Pathway 8:
Atmosphere and Climate
* Also U.N. Sustainable Development Goal #14: Life Below Water and #15: Life on Land Read More
Days to Celebrate in April:
15th: Start of National Environmental Education Week
17th: World Bat Day
21st: World Fish Migration Day
22nd: Earth Day
26th: National Healthy Schools Day
28th: Save the Frogs Day
29th: Arbor Day
Guides and Curricula:
WGBH and NASA: Bringing the Universe to America’s Classroom Curriculum – Digital media resources you can use to teach topics in K–12 Earth and Space Science. These free resources are organized into four grade bands.
EPA: A Student’s Guide to Global Climate Change
Stanford University Climate Change Education – Global climate change is 1) unequivocal, 2) almost certainly is caused mostly by us, 3) already is causing significant harm, and 4) is growing rapidly.
Climate Generation Curriculum – Bring climate change into your classroom with Climate Generation curricula.
Youth for the Planet: Taking Climate Action in Your Own Community by World Wildlife Fund – World Wildlife Fund and WeAreTeachers teamed up to create a climate action resource kit to educate youth on climate change and inspire them to take meaningful actions at home, school, and in their communities. Recommended for Grades 7th-10th.
History Lesson: Climate Solutions to Ecocide by SubjectToClimate – In this lesson from SubjectToClimate, students will analyze climate solutions in terms of climate justice, feasibility, and effectiveness at the local and global levels, then compare and contrast the results of their analysis in class discussions. Students are prompted to write and present a persuasive pitch to implement a specific climate solution that benefits the planet and promotes human rights. Recommended for Grades 6th-12th.
An Inconvenient Truth in the Classroom – It is designed to encourage students to analyze the science of global warming and its relevance to current events and their daily lives.
Toolbox for Teaching Climate & Energy by NOAA Climate.gov – NOAA Climate.gov has put together a toolkit for educators preparing to teach climate and energy science.
Climate Trackers by World Wildlife Fund – World Wildlife Fund has put together this toolkit to encourage students to explore, analyze, and discuss the role human impact and climate change play on the future of polar bears and the Arctic. Recommended for Grades 3rd-5th.
Curricula for Global Sustainability – Ignite your students’ learning and inspire them to take action in their community with hands-on global sustainability curricula
Climate Warming Lesson from NOW – Use the NOW Classroom standards-linked lesson on global warming to help students research and form credible opinions. This lesson is designed for social studies, debate, language arts, government/citizenship, and current events classes, grades 9-12.
Atmosphere Lessons – 5 lessons with experiments
Teaching Layers of the Atmosphere – Lesson plan with foldable, video and reading selection
Apps
Earth-Now – An application that visualizes recent global climate data from Earth Science satellites, including surface air temperature, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, and water vapor, as well as gravity and sea level variations.
NASA Visualization Explorer – This is the NASA Visualization Explorer, the coolest way to get stories about advanced space-based research delivered right to your iOS device.
Games
Weather and Climate Games with NASA’s Climate Kids
Jason Learning – Set up an account to begin playing games.
BBC’s Climate Challenge – You are president of the European nations and must tackle global climate change from 2000 – 2100.
Videos
Earth: The Operator’s Manual – To illustrate the evidence and the way forward, host Richard Alley takes viewers on a High-Definition trip around the globe, from New Zealand to New Orleans, telling the story of Earth’s climate history and our relationship with fossil fuels.
Education Portal – The Atmosphere – 15 video lessons with quizzes and transcripts detailing information about the atmosphere
The Children’s Climate Crusade
Useful Links
The 35 Easiest Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
NASA’s Climate Kids – Games and interactive modules
Global Warming Science – The science is clear. Global warming is happening. We are the primary cause. From the Union of Concerned Scientists.
10 Tips for Bringing Climate Change Solutions into the Classroom by Project Drawdown – Project Drawdown’s Dr. Elizabeth Bagley has put together ten practical tips for educators looking to talk to youth about climate change and integrate climate solutions into their curriculum.