| Lesson | Topic | Statement(s) and Objective(s) | Activities |
| 1 | Greenhouse Effect | 4.4.U4: The warmed Earth emits longer wavelength radiation (heat)
4.4.U5: Longer wave radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gasses that retain the heat in the atmosphere
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| 2 | Greenhouse Gasses | 4.3.NOS: Making accurate, quantitative measurements-it is important to obtain reliable data on the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere
4.4.U1: Carbon dioxide and water vapor are the most significant greenhouse gasses
4.4.U2: Other gasses including methane and nitrogen oxides have less impact
4.4.U3: The impact of a gas depends on its ability to absorb long wave radiation as well as on its concentration in the atmosphere
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How and why greenhouse gasses are measured |
| 3 | Enhanced Greenhouse Effect and Relationship to Industrialization | 4.4.U7: There is a correlation between rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide since the start of the industrial revolution 200 years ago and average global temperatures
4.4.U8: Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide are largely due to increases in the combustion of fossilized organic matter.
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Human Impact on Enhanced Greenhouse Effect The carbon cycle is key to understanding climate change |
| 4 | Climate Change | 4.4.U6: Global temperatures and climate patterns are influenced by concentrations of greenhouse gasses
4.4.A1: Correlations between global temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations on Earth
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CO2 and temp correlations slides Graphing CO2 and Temp over time Modeling CO2 and Temp with simulation Changes in climate slides (JS) A&B: this is your life on climate change (article: This Is Your Life on Climate Change) A&B: How unique are today's temperatures? A&B: The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof A&B: The history of climate change offers clues to Earth's future A&B: What to do when climate change feels unstoppable A&B: How to handle climate anxiety ScitC: Just a few degrees can change an ecosystem Visualizations: 6 graphics that explain climate change 132 Years of Global Warming Visualized in 26 Dramatically Watch the Arctic's sea ice slowly disappear | Science | AAAS |
| 5 | Assessing Claims | 4.4.A2: Evaluating claims that human activities are not causing climate change
4.4.NOS: Assessing claims- Evaluating claims that human activities are not causing climate change
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Assessing claims submission form Space, climate change and theory Why science is hard to believe How to Use Critical Thinking to Spot False Climate Claims 'Losing Earth' Explores How Oil Industry Played Politics With The Planet's Fate Scientists warned about climate change in 1965. Nothing was done. |
| 6 | Acidification | 4.4.A3: Threats to coral reefs from increasing concentrations of dissolved carbon dioxide
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Scitable: ocean acidification A&B: Ocean Blues (questions) A&B: the great coral grief (questions) A&B: Lost at Sea (questions) A&B: Corals Are Dissolving Away - Scientific American A&B: A coral reef love story | TED Talk |
| 7 | Other Effects | Not currently taught | Consequence chains (create whole class versions on large sheets of butcher paper- each student assigned a different article to read and add information to the map) Climate Change Could Spell Final 'Chuckle' For Alpine Frog Keeping up with climate change: Species on the move Effect of climate on mosquitos A&B: PolarConnect video |
| 8 | Solutions | Not currently taught | Teaching problem solving solutions |
| 9 | Wrap Up and Review |