El Niño: Connections to Global Warming
Provided by: Project Look Sharp|Published on: April 27, 2021|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 6, 7, 8
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Geography
Authors: Project Look Sharp, Sox Sperry
Location: Earth
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this activity, students will examine an article and videos that explain how warmer ocean temperatures that occur during an El Niño year cause extreme weather.
- Students will decode the media messages from the NOAA, Voice of America, and CBS News.
- This resource includes a student worksheet, a lesson plan, and a student handout.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The lesson plan provides discussion questions for a variety of academic subjects.
- Students will learn how to evaluate information sources for reliability.
- This lesson is designed to help students learn how media messages can affect the way that people understand a topic.
Additional Prerequisites
- Teachers must create a free account to access materials.
- Teachers should research the sources ahead of time to understand the viewpoints and biases.
- The lesson plan refers to a "constructivist media decoding process;" these materials will help teachers to understand the goals and design of the lesson.
Differentiation
- Students can respond to questions individually or in small groups before discussing their answers as a class.
- The reading for this activity is a bit dense, so a structured reading process may help some students.
- Other resources on this topic include this lesson on short-term variability in climate, this Vox video on the impacts of melting sea ice on the Arctic, and this digital book on climate change and extreme weather.
The resource explains the processes of El Niño and ENSO and their mode of occurrence, a very unique feature causing rapid, unusual warming and stress to the Central Equatorial Pacific, Pacific Coasts of North and South America, and the Gulf of Mexico. The frequency and intensity of its occurrence are a result of our changing climate. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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