describes how Colorado has planned for and uses clean energy resources to reduce its carbon footprint.

Reduced flows and increased demand for Colorado River water represent a real and present danger in the West. To address the threat, water managers and modelers initiated a study to understand the system, consider options, and take action.

In this activity, students explore factors that have caused the rise in global temperature over the last century. Educators have the opportunity to assess how modeling activities (the game), analogies (the cake), and mathematical models (graphs) develop and change student mental models.

In this multi-part activity, students distinguish between adaptation and mitigation, in response to climate change, and research and discuss/debate strategies to minimize the effects of climate change.

This activity develops students' understanding of climate by having them make in-depth examinations of historical climate patterns using both graphical and map image formats rather than presenting a general definition of climate. Students explore local climate in order to inform a pen pal what type of weather to expect during an upcoming visit. Students generate and explore a variety of graphs, charts, and map images and interpret them to develop an understanding of climate.

In this short video segment Native Americans talk about climate change and how it impacts their lives as they experience unexpected changes in environmental conditions. They describe observed changes in seasonality, how these changes affect ecosystems and habitats, their respect for Mother Earth, and the participation of tribal colleges in climate change research projects.

In this activity, students use Google Earth and information from several websites to investigate some of the consequences of climate change in polar regions, including the shrinking of the ice cap at the North Pole, disintegration of ice shelves, melting of Greenland, opening of shipping routes, effects on polar bears, and possible secondary effects on climate in other regions due to changes in ocean currents. Students learn to use satellite and aerial imagery, maps, graphs, and statistics to interpret trends accompanying changes in the Earth system.

In this activity, students investigate the shifting of three penguin communities in response to climate change.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students research nuclear energy and advocate for its expansion or contraction in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Students form policy proposals and compromise on the best path forward.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson enables students to understand the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy, particularly the fission process. They would also analyze the best energy plans and develop policy proposals that would achieve the Paris goal and address climate change. All activities and materials have been fact-checked, and this lesson is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-Students explore a topic that is relevant but may not be part of their daily routine.
-Students collaborate in research and discussion.
-Students have the opportunity to choose what to research.
-Students have the opportunity to discuss opposing arguments in a civil and productive way. Students must listen to one another to compromise on an energy policy.
-This lesson provides a grading rubric.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students can design local, national, or global policy proposals.
-Allow students to discuss freely and independently; offer guidance only when students appear off track or stuck.
-Make sure everyone has an opportunity to contribute to each group conversation.
-It may be necessary to coach your students on how to be a respectful listener. This includes making eye contact and refraining from looking at screens.
-This lesson can be split into multiple sessions or days. Parts of this lesson can also be assigned to be completed outside of regular class time.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-The extent of student research and detail in policy planning can be adjusted to student skill level.
-If your class has 24 students, you may have eight groups of students. Four of the groups would advocate for expanding nuclear energy capacity, and four of the groups would advocate for reducing nuclear energy capacity.
-It may be necessary to ask some students to take opposing viewpoints in order to have a balanced class. For example, if 19 of your 24 students want to expand nuclear energy capacity, some of them will have to switch sides in order to create more balance. It may be helpful to emphasize the fact that people with strong debating skills can argue both sides of any argument.

This is a three-part class or lab activity that challenges students to define what a glacier is, how it differs from other parts of the cryosphere (such as sea ice), and what kinds of glaciers there are in the world. Part 1 (30-40 minutes) is a gallery walk activity for students to define a glacier and then test their definitions on example images. Part 2 (15-20 minutes) invites students to explore different types of glaciers found around the world through the OGGM-Edu Glacier Gallery app. Part 3 (15 minutes) is a debrief in the form of a mini-lecture, for which we provide the slides.

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Most Americans are "energy illiterate." These lessons for high school students promote energy literacy, especially about oil. We begin with a student energy quiz, followed by three readings and suggested classroom activities.