Understanding Climate Modeling
Lesson Plans
Grades9, 10, 11, 12Earth 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 National Center for Science Education
What it is
- This 5-lesson unit introduces students to the concept of climate models, shows them how models work, discusses the types of data they use, and touches on misconceptions and misinformation surrounding climate models.
- Students will learn that models evolve as technology is developed, why scientists use temperature anomalies instead of average temperatures, the difference between natural and human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, how models use forecasting and hindcasting, and the overall importance of climate models.
- Students will use interactive models, compare models to video games, and write claim, evidence, and reasoning statements to demonstrate their learning.
- Teachers will need to scroll down to find this unit on the initial page.
Teaching tips
Positives
- Tools in the Teacher Tool Kit can be applied to a variety of lessons.
- Many students will love the reference to video games and other pop culture connections.
Prerequisites
- Students should be familiar with analyzing maps and graphs.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To pique students' interest, teachers can use a warm-up question asking students what their favorite video game is or what they think Madden and the weather channel have in common.
- As an assessment, teachers can ask students to define the word model in their own words and give examples of models.
- Teachers can ask students to bring an example of a model to the next class to make connections between the lessons and the world around the students.
From the scientist review
This lesson is a very thorough breakdown of climate models, how they are used, and their misconceptions. The fundamentals behind all of the information is accurate and well-cited. Since climate change is an ongoing issue, please note that currently July 2024 is now the hottest month on record, as opposed to July 2023 as Activity 1 mentions. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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