Next Generation Science Standards Aligned Resources
OER Commons has worked with some of the most trusted and innovative OER science educators out there to bring you resources aligned and evaluated against the Next Generation Science Standards.
Trademark Notice: "Next Generation Science Standards" and the provided logo is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.
Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is …
Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In the associated activity, students conduct an experiment and see bioremediation in action!
Meaningful STEM learning can happen at home as we use our imagination …
Meaningful STEM learning can happen at home as we use our imagination to solve real problems! This STEM project introduces students to the problem of oil spills around the world. The project culminates with students using their imagination to design a solution to the problem.
Following the steps of the engineering design process and acting as biomedical …
Following the steps of the engineering design process and acting as biomedical engineers, student teams use everyday materials to design and develop devices and approaches to unclog blood vessels. Through this open-ended design project, they learn about the circulatory system, biomedical engineering, and conditions that lead to heart attacks and strokes.
The goal of this unit is that the students will be able …
The goal of this unit is that the students will be able to: 1. work in a blended learning environment to understand climate change and its impact on the world. 2. master a basic understanding of climate change 3. work in groups to research focused questions, present their research, and propose a way to combat climate change. 4. present their completed projects to their classmates. This unit is based on a lesson plan from The Learning Network found here: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/guest-post-climate-change-questions-for-citizen-scientists/
In this activity students learn how Earth's energy balance is regulating climate. …
In this activity students learn how Earth's energy balance is regulating climate. This activity is lesson 4 in the nine-lesson module Visualizing and Understanding the Science of Climate Change.
This activity introduces students to global climate patterns by having each student …
This activity introduces students to global climate patterns by having each student collect information about the climate in a particular region of the globe. After collecting information, students share data through posters in class and consider factors that lead to differences in climate in different parts of the world. Finally, students synthesize the information to see how climate varies around the world.
This 3-activity sequence addresses the question: "To what extent should coastal communities …
This 3-activity sequence addresses the question: "To what extent should coastal communities build or rebuild?" The activity uses social science and geoscience data to prepare an evidence-based response to the question, in targeted US coastal communities.
This unit provides Common-Core aligned lessons based for Math 3, English 10, …
This unit provides Common-Core aligned lessons based for Math 3, English 10, and Biology (NGSS Standards). The subjects are linked by a text on climate change, and they hit the standards of argumentation for English, comparing functions in Math 3, and human effects on environment in Biology.
We hear about climate impacts all over the world, often in global …
We hear about climate impacts all over the world, often in global terms. But what is happening where? And what will happen in our own communities? Students play a game to understand changes to precipitation. Then, using the US Climate Resilience Toolkit, they investigate local climate concerns and solutions.
This Guide for Educators was developed by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative as an extension of our TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate) podcast, to make it easier for you to teach climate change, earth science, and energy topics in the classroom. It is an extension of the TILclimate episode "TIL about climate impacts."
This Jigsaw exercise has students discuss radio stories from the Yale Climate …
This Jigsaw exercise has students discuss radio stories from the Yale Climate Connections (YCC) project as a team to deepen their thinking around climate change issues.
How does climate change lead to an increase in size, intensity, and …
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.
In this activity, students learn about how climate change is affecting the …
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.
Through this lesson plan your students will learn that human induced climate …
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).
This unit introduces high school students to climate change, the carbon cycle, …
This unit introduces high school students to climate change, the carbon cycle, and the effects of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide on Earth's climate. Students create a model from string, toss bean bags, and sort chemical cards to review key processes in the carbon cycle. Then they quantitatively model the carbon cycle by playing a board game.
This activity covers the role that the oceans may play in climate …
This activity covers the role that the oceans may play in climate change and how climate change may affect the oceans. It is lesson 8 in a nine-lesson module Visualizing and Understanding the Science of Climate Change.
This unit consists of seven distinct activities that teach climate change, the …
This unit consists of seven distinct activities that teach climate change, the water cycle, and the effects of the changing climate on water resources through the use of games, science experiments, investigations, role-playing, research, and creating a final project to showcase learning.
This is the seventh of nine lessons in the 'Visualizing and Understanding …
This is the seventh of nine lessons in the 'Visualizing and Understanding the Science of Climate Change' website. This lesson addresses climate feedback loops and how these loops help drive and regulate Earth's unique climate system.
This lesson covers the definitions of differences between weather and climate. Students …
This lesson covers the definitions of differences between weather and climate. Students will discuss local climates in Washinton state, then they will dicsuss climates around the world and collaborate to determine distinct attributes of different climates. For this lesson, the focus will be on the ice block activity to demonstrate how a changing climate affects the local ecosystem.
This teaching activity is an introduction to how ice cores from the …
This teaching activity is an introduction to how ice cores from the cryosphere are used as indicators and record-keepers of climate change as well as how climate change will affect the cryosphere.
This activity focuses on reconstructing the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) as an …
This activity focuses on reconstructing the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) as an example of a relatively abrupt global warming period. Students access Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) sediment core data with Virtual Ocean software in order to display relevant marine sediments and their biostratigraphy.
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