Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Are the World's Weather and Climate Changing?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
What's going on with our weather? Learn about it in this lesson plan that examines the climate and weather patterns in the world today. It has a weather quiz and guidelines that help the students understand weather changes occurring...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Mn Step: Sinking Water: Glaciers, Ocean Currents and Weather Patterns

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
A lesson where students learn how warm water is less dense than cold water, and what this means for global climate change as ice from the polar regions melts. Students will do experiments in buoyancy and water density when hot or cold,...
Unit Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Climate and Weather

For Students 6th - 8th
Eight hands-on lessons module in which students explore climate and weather. Inquiry-based investigations include observing weather, weather reporting, weather maps, weather satellites, causes of weather, and climate change.
Website
Other

Niwa: El Nino and La Nina

For Students 9th - 10th
A webpage discussing the global climate systems of El Nino and La Nina. Learn that these weather patterns are "ocean warming" events that are global climate fluctuations that cause major changes in the Pacific atmospheric and ocean...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Recycling and Conservation Global Warming

For Teachers 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about recycling and conservation and their connection to global warming.. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Unit Plan
Other

Digital Library for Earth System Education: Teaching Box: Essentials of Weather

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A suite of lessons focusing on the basic elements of climate and weather. Inquiry-based exploration of extreme weather events and the factors of weather including clouds, wind, air pressure, temperature, and the water cycle.
Handout
NASA

Nasa Space Place: What Is La Nina?

For Students 3rd - 8th
A concise explanation of La Nina. Discusses global weather patterns and the difference between El Nino and La Nina.
Article
University of Wisconsin

The Why Files: Hot Water Battle

For Students 9th - 10th
Have you noticed your winter weather changing each year? Both global warming and El Nino are most likely the cause. Read here about these two major ingredients changing the world around us.
Website
NASA

Nasa Earth Observatory: El Nino's Extended Family Introduction

For Students 9th - 10th
This article discusses cycle of global weather patterns and its relation to El Nino. Learn how global weather patterns are being tracked by satellites and how scientists are predicting weather patterns up to a year in advance.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Distorted Disturbances

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students pass around and distort messages written on index cards to learn how we use signals from GPS occultations to study the atmosphere. The cards represent information sent from GPS satellites being distorted as they pass through...
Graphic
Other

The Weather Underground: Weather in France

For Students 9th - 10th
The Weather Underground lets you click on the name of a town or city in France and find the current weather conditions (temp, humidity, dew point, wind etc.) and a week's forecast. Includes moon phase, sunrise and sunset times.
Website
National Snow and Ice Data Center

National Snow and Ice Data Center: State of the Cryosphere

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides thorough information about the status of snow and ice as indicators of climate change. This site has links to introductory information about the cryosphere, as well as info on specific area weather patterns.
Unit Plan
Center for Educational Technologies

Exploring the Environment El Nino: The Child Returns

For Students 9th - 10th
Use remote sensing data and background information to look at regional and global consequences of El Nino. Try working with the 'situation' to test your understanding.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Mind Bending Gps Occultations

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students learn about the remote sensing radio occultation technique and how engineers use it with GPS satellites to monitor and study the Earth's atmospheric activity. Students may be familiar with some everyday uses of GPS, but not as...
Article
Society for Science and the Public

Science News for Students: Concerns About Earth's Fever

For Students 9th - 10th
Burning fossil fuels is causing the planet to heat up, causing weather patterns to change, sea levels to rise and diseases to spread. Scientists are concerned with the rising temps of Earth.
Website
Other

Institute of Global Environment and Society: Climate Outlooks

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information for ten day and two-week outlooks on temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture conditions throughout the world. Offers information on climate topics including El Nino and La Nina.
Lesson Plan
National Earth Science Teachers Association

Windows to the Universe: Feeling the Heat

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this lesson students learn about the urban heat island effect by investigating which areas of their schoolyard have higher temperatures. Then they analyze data about how the number of heat waves in an urban area has increased over...