A practical guide to cultivating expansive understandings of climate change and environmental regeneration in K-12 students through classroom instructional practices and curricula. "Teaching Climate Change" lays out a comprehensive, NGSS-aligned approach to climate change education that builds in-depth knowledge of the subject, empowers…

Each location on earth has its own mix of climate, minerals, land cover, politics, religion, and other features. Geographic inquiry starts (but does not end) with careful observation of these conditions, because geographers assume that they can influence what happens in that place. Future articles in this series will look at different modes of…

"Teaching Climate Change to Children" describes the journey of two literacy researchers to learn about climate change and support relevant literacy pedagogy for young children (pre-K-6). The authors argue that climate change and social justice are inextricable from each other; that children in the younger grades are capable of learning…

Ocean acidification (OA) has been called climate change's evil twin for a reason. Increased levels of carbon dioxide, caused by humans burning fossil fuels, are not only causing a rise in global temperature but are also having adverse impacts on marine ecosystems. In the lesson presented in this article, students conduct investigations using…

"Human Impacts on Our Climate" outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while grounding them in integrated STEM disciplines. Like the other volumes in the series, this book is designed to meet the growing need to infuse real-world learning into K-12 classrooms. This interdisciplinary, three-lesson…

The practice of obtaining, interpreting, and contextualizing data across scientific disciplines is crucial to understanding the natural world. The authors developed the Teal Spruce sampling activity to encourage students to explore the reality of scientific data collection while also providing hands-on experience in interpreting and sharing…

Climate change and climate denial have remained largely off the radar in literacy and social studies education. This book addresses that gap with the design of the "Climate Denial Inquiry Model" (CDIM) and clear examples of how educators and students can confront two forms of climate denial: "science denial" and "action…

Environmental education for all students is becoming more urgent as societies strive to deal with challenges such as climate change and loss of biodiversity. Teachers have an important role to play in defining the environmental knowledge, beliefs, and actions of the next generation. Understanding the anthropogenic inputs responsible for alteration…

This lesson plan positions students as part of a group of four to six, tasked with creating publicly accessible resources that tell the human stories of climate change. Groups are asked to create an ArcGIS Story Map combining natural scientific research on climate change (CO2 emissions, sea level rise, species extinction, etc.) with social…

In this article, two lessons are introduced in which students examine Arctic lake sediments from Lake El'gygytgyn in Russia and discover a climate signal in a lake or pond near their own school. The lessons allow students to experience fieldwork, understand lab procedure, practice basic measurement and observation skills, and learn how to…

On February 1, 2015, the New England Patriots clinched a 28-24 point win against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. Going into the game, the Patriots were shrouded in controversy regarding possible deflated footballs in their American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts, most notably known as…

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".

This exercise introduces students to the observation that warming is unequal at the level of regions and countries, helps them analyze why this is so, and encourages reflection on actions by specific countries. In addition, students will uncover the relative roles of methane and carbon dioxide in local warming, the role of greenhouse gas emissions…

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 an interdisciplinary unit in which students explore biological "ice nucleation"--by particles that cause water to freeze at temperatures above -38°C--through the lens of the microbial ice nucleator "Pseudomonas syringae." Such This activity, which aligns with the "Next Generation Science…