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Teaching Resources for Climate Change
Classroom Activities
Introduction to Global Warming
To begin this minds-on analysis and discussion activity, students learn about the correlated increases in global temperatures and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Next, students evaluate an example that illustrates that correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Then, students analyze several types of evidence to test the hypothesis that increased CO2 in the atmosphere has been a major cause of the increase in global temperatures. This activity concludes with a very brief discussion of how global warming has contributed to harmful effects (e.g., increased flooding) and possible student actions to reduce these harmful effects.
Food and Climate Change – How can we feed a growing world population without increasing global warming?
In this analysis and discussion activity, students learn how food production results in the release of three greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4). Students analyze carbon and nitrogen cycles to understand how agriculture results in increased CO2 and N2O in the atmosphere.
Students interpret data concerning the very different amounts of greenhouse gases released during the production of various types of food; they apply concepts related to trophic pyramids and they learn about CH4 release by ruminants.
Finally, students propose, research, and evaluate strategies to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that will be released during future production of food for the world’s growing population.
Global Warming News from the New York Times
- How Tariffs Could Upend the Transition to Cleaner Energy
- How Trump’s Tariffs Could Hobble a U.S. Battery Boom
- Coal Plant Ranked as Nation’s Dirtiest Asks for Pollution Exemption
- Entire Staff Is Fired at LIHEAP
- E.P.A. Hunt for Shady Deals and ‘Gold Bars’ Comes Up Empty
- Why Al Gore Is Shifting His Climate Activism Abroad
- Trump Said Auto Emissions Don’t Affect the Environment. That’s Not True.
Climate Change News from The Guardian
- Severe storms and tornadoes rip across US south and midwest, killing at least six people
- How philanthropists are destroying African farms – video
- Plan for Norfolk megafarm rejected by councillors over environmental concerns
- Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer
- Weatherwatch: Mixed woodlands can help temper weather extremes, study shows
- ‘Same shit, different year’: Australia records hottest 12 months and warmest March on record
- US banks predict climate goals will fail – but air conditioning firms will thrive
Climate Change Posts from Nature
- Don’t overlook the mental-health costs of California’s wildfires
- Atmospheric circulation to constrain subtropical precipitation projections
- Drivers of marine heatwaves in coral bleaching regions of the Red Sea
- Warming triggers snowfall fraction loss Thresholds in High-Mountain Asia
- Polar bears and expanding sea ice in the Mid Holocene Aleutian Islands, Alaska
- More autumn tropical cyclone genesis in the South China Sea during El Niño to La Niña transition
- Optimizing afforestation pathways through economic cost mitigates China’s financial challenge of carbon neutrality
Climate Solutions from Union of Concerned Scientists
- 7 Takeaways from Trump’s Disaster Preparedness Executive Order and What It Means for US
- Trump National Security Officials: Add NOAA to the Chat for Climate Literacy
- My City Got Disaster Recovery Money, Now What?
- With Fewer Weather Balloons, People in US Heartland Will Be Less Prepared for Tornado Season
- EPA Staff Stand Firm As Administration Lobs Cuts, Baseless Accusations, and Cruelty
- Our Environmental Movement Outrageously SLAPPed in the Face
- The Theft, Harm, and Presidential Grift of Privatizing the National Weather Service
Resources for Teaching and Learning about Climate Change
This annotated list includes resources that can help your students to develop a scientifically accurate understanding of the causes and consequences of global warming and climate change. This list also includes resources for learning about how to reduce greenhouse gases and how to cope with the harmful effects of climate change. When learning about climate change, it is important for students to engage with proposals to mitigate and adapt to climate change, so they can feel energized, instead of powerless. Given the nature of the topic, the approach is interdisciplinary. These resources are appropriate for middle school, high school and/or college students.