Curated OER
How climate enters our world
Middle schoolers recognize the different climatic zones. They describe what aspects differentiate the climatic zones. Students offer explanations as to what climate is and the role that it plays on creating regions. They rationalize why...
California Academy of Science
California's Climate
The United States is a large country with many different climates. Graph and analyze temperature and rainfall data for Sacramento and Washington DC as you teach your class about the characteristics of Mediterranean climates. Discuss the...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate
Open with a discussion on weather and climate and then explain how tree rings can provide scientists with information about the earth's past climate. Pupils analyze graphics of simulated tree rings from various US locations for the...
Wild BC
Is Climate Change Good for Us?
Is it really that big of a deal if the global climate undergoes a little change? Young environmentalists consider this very question as they discuss in small groups the impact of different climate change scenarios on their lives, their...
NOAA
The Climate Team: Make a Solar Heat Engine
Learners investigate how solar energy is converted into heat in part two of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build and test homemade solar cookers to boil water and cook rice. Pupils consider the impact of heat...
NOAA
Climate, Weather…What’s the Difference?: Make an Electronic Temperature Sensor
What's the best way to record temperature over a long period of time? Scholars learn about collection of weather and temperature data by building thermistors in the fourth installment of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series....
It's About Time
Present-Day Climate in Your Community
So what exactly is climate? This first installment of a six-part series introduces the concept of climate using real-world data tables and topographic maps. The timely lesson includes a comprehensive overview of climate, as well as...
Curated OER
Bringing Climate Change Into the Classroom
High schoolers investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct...
American Museum of Natural History
What Is Climate Change?
So many factors show that climate change has arrived. Learners read through an online resource that explains the data and the consequences of climate change. They also review strategies for slowing or even reversing the global influence.
NASA
Climate Change Inquiry Lab
With global temperatures on the rise faster than ever recorded, the effects of a heating planet could be devastating. Allow learners to discover just what the world is in store for if the warming continues through a series of videos, a...
PBS
The Last Generation: Climate Change and the Marshall Islands
Are some families down to their last generation? The final segment of a two-part climate change series investigates the vanishing Marshall Islands. Scholars divide into research teams to analyze three different individuals whose lives...
K12 Reader
World Climates
Why is weather different around the world? Learn about world climates with a reading comprehension passage. Kids read a short passage before answering five comprehension questions based on context clues.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Micro-GEEBITT Climate Activity
A truly hands-on and inquiry based learning activity bridges all the lessons in the series together. Beginning with a discussion on average global temperatures, young meteorologists use real-world data to analyze climate trends in order...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
How does climate change affect you? First in a three-part series, the activity focuses on how individuals living around the world are affected by climate change. Individuals take on the role of a given character and share their...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
You know global warming is real when your squirrel feeder is full of popped corn instead of kernels! Activity two in a series of five allows learners to explore climate change through the eyes of another. After briefly analyzing their...
It's About Time
How Do Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmosphere Affect Global Climate?
Does carbon dioxide really affect temperatures across the world? This fifth installment in a six-part series investigates the relationship between carbon dioxide and global temperatures. Graphs created from genuine data help young...
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change
High schoolers differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, students compare weather and climate in different regions of the world. They interpret weather graphs and compare isotherm lines of northern and southern...
Curated OER
Physical Geography- Climate
Sixth graders explore different climates. For this compare and contrast lesson, 6th graders look at the differences in climates of America and Europe. Students use KWL charts and graphic organizers to record information about different...
Kenan Fellows
Climate Change Impacts
Turn up the heat! Young mathematicians develop models to represent different climates and collect temperature data. They analyze the data with regression and residual applications. Using that information, they make conclusions about...
Curated OER
Saving Energy And Climate Change
Students engage in a lesson plan that is focused upon the concepts of energy and its relationship to climate change. They focus upon the production of greenhouse gases and global warming. Students discuss the climate of different parts...
NOAA
Climate Is Our Friend…Isn’t It?: Make an Extinction Polyhedron
Climate affects populations in different ways. Scholars research extinct organisms and mass extinctions in part three of the 10-installment Discover Your Changing World series. They create graphic organizers, then fill in the information...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
You know climate change is happening when you see a bee take off its yellow jacket. Part four in a series of five lessons explores all factors affecting climate change: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and carbon dioxide. By...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
Look at climate change around the world using graphical representations and a hands-on learning simulation specified to particular cities around the world. Using an interactive website, young scientists follow the provided directions to...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
It is unknown if cloud cover increases in response to carbon dioxide levels changing, helping climate change slow down, or if cloud cover decreases, allowing Earth to warm faster. Part four in the series of five lessons has classes...