What the Giant Panda and Earth’s Climate Share

Lesson Plans

Grades3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Science, Earth and Space Sciences

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by The Nature Conservancy

Open Resource

What it is

In this virtual field trip from Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy, students will "visit" the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China, learning about forests, the greenhouse effect, and carbon dioxide emissions.
The virtual field trip includes a teaching guide with discussion questions, diagrams of the carbon cycle, a log for the field trip, and other resources.

Teaching tips

Positives

Students will love seeing the mix of urban and wild areas in the virtual tour of China.
This virtual field trip covers many advanced topics, such as climate change and deforestation, while remaining accessible for young learners.

Prerequisites

Teachers can use this link to find the virtual field trip video. If teachers do not have access to YouTube, they can use this link and scroll down to China’s Great Forests.

Differentiation & Implementation

After watching the virtual field trip, students can create travel brochures highlighting some of the important places in China mentioned and displayed in the video. Students can practice their mapping skills by creating maps with icons to mark the locations of the places they highlighted.
After hearing about the endangered animals in China, students can select one to research its food web and other ecosystem services it may provide and predict what could happen if this species disappeared.
Using the suggestions at the end of the video, students can create a guide for others to help them protect forests. Students can also add a section to this guide explaining why forests are important to people and the planet.
Teachers can use this diagram of the carbon cycle for students to color and use as an anchor to remember what they learned during the virtual field trip. Students can also add some of the terms they may have learned, such as sequestration.

From the scientist review

In this lesson, and included video, students will go on a virtual field trip to two areas in China to learn about forests, the role they play in the carbon cycle, how important forest habitats are for animals and humans, and what we can do to protect these forests and the animals in them. The video and associated discussion questions help students understand all parts of the carbon cycle and how it relates to climate change and climate impacts. This includes discussion about the greenhouse effect, carbon sequestration, and steps humans can take to help combat climate change. Additional lessons and resources are included for more information. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Subjects: Science, Earth and Space Sciences
Other types: Videos, Activity - Classroom
Format: PDF, YouTube Video
Language: English
Location: Asia
Provider: The Nature Conservancy
Authors: Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy
Published: July 3, 2025
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · MS-LS2-5. + 19 more

Core

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

MS-LS2-5.Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
MS-ESS3-3.Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
MS-ESS3-4.Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.
3-LS2-C.When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or availability of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the transformed environment, and some die. (secondary to 3-LS4-4)
3-LS4-C.For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. (3-LS4-3)
4-ESS3-A.Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time, and others are not. (4-ESS3-1)
5-LS2-A.The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem. (5-LS2-1)
MS-LS1-C.1.Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use. (MS-LS1-6)
MS-LS2-C.2.Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health. (MS-LS2-5)
MS-ESS3-C.1.Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of other species. But changes to Earth’s environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things. (MS-ESS3-3)

Maine Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

SL.4.1Prepare for and participate in conversations across a range of topics, types, and forums, building on others' ideas and expressing their own.
SL.6-8.2Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Science and Engineering

3-LS4-3Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS4-4Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.
4-ESS3-2Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.
5-LS1-1Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.
5-LS2-1Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
MS-LS1-6Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

Social Studies

Geography1 (F1): Students understand the geography of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world, and geographic influences on life in the past, present, and future by using the geographic grid and a variety of types of maps, including digital sources, to locate and access relevant geographic information that reflects multiple perspectives.
Geography1 (D2): Students understand the geography of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world, and geographic influences on life in the past, present, and future by describing the impact of change on the physical and cultural environment.

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