This article presents simple tools and concepts to engage students in inquiry-based learning about the carbon cycle, thawing permafrost, and climate change. The lessons focus on learning in Earth science, environmental science, chemistry, and biology and align with the "Next Generation Science Standards".

One tried-and-true way to hook students' attention and promote long-lasting understanding is to sequence science instruction in an explore-before-explain instructional sequence. In these lessons for the second through sixth grade band, elementary students investigate the interaction between "cold" and "hot" substances and…

This article describes a lesson on the greenhouse effect in which students explore blackbody radiation and Wien's law. The lesson, which has been tested in a variety of high school physics classrooms, uses probeware and online simulations and combines two well-established instructional strategies: the 5E Learning Cycle (Bybee et al. 2006) and the…

Computers, laptops, interactive whiteboards, and iPads make regular appearances in our daily lessons, but are they being used to their fullest potential? In an effort to use technology with students in a meaningful way, the authors incorporated a free app and online graphing resource into a second-grade lesson on the characteristics of a lake…

What if you could challenge your second graders to design an outdoor STEM classroom with a butterfly garden, birdbath, and sundial? With this volume in the "STEM Road Map Curriculum Series," you can! "Investigating Environmental Changes" outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while…

The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate. With this set of lessons, middle school Earth systems science teachers can help their students build an understanding of how large bodies of water can serve as a heat source or sink at different times and how proximity to water moderates climate along the coast. The activity's combination of…

Presents two sets of astronomy activities for elementary students: (1) constructing scale models of the solar system which depict relative distances and diameters, and (2) demonstrating the effects of factors responsible for the seasons. (WB)

Presents a method for teaching about climate in introductory physical geography and earth science classes. A classification scheme consists of four basic types: instability, inversion, subsidence, and frontal; four seasonal hybrids based on combinations of the basic types; and three topographic variants: highlands, rainshadows, and coasts. (KC)

Presents an overview of global atmospheric problems relating to ozone depletion and global warming. Provides background information on the composition of the earth's atmosphere and origin of atmospheric ozone. Describes causes, effects, and evidence of ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect. A vignette provides a summary of a 1991 assessment of…

The term weather is commonly used to refer to the condition of the atmosphere as it affects people's activities on the earth's surface. Four weather elements are considered in this unit: clouds, precipitation, temperature, and wind. This publication details the materials, objectives, supplemental materials, background information for the eight…

This cooperative learning activity, for grades 7-12, promotes critical thinking skills within the context of learning about the causes and effects of climate change. Objectives include: (1) understanding factors that reduce greenhouse gases; (2) understanding the role of trees in reducing greenhouse gases; (3) identifying foods that produce…

Provided are 26 ideas to help children explore the effects of mountains on the weather. Weather conditions in Nepal and Colorado are considered separately. Nine additional sources of information are listed. (CW)

This syllabus is divided into three sections and three appendices. The first section lists program objectives with corresponding performance criteria for seven areas of weather/climate study: (1) broad-scale weather systems; (2) local weather; (3) the atmospheric environment; (4) energy and motion in the atmosphere; (5) water in the atmosphere;…

Designed to provide teachers of earth science with activities and information that will assist them in keeping their curricula up to date, this publication contains activities grouped into six chapters. Chapter titles are: (1) Weather and Climate, (2) Oceans, (3) The Earth and Its Surface, (4) Plate Tectonics, (5) Uses of Space Photography, and…

Presents a lesson plan about greenhouse effect and global warming. Includes diagrams and graphs from which students are asked to make inferences. Provides background information about how energy enters and leaves the earth system, the energy budget, consequences of obstructing the energy balance, and the greenhouse effect. (three references) (MCO)