This activity features video segments from a 2007 PBS program on solar energy. Students follow a seven-step invention process to design, build, and test a solar cooker that will pasteurize water. In addition, they are asked to describe how transmission, absorption, and reflection are used in a solar cooker to heat water and to evaluate what variables contribute to a successful cooker.

In Save the Penguins, the broad context is global climate change. Students learn that the energy we use to heat and cool our houses comes from power plants, most of which use fossil fuels to convert chemical energy to electrical energy. The burning of fossil fuels has been linked to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which in turn has been linked to increases in global temperature. This change in temperature has widespread effects upon life on Earth. Penguins live in the southern hemisphere, primarily on the icy continent of Antarctica. As the Earth warms and ice melts, penguins lose habitat. Therefore, students see that better-designed houses that use less energy for heating and cooling can have an effect on penguins. Energy efficient houses that
minimize unnecessary heat transfer will draw less electricity from the fossil fuel burning power plants and not contribute as much to global climate change.

In Save the Penguins, the broad context is global climate change. Students learn that the energy we use to heat and cool our houses comes from power plants, most of which use fossil fuels to convert chemical energy to electrical energy. The burning of fossil fuels has been linked to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which in turn has been linked to increases in global temperature. This change in temperature has widespread effects upon life on Earth. Penguins live in the southern hemisphere, primarily on the icy continent of Antarctica. As the Earth warms and ice melts, penguins lose habitat. Therefore, students see that better-designed houses that use less energy for heating and cooling can have an effect on penguins. Energy efficient houses that
minimize unnecessary heat transfer will draw less electricity from the fossil fuel burning power plants and not contribute as much to global climate change.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson introduces students to sea turtles and the human-caused dangers they face while encouraging them to create a way to help save these beautiful creatures.

SCIENTIST NOTES: There is an intrinsic benefit in conserving sea turtles, and this lesson lets students to understand the impact of sea turtles in our ocean. It would equip them to design a real-life project to save sea turtles from extinction. All accompanying materials in this lesson are appropriate to provide better understanding on the subject. Above all, there is a high confidence in using this lesson in the classroom.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson allows for a collaborative hands-on learning environment for students as sea turtle conservation is introduced.
-This lesson features creative learning and engagement for all students.
-Students develop a strong connection to student-led activism through the book Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson.
-This lesson features a step by step guide to follow the engineering design process.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Teacher needs a copy of the book Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson.
-Students should have a basic knowledge of sea turtles and global problems like pollution and plastic in the oceans.
-Teacher can print out worksheets prior to the lesson if desired.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students can think-pair-share during the reading, making predictions or answering questions.
-Groups of students with mixed abilities can collaborate throughout this lesson.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson introduces students to sea turtles and the human-caused dangers they face while encouraging them to create a way to help save these beautiful creatures.

SCIENTIST NOTES: There is an intrinsic benefit in conserving sea turtles, and this lesson lets students to understand the impact of sea turtles in our ocean. It would equip them to design a real-life project to save sea turtles from extinction. All accompanying materials in this lesson are appropriate to provide better understanding on the subject. Above all, there is a high confidence in using this lesson in the classroom.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson allows for a collaborative hands-on learning environment for students as sea turtle conservation is introduced.
-This lesson features creative learning and engagement for all students.
-Students develop a strong connection to student-led activism through the book Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson.
-This lesson features a step by step guide to follow the engineering design process.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Teacher needs a copy of the book Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson.
-Students should have a basic knowledge of sea turtles and global problems like pollution and plastic in the oceans.
-Teacher can print out worksheets prior to the lesson if desired.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students can think-pair-share during the reading, making predictions or answering questions.
-Groups of students with mixed abilities can collaborate throughout this lesson.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students discuss three effective strategies for talking about climate change, then write and present a speech using the three strategies.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson encourages students to think about the words they use and how to effectively communicate their thoughts and opinions with others. The lesson walks students through the use of plain, obvious, and universal language that will create a vivid image in the listener’s mind. There is a discussion about the use of alternative words or phrases to convey a message that is more understandable and relatable. Finally, this lesson includes an example of how using personal experience will allow the audience to understand and comprehend material more readily. This lesson stimulates students' minds to think about how they speak and the words they use to relay information. This lesson is great for teaching the necessary skills of communication and is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in any English, science, or public speaking class.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students learn to manipulate language to achieve specific outcomes.
-This can be a standalone lesson or it can be paired with any science lesson as a final activity.
-This lesson can be a short writing assignment or developed into a full essay.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should have some basic understanding of climate change concepts and vocabulary.
-The Inspire section of this lesson is listed as 45 minutes in length. This may take longer depending on how you facilitate student speeches.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-This lesson can be adapted to focus more specifically on the writing process, editing process, or public speaking.
-Teachers can focus on speech delivery and presentation skills such as eye contact, body language, tone of voice, etc.
-This lesson can be adapted to Advanced Placement or honors level classes by incorporating specific literary and language elements in the writing.
-Teachers can mandate students include specific strategies in persuasive elements of writing.
-Students can vote to select the best speech in the class.
-Students can deliver their speeches to outside groups for extra credit.

This static visualization shows that the global carbon cycle is determined by the interactions of climate, the environment, and Earth's living systems at many levels, from molecular to global.

A computer simulator that allows students to adjust the air temperature and dew point to see what type of precipitation would fall to the ground.

This subject examines the role scientists have played as activists in social movements in the U.S. following World War II. Themes include scientific responsibility and social justice, the roles of gender, race, and power, the motivation of individual scientists, strategies for organizing, and scientists’ impact within social movements. Case studies include atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons and the nuclear freeze campaign, climate science and environmental justice, the civil rights movement, Vietnam War protests, the March 4 movement at MIT, concerns about genetic engineering, gender equality, intersectional feminism, and student activism at MIT.
Read a profile of the class “Scientists as Engaged Citizens” by the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

This class develops the abilities of students to communicate science effectively in a variety of real-world contexts. It covers strategies for dealing with complex areas like theoretical physics, genomics and neuroscience, and addresses challenges in communicating about topics such as climate change and evolution. Projects focus on speaking and writing, being an expert witness, preparing briefings for policy-makers, writing blogs, and giving live interviews for broadcast, as well as the creation of an interactive exhibit for display in the MIT Museum.

This class develops the abilities of students to communicate science effectively in a variety of real-world contexts. It covers strategies for dealing with complex areas like theoretical physics, genomics and neuroscience, and addresses challenges in communicating about topics such as climate change and evolution. Projects focus on speaking and writing, being an expert witness, preparing briefings for policy-makers, writing blogs, and giving live interviews for broadcast, as well as the creation of an interactive exhibit for display in the MIT Museum.

School librarian Marcia Mardis describes what the library can offer to teachers and students who want to produce a focused, engaging, and effective science fair. This article appears in the free online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which explores the seven essential principles of the climate sciences for K-grade 5 classrooms.

Science and education experts caution that climate-change topics can overwhelm and frighten young children. Science lessons chosen for this article focus on general environmental issues, such as the effects of litter, air pollution, and water pollution. The lessons also include actions and solutions to environmental issues. The free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle focuses on integrating age-appropriate science learning with literacy experiences.

This NASA video explores the relationship between climate and agriculture. The video discusses the variability of climate impacts in different regions, as well as the effects of population growth and higher demands for food in areas that already struggle to supply food for the people. The video highlights the need for accurate, continuous, and accessible data and computer models from NASA satellites to track and predict the challenges farmers face as they adjust to a changing climate.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students analyze ideas about science and how misinformation about climate change spreads in different forms of media.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson promotes students' critical thinking skills through the use of true/false questions followed by group discussion concerning the reliability of information, what type of people provide information, and how one’s knowledge can change. After a group activity, students discuss why they believe people are skeptical of climate change and how misunderstanding science and the role of the media perpetuate climate change denial. Students are then encouraged to investigate their own piece of media, assessing the validity of the piece in its relationship to climate change. The included videos and quotes are credible and well-sourced. This would be a great lesson for older students concerning not only climate change but how to determine the reliability of information.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson allows for lots of student choice and voice.
-This lesson can easily fit at any point of the year in any science or language course.
-This could be a standalone lesson or done as part of a research unit.
-Students love doing this project and find it very engaging!

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This lesson requires students to have a general understanding of climate science.
-Students need to use research skills in order to complete the project.
-Students need a device and the internet to access the resources and complete the project.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-The jigsaw resources are very different and can allow for students to be assigned to an appropriate resource for their level.
-Depending on the research skills of your students, more or less guidance and in-class time may be necessary for the project.
-Different modes of sharing the project are possible, including in-class presentations, screencasts, gallery walks, etc.

Students discuss and learn about the nature of scientific knowledge in the context of scientific and non-scientific debates about climate change. This 50-minute module can be taught in a small- to very large-size introductory religion, philosophy or ethics class.

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This video considers the current estimates of sea level rise as possibly too conservative and discusses more recent data on ice melt rates coming from Antarctica and Greenland, showing rates of melt at up to 5 times as rapid. Scientists discuss what levels and rates of sea level rise have occurred in the past, including the Pliocene, which demonstrated 1m rise every 20 years.

This video is the first of a three-video series from the Sea Change project. It features the field work of scientists from the US and Australia looking for evidence of sea level rise during the Pliocene era when Earth was (on average) about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius hotter than it is today.

This video is the second of a three-video series in the Sea Change project, which follows the work of Dr. Maureen Raymo, paleogeologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who travels with fellow researchers to Australia in search of evidence of sea level that was once higher than it is today.