This model of ocean-atmosphere interaction shows how carbon dioxide gas diffuses into water, causing the water to become more acidic. The video demonstration and instruction provide an explanation of the chemistry behind this change and the consequences of ocean acidification. The video also addresses a misconception about how ocean acidification affects shelled organisms.

This activity is a Google Slides playlist that will introduce fluctuations in thermohaline circulation, and potential impacts of changes in these patterns. This playlist is suitable for use in remote, hybrid, or in-person instruction and can easily be added to a Learning Management System.

Provenance: Molly Ludwick, Kings Mountain Middle School
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In this classroom activity, students access sea surface temperature and wind speed data from a NASA site, plot and compare data, draw conclusions about surface current and sea surface temperature, and link their gained understanding to concerns about global climate change.

This video introduces phytoplankton - the base of the marine food web, the source of half of the oxygen on Earth, and an important remover of CO2 from the atmosphere. The video also explains how satellites are used to monitor phytoplankton and how warming waters and acidification negatively affect phytoplankton.

This narrated slide show gives a brief overview of coral biology and how coral reefs are in danger from pollution, ocean temperature change, ocean acidification, and climate change. In addition, scientists discuss how taking cores from corals yields information on past changes in ocean temperature.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students explore increased precipitation and sea level rise in New Jersey and advocate for a climate adaptation strategy.

SCIENTIST NOTES: In this lesson, students will learn the basics of sea level rise and extreme rainfall and how that specifically is impacting New Jersey. They will also be introduced to a variety of ideas and technology to combat the increased flooding due to these things. Finally, they will be inspired to take action and propose an idea that will benefit their local community. All the videos have been reviewed for accuracy. The two mapping tools also explain where they are getting their data from. This resource is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in English, social studies, or science classes.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students become agents of change in their own communities.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should be familiar with the basics of climate change and sea level rise.
-Students will be advocating for climate adaptation strategies. Climate adaptation strategies are ways humans are adapting to a changing climate. This is different from climate mitigation, which are ways humans are slowing down climate change. Climate mitigation strategies include reducing fossil fuel use and ending deforestation.
-The first two videos in the Investigate section will autoplay only the segment of the video that pertains to this lesson.
-How Climate Change Has Intensified Hurricane Season will play from 02:59-03:36.
-Thermal Expansion & Sea Level Rise will play from 01:27-02:54.
-The Investigate section features six different resources. These resources (four videos, one map, and one podcast) should not take that much time individually.

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.
-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.
-Allow students to pursue other methods of communication, adaptation strategies, and recipients not listed in the chart in the Inspire section.
-In certain situations, it may be best to allow students to teach their family and friends about increased precipitation and sea level rise. This could be used as a replacement activity instead of student communication to government and business leaders.

This 3-part interactive and virtual lab activity examines the life cycle of the sea urchin, and how the increasing acidity of the ocean affects their larval development.

In this video, a team of paleontologists, paleobotanists, soil scientists, and other researchers take to the field in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin to document how the climate, plants, and animals there changed during the Paleocene- Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). During this time a sudden, enormous influx of carbon flooded the ocean and atmosphere for reasons that are still unclear to scientists. The PETM is used as an analog to the current warming. The scientists' research may help inform our understanding of current increases in carbon in the atmosphere and ocean and the resulting impact on ecosystems.

In this lesson students will learn about evaporation, fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, and the greenhouse effect. Patterns in nautre are discussed, including what is happening over time and why we should care.

NGSS: 5-ESS2-1, 5-ESS3-1

Time: 55 minutes - 1 hour

Materials: laminated patterns in nature photos (photos included), plastic cups, rulers, Sharpies

This video highlights the Pentagon's focus on climate change as the military examines potential risks, strategic responses, and impacts of climate change on future military and humanitarian missions. In 2010, for the first time, the Pentagon focused on climate change as a significant factor in its Quadrennial Defense Review of potential risks and strategic responses. Rear Admiral David Titley, Oceanographer of the Navy, explains why the US military sees clear evidence of climate change and how those changes will affect future military and humanitarian missions.

This collection of learning activities allows students to explore phenology, phenological changes over time, and how these changes fit into the larger context of climate change. Students explore patterns of solar radiation and seasons as well as phenological cycles and ecological affects of these patterns.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students engage in activities and experiments to explore the concept of physical changes, and apply their learning to understand climate change-induced sea level rise.

SCIENTIST NOTES: The lesson introduces students to the physical changes of state from solid-liquid-gaseous phase. All materials, including artcicles and simulations, are well-sourced and relevant to improve students' ability in understanding the impact of physical changes in ice caps and its ambient environment and how they could take action to limit these changes. This lesson has passed our science credibility process and is recommended for teaching.

Positive

-Students work collaboratively in groups and with partners to share diverse ideas and perspectives.
-Students participate in hands-on learning to aid in understanding and participation.
-Students learn through a variety of pathways including kinesthetic, auditory, visual, etc. to engage with different learning.
-Students are given a variety of optional extensions to create the most meaningful change in their communities.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-It is recommended that teachers use this as a multi-day lesson in 5 parts. Use the Multi-Day Schedule Visual to determine appropriate stopping points for each day.
-Materials needed for the Physical Change Activity include the following:
-Ice
-Cup
-Playdough (one container per group)
-Different shaped cookie cutters (two per group)
-Materials needed for each group for the Investigate section experiment include the following:
-Two identical, clear, plastic containers (e.g., 6x6 inches)
-Clay, playdough, or small rocks
-Tray of ice cubes
-Ruler
-Cold water
-Piece of paper
-Permanent marker (optional)
-Materials may be substituted as necessary
-Students must create free accounts on the CK-12 website to participate in the simulations.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-All activities, experiments, and simulations can be completed in differentiated groups or as demonstrations at the discretion of the teacher.
-The article may be read aloud in groups or as a class to aid in understanding at the discretion of the teacher.
-Student Document questions may be completed individually, in mixed ability groups, or as a whole group led by the teacher.
-Videos may be paused and discussed in short segments.
-As noted in the TED video, the economic influences on climate change cannot be ignored. An extension to this lesson may be to include a social studies educator to teach students about the local economic elements and issues that contribute to climate change.

Students explore the life of pikas, tiny mammals that live in alpine areas, and how they are being impacted by climate change. After a brief introduction which includes a reading, a short video, and a story that includes a mathematical model, students engage in a kinesthetic simulation to gain first-hand experience of life as a pika and how the animals can be impacted by shrinking habitat. Students then create line graphs with data from the simulation and analyze them.

Using a combination of clickable 360 degree landscapes, 2D and 3D videos, animations, interviews with scientists, and mini-games, the Polar Lab takes players onto the glacier ice and into the lab in search of evidence to answer big questions about Earth's climateâpast, present, and future. They search for plant and animal fossils that can reveal what this Arctic and Antarctic environment was like 50 million years ago. Students examine two kinds of clues that act as time capsules for exploring the past: mud cores and ice cores. Finally, students examine the rapid retreat of the massive glaciers and sea ice to better understand how changing ice conditions affect animals.

In this activity, students investigate soil erosion and how a changing climate could influence erosion rates in agricultural areas. This activity is part of a larger InTeGrate module called Growing Concern.

This video presents predictions and solutions for range shifts (wildlife corridors) by an iconic species of North American wilderness: the wolverine.

In this lesson, students learn about extreme weather, create an infographic, and educate others on the knowledge gained from this unit.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch videos to understand why weather is becoming more extreme.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students create an infographic about extreme weather impacts in their area.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students educate others on the knowledge gained from this unit.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students choose temperature data to graph in order to explore the relationship between maximum and minimum New Jersey temperatures over time.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson encourages students to create a visual representation of an available climate dataset. A class discussion walks students through the data and how to navigate through the available information. Students are provided instructions on how to create a graph and are allowed to choose which data they will visually represent. The Student Document introduces and invites students to conduct data analysis on their chosen dataset and encourages critical thinking skills. A short video and discussion questions help students relate current information back to their chosen datasets. This is an interactive lesson that incorporates data analysis with the current issue of climate change.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in any math class.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students learn to apply real-world data from a table into a comparable graph.
-Students explore the connection between data, graphs, and current effects.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should have a basic understanding of average and how it is calculated.
-Students should have a basic understanding of reading data tables.
-Students should have a basic understanding of graphing and coordinate points expressed as (x, y).
-Students should have a basic understanding of the relationship between the x- and y-axes.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students’ communication and vocabulary can be simple or content-specific with math terminology.
-Students can use their graph to make an infographic about temperature and climate change. Students can then present their infographic in class, in a school club, or in the community to raise awareness.
-Students can find the line of best fit, find the equation of that line in y = mx + b form, and explain what that line shows about the relationship between average temperatures and time.
-Students can use the same data and make different graphs (e.g., bar graph, pie chart, etc.). Students can explain how each graph emphasizes different parts of the same data and explain which graph is best in conveying a specific conclusion.

Warming oceans and melting landlocked ice caused by global climate change may result in rising sea levels. This rise in sea level combined with increased intensity and frequency of storms will produce storm surges that flood subways, highways, homes, and more. In this activity, visitors design and test adaptations to prepare for flooding caused by sea level rise.

This video explores the work of environmentalist John Hart, a Professor of Environmental Science at U.C. Berkley. In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Dr. Hart has established an experimental laboratory in which he has artificially created and maintained a 3-degree increase in surface temperature of a plot of land, and documented the impact on plant species occupying the plot.