This activity focuses on reconstructing the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) as an example of a relatively abrupt global warming period. Students access Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) sediment core data with Virtual Ocean software in order to display relevant marine sediments and their biostratigraphy.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson focuses on how climate change impacts agriculture. Students focus on how heat extremes and changes in precipitation will affect crop yields.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson details ways that climate change can affect farmers — both those who grow plants and those who take care of cattle. The provided video links to more information from Rutgers University. This lesson also has students think about how changes in temperature and precipitation affect crops and leads them in designing an experiment to test their ideas. This resource is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-Students are actively engaged in how differences in temperature and precipitation may affect crops grown in New Jersey.
-Students practice the skill of designing a scientific investigation.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This lesson requires one block of 50 minutes for setting up the experiments and writing hypotheses. Students will need to observe their plants growing every few days. The students should have a final 50-minute block to write up the results of their experiment.
-Teachers should have the supplies to grow the crops in the classroom, including:
-Seeds
-Pots
-Soil
-Access to a water source
-Access to a window or heat lamps or ability to plant outside
-Teachers should have ways to control water. Students can individually water their own plants with either more or less water.
-The type of seed that could be used in the classroom is radishes.
-It is easy to grow, germinates relatively quickly and can be grown inside to control the weather conditions for the variables in the experiment.
-If the school has an outdoor garden, the radishes can be planted outside in the spring or fall.
-Peas are another recommended option.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students may need help with designing the experiment. The teacher can assign specific hypotheses to students in order to help facilitate the investigation.
-If materials are difficult to acquire, a non-lab resource could be Food and Farming.

Some bird species appear to respond to extreme weather changes in their native habitat by moving to more hospitable environments. This article discusses the role of NASA satellites, along with field and citizen scientists, in studying that movement. The article also includes an activity on constructing a bird feeder. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

These animated stories follow the adventures of a polar bear and a fish. In the two episodes here, one just over four minutes, the other just over five, the duo come face to face with worldwide environmental changes. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

The brief introduction to El Niño presented in this article also offers insights into its role during the quiet 2009 hurricane season. This article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This series of 7 captioned images depict sources, causes and results of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This series of 12 captioned images depict some of the issues facing Earth’s fresh water supply, such as pollution, drought, and glacial retreat. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This series of 16 captioned images depict representative plant and animal species threatened by climate change. In contrast, images of healthy plants are also shown to emphasize their role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This series of 18 captioned images depict several weather and climate-related events such as flooding, drought, glacial retreat and wind erosion. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This question is addressed through a series of questions and answers, each providing related introductory information such as how climate change is studied, the history of Earth’s climate, and the effects of climate change on Earth’s geology and biology. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

The effects of climate change on marmots in Colorado and sheep in Scotland are presented and compared. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This article provides a brief introduction to solar energy, explains its benefits, and culminates in a description of the work being done by a group of volunteers, (the "Sun power people") who help install solar panels on homes in California. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the focus of this article; the units of measurement (ppm) are explained and the importance of monitoring that number as one of Earth's vital signs is also discussed. This article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

One of Earth's vital signs, the extent of sea ice cover in the Arctic, is examined. An image and accompanying text describe the extent and consequences of the reduction in that sea ice. This article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

The consequences of both sea ice melting and increases in ocean water temperature are presented in this examination of sea level- another of Earth's vital signs. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This short article begins with a definition of groundwater and then focuses on problems related to groundwater in northern India. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

Use the imbedded sliding scale to observe changes in sea ice distribution, carbon emission levels and average global temperatures over time, as well as the effects of variations in sea level rise along coastal regions. This interactive is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

A landscaper explains, through an interview format, how it is possible to design and maintain yards and gardens that require very little water. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This article examines the ocean's role in heat absorption and carbon dioxide absorption. The consequences of changes in those, as well as in ocean water salinity, are discussed. The article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

Through a series of questions and answers, readers are introduced to the basic fundamentals of the carbon cycle and the importance of carbon as a greenhouse gas. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.