In this video, adapted from KUAC-TV and the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, viewers learn how one-celled organisms in permafrost may be contributing to greenhouse gas levels and global warming.

To prepare for this exercise, the students have been lectured on soil formation and on a field trip, described a simple soil within loess. Here, the students use data collected from a chronosequence to compare the relative age and amount of soil formation on a series of fluvial terraces. The students are to insert the data into a graphic program and generate specific graphs of soil properties. The students then interpret the amount of soil formation compared to the relative age of the fluvial terraces. Finally, the students assess how the 5 soil forming factors (climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time) influenced soil formation in this setting.
Designed for a geomorphology course

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In this interactive, students learn all about soil and how to conserve it. Students are walked through a series of questions and scenarios to help them learn about the connection to the carbon cycle and climate change.

Students will have been through lectures on weathering & erosion, sediments and soils. Students go to the field and pull soil cores across a hill. They describe & measure the horizons, determine soil texture and structure. Using the data, they create a fence diagram and verbally describe what they see. Then they relate the changes in the soil profile downhill to climate, weathering, and the local geology. Students get to learn how to express information in multiple ways & make connections between "different" lecture topics, creating a continuity in the class.

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Field characterization of soil profiles in coniferous and deciduous settings; sample collection of soils from different horizons; laboratory analysis of soil moisture, soil organic carbon (by loss on ignition), and grain size distribution (by sieving)

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this video from DragonflyTV, follow the investigation of Isaac and Anjali as they record, measure, and analyze data about how the Sun's position in the sky affects a solar-powered car's speed.

In this activity, students will use hot and cold water to see how fluids at different temperatures move around in convection currents.

This article describes the energy that radiates from the sun, the concept of albedo, Earth's radiation budget, and the effect of decreasing albedo on Earth's climate.

This video segment from 'What's Up in the Environment,' shares how an entire home can be constructed using green energy sources (solar and geothermal energy). Video is narrated by young boy whose father is the chief engineer on the project.

This short video, the sixth in the National Academies Climate Change, Lines of Evidence series, explores the hypothesis that changes in solar energy output may be responsible for observed global surface temperature rise. Several lines of evidence, such as direct satellite observations, are reviewed.

Are you interested in Solar Energy? Solar Resource Assessment and Economics explores the methods, economic criteria, and meteorological background for assessing the solar resource with respect to project development of solar energy conversion systems for stakeholders in a given locale. It provides students with an in-depth exploration of the physical qualities of the solar resource, estimation of the fractional contributions of irradiance to total demand, and economic assessment of the solar resource. The course utilizes real data sets and resources to provide students context for the drivers, frameworks, and requirements of solar energy evaluation.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members assemble a solar still and make fresh water from saltwater, demonstrating two steps of the water cycle, evaporation and condensation.

This activity explores solar energy and the difference between passive and active solar design. Students will design and build a solar structure in order to test how radiation and conduction distribute heat.

Student teams design and build solar water heating devices that mimic those used in residences to capture energy in the form of solar radiation and convert it to thermal energy. In this activity, students gain a better understanding of the three different types of heat transfer, each of which plays a role in the solar water heater design. Once the model devices are constructed, students perform efficiency calculations and compare designs.

The Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines (SOLS) project from Pacific Education Institute is designed to strengthen teachers' equitable climate science instruction through locally relevant storylines. This visual menu links to all the available 3-5 lessons. See the individual lessons for standards alignment.

The Solutions Oriented Learning Storylines (SOLS) project from Pacific Education Institute is designed to strengthen teachers' equitable climate science instruction through locally relevant storylines. This visual menu links to all the available K-2 lessons. See the individual lessons for standards alignment.

12.000 Solving Complex Problems is designed to provide students the opportunity to work as part of a team to propose solutions to a complex problem that requires an interdisciplinary approach. For the students of the class of 2013, 12.000 will revolve around the issues associated with what we can and must do about the steadily increasing amounts CO{{< sub "2â€ >}} in Earth’s atmosphere. 12.000 is a core course for the MIT Terrascope freshman learning community. Each year’s class explores a different problem in detail through the study of complementary case histories and the development of creative solution strategies. It includes training in Web site development, effective written and oral communication, and team building. Initially developed with major financial support from the d’Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in Education, 12.000 is designed to enhance the freshman experience by helping students develop contexts for other subjects in the sciences and humanities, and by helping them to establish learning communities that include upperclassmen, faculty, MIT alumni, and professionals in science and engineering fields.

Students use information from Project Drawdown to learn about the sectors where climate solutions are being implemented to help slow down climate warming. Students construct a plan for using specific solutions to reduce and remove the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and make a claim describing how their plan could work to keep global temperature change below 1.5 ÂC.

In this lesson, students listen to and analyze the song “Broken” by Xiuhtezcatl, then create their own art project to share their feelings about the future of the planet.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students listen to the song “Broken,” do a close reading of the lyrics, and reflect on the meaning of the song.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch a video and read a short autobiographical statement to learn more about the artist and activist, Xiuhtezcatl.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create their own art project to share their emotions about the future of the planet.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students listen to and analyze the song “Broken” by Xiuhtezcatl, then create their own art project to share their feelings about the future of the planet.

SCIENTIST NOTES: Music is critical to spreading climate education. It is one of the fastest ways to communicate the impact of climate change to a diverse audience. This lesson is a song study that allows students to improve their ability to make songs that will convey vital climate information to different people (to protect the environment against climate change impacts). The videos, song study guide, and images were fact-checked and this lesson has passed our science credibility process.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson integrates music and climate justice.
-Students create their own art projects to inspire change.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-You can learn to pronounce Xiuhtezcatl’s name correctly by watching this video.
-Students should already have some background knowledge of climate change and its effects, including the disproportionate impacts of climate change on Indigenous communities.
-Students should have experience brainstorming and creating art projects. This lesson offers students an opportunity to express themselves through an art project, but due to the wide range of possible options, it does not provide specific scaffolding on how to complete the projects.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Art projects can be completed individually, in groups, or as a whole class project.
-Teachers can identify additional words from the lyrics to define ahead of time, depending on students' reading levels.
-Teachers can add or eliminate annotation techniques in the Inquire section. Alternatively, students can pick their own techniques that work for them.