How is Our Climate Changing?
Lesson Plans
Grades6, 7, 8Chemistry, Earth and Space Sciences
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 →
Provided by Great Lakes Now
What it is
- This lesson includes multiple activities to explore how climate change is impacting the Great Lakes region.
- Students will watch a video about the impact of climate change on ice fishing in Michigan, read an article about climate change impacts in the Great Lakes region, conduct experiments to model the impacts of increased carbon dioxide on temperature and ocean acidity, read about ocean acidification, and create climate change infographics.
Teaching tips
Positives
- When connecting climate change to local recreation activities, students will see climate change as an immediate and relevant problem.
- The many hands-on activities will engage learners in the content.
Prerequisites
- The link for "The Catch" video is broken but can be accessed by clicking here.
- Teachers should see the information on the Introduction page to see a list of topics students should be familiar with.
- Students should have a basic understanding of climate change to be able to contribute to the Lesson Launch.
Differentiation & Implementation
- When watching the animation from NASA, students may need to see the video several times or have the playback speed slowed down.
- Many students may have experience with ice fishing. To connect to their funds of knowledge, teachers can ask students to share their ice fishing stories or pictures.
- Teachers may need to model or even incorporate a mini-lesson if students are unfamiliar with collegiate-level discussions or supporting claims with evidence and reasoning.
- There are videos interspersed in the the article in Activity 2. Teachers may want to give explicit instruction to focus on just the article text to save class time.
From the scientist review
This resource introduces students to climate change, with a local focus on how Great Lakes ice is impacted. The basics of climate change are presented clearly, addressing common misconceptions, and the excellent NASA Climate Spiral animation is included. Ocean acidification is also presented in a rigorous but interactive way. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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