EEA RESOURCES

Climate Change Teaching Toolkit
​(a work in progress)

A Note to Educators

Rarely does a teacher get to teach climate change from start to finish - because rarely does one course contain all the relevant content standards. So students are left to piece together concepts they learned over multiple years in a variety of contexts. To further complicate things, there is as much misinformation - and disinformation - about climate change as there is reliable evidence.

​This toolkit is designed to provide a roadmap for teaching climate change in bits and pieces, or - as EEA hopes will soon be the case - in a comprehensive course that allows students to explore, examine evidence, conduct investigations, use models or simulations, and come to their own conclusions while solving problems and taking action to mitigate climate change. 

Preparation for Investigating Climate Change

Exploring Tools to Survey Primary Sources

• Primary Source Analysis Tool and Teacher Guide from the US Library of Congress

Exploring Tools to Evaluate Evidence

• Try the CRAPP Test and CRAPP Test Rubric to assess these articles:
  • Meat Eating Scientists Unite
  • There is no climate crisis - The Epoch Times
  • They’ll All Be Gone - Starving Polar Bear Highlights Melting Ice - NPR
  • The Real Story Behind the Starving Polar Bear - Financial Post
  • Remember the Starving Polar Bear? - Prager U
  • Polar Bears Really Are Starving Due to Global Warming - Nat Geo
  • Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land - Nat Geo video
• The Difference between a Scientific Theory and a Scientific Law - TED Talk

Exploring Tools to Make and Use Models, Simulations and Algorithms

•  Is it a Model? Page Keeley formative assessment probe
• Developing and Using Models  Sadler Science

What do Students Know or Think About Climate Change?

Be aware that many people experience stress when learning about Climate Change.

• Experts Explain Climate Anxiety - Yale University

​A formative assessment is an informal way of evaluating what students already know about climate change - and what they need to learn (or unlearn). It can be as simple as a short quiz, a card sort, signs that students stand near to indicate agreement, polls, student explanations, drawings, or any other quick and easy, low stakes (ungraded) way to find out what students are thinking. Formative assessments can be pre-tests but - more importantly - they can also be useful tools mid-way through a lesson, enabling the educator to see which concepts stuck and which ones need to be retaught a different way.

•  What Have You Heard About Climate Change? from Understanding Climate Change
•  Climate Literacy Pre-Test  from CLEAN.net
•  Stand by Your Statements- Why I Care about Climate Change pp 3-9 from   Purdue Dynamics of Climate Teacher Resources​
• Draw Earth's Climate System and label the major components and interactions

What's the Difference between Weather and Climate?  The TIMEFRAME

Weather and climate are both variable - but over different timeframes. Changes in weather cannot be considered a climate trend unless they extend for more than 30 years. So it's not possible to isolate any single present-day local weather event - such as a drought, a storm, or a flood - and attribute it to climate change. After completing investigations into weather and climate, students should be able to recognize weather patterns and know when they can be considered indicators of climate change.

Phenomena
    "Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get."
Explorations: Data Analysis, Modeling, and Investigations
   -   Weather, Climate and Water Cycling Storyline unit from OpenSciEd
   -   ESRI How's the Weather exploration from GeoInquiries
   -   Climate, Weather, and Plants in Your Region from SERC
Projects and Problem-Solving
   -   Create a Weather Station where students mount weather instruments and collect data

How Do We Know Climate Change is Happening?  The INDICATORS & PATTERNS

EPA's 24 Climate Change Indicators
​          Phenomena                 
               -  Climate Time Machine - Key Indicators of Climate Change - NASA
          Explorations: Data Analysis, Modeling, and Investigations
              -  Collecting Data through Community & Participatory Science Projects 
                     -  Project BudBurst (phenology)
                     -  Fall Leaf Change Predictions Map and Reporting Tool
                     -  Journey North
                     -  Symbolic Monarch Migration
                     -  Water Quality Monitoring / Adopt A Stream             
​            -   Analyzing and Interpreting Data
                      -  Exploratorium's Graphing the Keeling Curve from Mauna Loa's CO2 Data
                      -  Data Nuggets Climate Change modules
                      -  Predicting Regional Climate Change based on Regional Temp Anomalies
                      -  Interpreting Graphs of Surface Temps in Urban Areas - NASA Mini-Lesson
                      -  All Earth as a System Mini-Lessons from My NASA Data

How Do We Know What Climate was Like in the Past? PALEOCLIMATOLOGY

History of Climate Science Research  timeline slides from UCAR 
Intro to ​Paleoclimatology

Explorations of Ancient Climate

•  Climate Detectives
•  Pollen Data from Pond Sediment Cores (from Earth Science Puzzles)
•  Tree Rings  & Paleoclimate  / Data from Tree Rings (Columbia Tree Ring Lab)
•  SERC Paleo-Climatology and Trees Lab
•  CO2 in Past Ice Core Data 
•  Volcanic Eruptions and Snowball / Hothouse Earth feedback loop

Why Does Climate Change Happen? The CAUSES

Phenomenon: Average Temperature on Earth over 500 Million Years

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 credit: Glen Fergus

 Exploring Naturally-Occurring Planetary Cycles, Forces and Events
        Why Does the Climate Change? UCARR web page
               Background Info on Planetary Motions
                        - Why Orbits are Elliptical; Kepler's Laws; Gravity; Newton's Constant lessons
                        -  pHet Simulations of Planetary Motions 

                Milankovitch Cycles: Precession, Orbital Tilt and Eccentricity
                        -  Interactive Models of the Milankovitch Cycles - NASA
                        -  Animation of the Orbital Cycles - NASA
​                        -  CLEAN interactive Applet for exploring Milankovitch Cycles and worksheet
             
               Solar Radiation
                      -   Sun Spot Cycles from Solar Science

               Role of Planetary Cycles in Current Global Warming and Climate Change
                        - Milankovitch Case Study: Cycles Cannot Explain Persistent Climate Change

​                Cataclysmic Events, such as Meteor Impacts an Volcanism
                         -  Dust Might Have Snuffed Out the Dinosaurs - NYT
                         -  How Volcanoes Influence Climate - UCAR
                                 
                        

Phenomena:  Temperature on Earth in Past 150 Years compared to 1880-1910 Average 

​The World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal (click to enter)

https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/​
​Exploring Human (Anthropogenic) Causes of Climate Change
                -  Greenhouse Gas Emissions  
                -  Climate Change Indicators
                -  NASA Chart of Gases by Global Warming Potential / Resident Time in Atmosphere
                -  Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator from EPA
​                 - Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks
                 - Data on Global Temperatures from NOAA via CO2-Earth   
​
                -  Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Burning of Fossil Fuels
                         Phenomena
                           -  CO2 Slider from NASA Climate Time Machine
                           -  CO2 and Earth Temp over 800,000 Years - animated by PBS Learning Media
                        Explorations
                            -  Getting At the Core: The Link between Temperature and CO2 - EPA lesson
                           -  CO2 Labs - SERC lesson
                           -  Calculate the Keeling Curve - Exploratorium lesson
                           -  CO2 Measured at Mauna Loa - Current and Historic Data from NOAA
                           -  Carbon Emissions from Burning of Oil and Gas for Electricity and Transport
                           -  Keeling Curve
                           -  Direct and Proxy (Indirect) Measurements of CO2 in the Atmosphere - NASA
                           -  If CO2 Emissions Increase Annually, Why Don't Temps Rise at Same Rate?
                           -  Non-Renewable vs Renewable Energy as Sources of  CO2 Emissions
​                           -  Generate: The Game of Energy Choices from EPA
                            - Comparing Efficiency of Fuel Types by Converting to Common Units (BTUs)
                           -  Carbon Emissions from Burning of Oil and Gas for Plastic Production
                                  -  The Age of Plastic: from Parkesine to Pollution
                                  -  Trash or Recycling? Plastic Keeps Us Guessing
​                           -  Ocean Acidification as an Indicator of Increased Atmospheric CO2 
                                 -  Ocean Acidity Data from EPA
                                 -  Ocean Carbon Data from NOAA via CO2.Earth
                                 -  More Acidic Oceans:  Effect of Acid on Marine Animals' Shells (Clime Time)
                                  - Slideshow on 7 Things Everyone should Know About Ocean Acidification:                                                Diving into Ocean Acidification Toolkit
                                 -  K-12 curriculum with slide decks by UC Irvine - includes elem material! 
                                  - The Ocean Protector game is a free, decision based online learning tool on                                              oceans and food web impacts 

                -  Methane Emissions 
                               -  Global Methane Sources (NASA video from Vital Sign of the Planet)
                               -  Cattle Planet: Visualizing the Biomass of the World's Mammals
                               -  Methane Monitoring Lesson from Our Climate Future
                               -  Annual Greenhouse Gas Index  

                 -  Nitrogen / Nitrous Oxide Emissions
                                 -  Laughing Gas and Climate Change - Stanford article
                                 -  The Forgotten Greenhouse Gas - BBC article
                                 -  How Catalytic Reduction can Reduce Nitrous Oxide Emissions (article)

                 -  Fluorinated Gas Emissions
                                  -  Alternatives to Fluorinated F-Gases for Cooling and Fire Retardants 

                 -  Water Vapor
                                   - NASA Animations: How Water Vapor Amplifies the Greenhouse Effect

​

How Do Feedback Loops and Tipping Points Affect Climate Change Processes?

Climate change is different from other environmental challenges because of the phenomena of feedback loops. Negative loops can moderate effects. But positive loops act as "accelerators" that amplify effects. The more one thing happens, the more it causes a second thing to happen, in a spiral of responses until a "tipping point" is reached, from which the processes cannot be reversed.  Positive feedback loops are what lends urgency to climate change. 
Learn more here:

• ​Hidden Feedback Loop - C&NN
• Climate Emergency Feedback Loop film series

• Climate Change Feedback Loops and Tipping Points - UCAR
  

How Does Climate Change Impact Our World?  The EFFECTS or IMPACTS

Heat   --> Global Warming  as Average Surface Temperatures Trend Upwards
        Phenomenon: Global Temperatures from 1880 -2022 in spiral chart video - NASA
​            Higher Global Temps --> Extreme Weather 
              -   Extreme Weather Climate Lab from SERC.Carleton
                    -  Earth's Energy Balance Lab from SERC.Carleton
                    -  Surface Temperature Change Data from 1880 - 2022 (NASA Time Machine)
                    -  Extreme Heat (New York Times interactive article)
                    -  Global Warming 101 (NRDC article)
              -  Weather Extremes are Increasing in Frequency
​                    -  Role of Climate Change in "Once in a Generation" Winter Storms
                    -  Role of Climate Change in Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
                    -  Tornadoes and Climate Change Connection? - It's Complicated!

Heat Related Impacts
              Thermal Properties
                     -   Thermal Properties of Materials - Concord Consortium lessons
              Increased Wildfire Risks
                     -  Climate Change and Wildfire -  NASA lesson unit
                     -  Goats Clearing Buffer Zones to Reduce Wildfire Risks - article
             Freeze/Thaw Cycles
​                      -  The Breathing Boreal Forest lesson - Project Wet Climate Resilience book p34-49
             Warming Oceans / Thermal Expansion
                            -  Heat Capacity of Water (NASA Vital Signs of the Planet)
                            -  Experiment: Thermal Expansion of Water  (UCAR Center for Science Ed)
                            -  Modelling Thermal Expansion (NASA Jet Propulsion Lab)
                           -   Ocean Heat Content (NASA Climate Time Machine)
                            -  Sea Level is Rising (NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer simulation)
                            -  Chasing Coral movie and related curriculum (project challenges)
                            -  Coral Death due to Ocean Warming and Algae Blooms mitigated by KingCrabs
             Snow and Ice Melt
                     -  Sea Ice is Melting (NASA Climate Time Machine) --> no net effect on sea level
                              -  Chasing Ice movie (or school screening license) and curriculum . . .
                                   -  Discussion Guides for Middle School, High School, and University
                              -   Loss of Sea Ice Causes Crash in Emperor Penguin Breeding (article)
                     -  Glaciers are Shrinking -->  Sea Level is Rising 
                            -  Land Ice Masses (Glaciers) are Melting (NASA Climate Time Machine images)
                            -  The Last Glaciers (I-Max trailer and related lessons)
                            -  Loss of Light Surfaces and Albedo --> ice/albedo feedback loop
                      -  Slushy Snowball Earth feedback loop (web article)
                      -  How Volcanoes Froze the Earth Twice (PBS Eons video)
             Sea Level Rise
                     -  Sea Level Slider from NASA Climate Time Machine
             Ecosystem Changes related to Climate Change
                   -   Loss of Wildlife Habitat
​                            -  Climatology and Biomes
                            -   Animals Are Running Out of Places to Live
                            -   Now You "Sea" Ice, Now You Don't: Impact of Climate Change on Penguins
                            -   The Connection betweeen Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss 
                            -   Coral Bleaching
                                         Chasing Coral movie
                   -   Change in Timing or Intensity of Cyclical Weather and Seasonal Events Affecting Species
                           -  Phenology:  Project Budburst 
                           -  Climate, Weather and Trees Lab from SERC Carleton
                     -  Shifting Range of Habitats due to Temperatures 
                            -  Future Forests Lab re: impact on maple syrup (SERC Lab)

Coping with Historic Climate Change: ADAPTATION

                       -   Little Ice Age  - Britannica
                                -   How the Little Ice Age Changed History - John Lanchester for The New Yorker 
​                                -   Living During the Little Ice Age - UCAR lesson
                               -   Climate Change, Exploration and the Beaver Fur Trade
                        -  How Do Volcanoes Affect World Climate ?(and Frankenstein) - Karen Harpp for Scientific American
                                -   Mt Tambora and the Year without Summer - UCAR article
                        -  Did Colonialism Cause Global Cooling?  Prof Dagomar Degroot, Georgetown U Historical Climatology
                                 - Effects of the Little Ice Age;  The Great Dying;  Glaciers in Art - Smith College Climate in Arts & History

Who Is Harmed by Climate Change?  DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS
           Human Health and Well-being 
                    -   How Climate Change Affects Everyone
                           -   The Effects of Climate Change - NASA Global Climate
                    -   Why Does Climate Change Disproportionately Impact Some People and Places More than Others?
                           -   Climate Change Inequality: Heat interactive NYT article
                           -   The Heat Island Effect and the Legacy of Bank Redlining Practices
                           -   Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change on Vulnerable Populations - EPA
                                   -  Climate Change and Social Vulnerability Report ​             
                                   -  How Income, Education, Race, Age and Location Affect Climate Burden
                                       https://www.epa.gov/cira/social-vulnerability-report​
                      -   The Climate Impact of Neighborhoods, Mapped:  Interactive  from NYT with ATL map

         Urban Heat Island Effect
                  Phenomenon 
                          Vegetation and Temps mapped separately in Urban Heat Islands article- UCAR and NASA
                          See the Sizzle - Thermal Photos Reveal Brutal Urban Heatscape from Wired
                          Taking NYC's Temp - video, thermal images, and article from The Verge
                           Graph of Urban Heat Island from EPA
                  Research 
                      -  Disproportionate Impacts:   Map Your Community's Climate Impact - interactive NYT article
​                      -  Heat Islands and Health - NEEF
                      -  Interactive Health and Heat Tracker - CDC
                       - Albedo and Climate explainer article from UCAR
                  Explorations of Urban Heat Island Effect
                       - What is an Urban Heat Island?  explainer article for younger children from NASA Climate Kids
                      -  Urban Heat Island Storymap including Peachtree Road Race activity in Evaluate section
                   Solutions
                      -  What You Can Do to Reduce Heat Islands / Heat Island Effect - EPA
                      -   Individual Actions that can Affect Climate Change - NPR

What Can Be Done About Climate Change?    The SOLUTIONS

Phenomenon

The World Bank Climate Knowledge Portal (click to enter)

Our decisions today make a difference. We can't rewrite the past but we can choose how sustainable the future will be. 

​Problem-Solving & Decision-Making Simulations
     -  EN-Roads Climate Solutions Simulator - Climate Initiative
     -  Beat the Uncertainty: Planning Climate-Resilient Communities - NOAA
     -  Project Drawdown Solutions - Drawdown.org
     -  Drawdown Solutions Game including lesson plan and video demo  
     -  NOAA Weather and Climate Toolkit - NOAA
     -  Youth Climate Summit Toolkit - The W!ld Center

​ Making a Difference
   -    Seven Climate Solutions and a graphic organizer​ - NYT
Planning Solutions to Real-World Problems
       -  Carbon Capture vs Carbon Emission Prevention? NYT
       -  Indigenous Ingenuity  Nature.com
       -  Indigenous Climate Change Case Studies - IfNotUsThenWho.me
       Green Infrastructure 
        -  Flooding: Clime Time Flooded Playground (elementary)
        -  Green Playgrounds: An Overlooked Climate Change Solution 
       Tree Planting
         - Carbon Gardening and Tree Planting
​         - Calculating Tree Value in terms of C Sequestration
       Agricultural Practices
        -  Going Underground to Investigate Carbon Locked in Soils  - Data Nuggets
        -  Planting a No-Till Garden with Minimal Fertilizer Run-Off
       -   Reducing Food / Crop Waste 
       Building Design
        -  Designing Buildings for a Warmer World: Lesson on Francis Kéré from NYT
             -  How Francis Kéré Uses Local Materials to Design for Climate - ArchDaily
             -  An AfroFuturist Architect Builds for a Better Future - Wired
             -  Francis Kéré and the Pritzker Architecture Prize - PritzkerPrize.com
        Materials 
       -  Alternatives to Fluorinated F-Gases for Cooling and Fire Retardants 
        Policy and Financing
        -  Climate Policy & Financing  Swiss Perspective (MyClimate)
​        Household / Lifestyle Changes 
        -  Handprinter.org - comparing relative impacts of different actions
               -  Meatless Monday, Wear-It-Again Wednesday, and other Swaps 
        Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Conservation
         -   Conserving Energy to Reduce Fossil Fuel Emissions
         -   Converting from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy Sources
         -   Reducing Single Use Plastic Consumption to Cut Fossil Fuel Emissions
         -   Choosing Lower Emission Fossil Fuels during Transition to Renewables

Student-Directed Projects and Civic Action

• Purdue University's  What Can I Do About Climate Change? posters 
• David Suzuki Foundation's Climate Change Solutions
• Project Drawdown Solutions 
• Earth Force Civic Action Roadmap
• NOAA Planet Stewardship Projects with $5000 grants
• Tiny Forests (Miyawaki Method) 
• Carbon Gardening Projects to Mitigate Climate Change Impacts
• Community Science Investigations related to Climate 
• Planting Schoolyard Forests to Reduce CO2 in the Atmosphere
• Food Waste Reduction 
• Ideas for Carbon Sequestration Projects from NOAA
• ​Green Heart Challenge for a Climate-Positive Future                                 from CPF Planeteer Alliance - with funds for winning project ideas

Clarifying Misconceptions about Climate Change

              -  Misinformation and Disinformation
                      -  Global Warming and Climate Change Myths Explained - from Skeptical Science

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