Climate systems involve sunlight, ocean, atmosphere, ice, land forms, and many other factors. Scholars explore each of these variables related to the Pacific Northwest rain forest. They use an online interactive to investigate the polar...

Climate affects populations in different ways. Scholars research extinct organisms and mass extinctions in part three of the 10-installment Discover Your Changing World series. They create graphic organizers, then fill in the...

"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...

Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson plan focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability...

"If global warming is real, why is it so cold?" Distinguishing the difference between weather and climate is important when it comes to understanding our planet. In these activities, young scientists look at the climate patterns in a...

Students discuss global warming. In this global warming lesson, students read an article about global warming and list five things they learned. Students work in small groups to compare what they wrote. Students illustrate one of the...

Young scholars examine natural climate fluctuations of the Earth and compare climate change in last 100 years to earlier climate changes. From this data students will begin to define current issues related to global warming.

Students compare weather data and draw conclusions. In this climate change lesson plan, students determine whether data collected over a period of ninety years shows a warming trend. 

Middle schoolers explore the concept of global climate. In this global climate lesson, students research and investigate global warming and its effects on the world over the course of 9 lessons. Middle schoolers create a proposal that...

Students examine primary source materials on the Dominican Republic in an exploration of how environment influences lifestyles. They compare and contrast life in the Dominican Republic with life in the United States.

Learners explore the concept of climate. They use temperature and precipitation data from their area and other regions to construct climate graphs. These graphs are used to help identify factors that influence climate.

Looking for a hot date? Pick any day in August, statistically the hottest month in the United States. The 15th lesson in the series of 21 instructs pupils to investigate the August 2007 heat wave through NASA data, daily temperature...

"Creativity is just connecting things." - Steve Jobs. After weeks of researching climate change, the ninth lesson in a series of 21 combines the data and analysis to address essential questions. It covers natural phenomenon, human...

Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...

Currently, only 2.1% of global warming is felt on continents, while over 93% is felt in the oceans. The fourth lesson in the series of 21 on global warming is composed of three activities that build off one another. In the first...

You don't have to be a scientist or even out of high school to contribute to scientific research. In the 12th lesson in the series of 21, scholars use this opportunity to add to the growing body of scientific knowledge and consider the...

Examine how climate and landforms affect plants and animals that live in particular areas. Discover that these same factors affect peoples' homes, jobs, and recreational activities. Pupils research ecosystems and biomes, and then write...

Students describe and compare the layers of the atmosphere. They explain how to measure the temperature of the atmosphere and discover what causes the atmosphere to heat up in some places more than in others.

Students examine the Industrial Revolution and write an essay about the problems it brought to cities. They also examine the environmental impact of the Industrial Revolution. They take a quiz to test for comprehension.

Eighth graders compare and contrast weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders research weather data site and analyze historical data. They present their findings in class and explain identifiable trends.

Mini-meteorologists visit the National Climate Data Center online to gather past weather information for the area that they live in. They consider how the weather patterns may have influenced the architecture of the area. Finally, they...

Learners create a standing cube with four panels that display information on the North and South's economy, geography and climate, society, and means of transportation before the Civil War. Through discussion and reading...

Students are introduced to the importance and usefulness of climographs. In groups, they create a climograph of two cities on about the same latitude. They compare and contrast the locations and climates of the two cities and write a...

Students explore climate regions. In this climate instructional activity, students examine the climate regions of Alaska as well as the state of Hawaii. Students research selected Internet sources to gather information regarding the...