Solar energy in the form of light is available to organisms on Earth in abundance. Natural systems and other organisms have structures that function in ways to manage the interaction with and use of this energy. In this storyline, students will explore how light energy interacts with materials and how light energy can be transformed into energy for heating and cooling. Students design a solar water heater and explore how products like this can reduce carbon emissions to mitigate climate change.

Urban forests provide many benefits to a community and can minimize the human impact on the environment. Students will explore the impacts an urban community has on the environment. Students will discover the role trees play in an urban community and how trees can affect the ecosystem, human wellbeing, and provide economic value. Students will explore Indigenous relationships with trees. During the course of this storyline, students will measure and monitor urban forest ecosystem benefits, perform a field investigation, and design a development to minimize negative environmental impacts

Coastal wetlands bring many benefits to ecosystems including their ability to sequester carbon and mitigate fluctuations in sea levels. Students will understand the ecosystem benefits of coastal wetlands with a focus on the potential of estuaries for climate related planning.

Learn about the challenging research work of three outstanding fellowship students at Scripps on topics as diverse as climate science, coastal Geology|Earth Science, and deep-sea diversity as they share their research discoveries and their visions for the future of their disciplines. (59 minutes)

Lesson plan to explore how snow crystals form, atmospheric conditions that influence crystal morphology. Makes connections crystals, snow density and water content

This lesson from Common Thread Farms is geared for elementary ages, grades 1-4. It introduces students to erosion and then challenges them to implement a design that will mitigate erosion on a model dirt mountain.

Spat, What's That? is a lesson on intertidal organism life cycles which explores how different life cycle stages are vulnerable to stressors like predation, ocean acidification, and habitat loss.

The University of California's White Mountain Research Station provides science unprecedented access to unique environments, environments where life exists at the edge of extremes. This award- winning documentary weaves a story of how this unique access is yielding an understanding of change, from physiology to climate, from the oldest known living organism, to a short-lived beetle, and what this understanding means for all. (59 minutes)

These five modules introduce secondary science teachers to a powerful resource, from the Washington State Department of Health, entitled the “Washington Tracking Network” (WTN).  This is a tool for mapping (a) the distribution of numerous factors that influence public health, and (b) the inequitable distribution of health outcomes. This wonderful system naturally invites us to inquire about the intersections of biological, societal, and environmental issues. The overarching goal of these five  modules is to support teachers to design student activities that (1) inspire and connect students to real world health & environmental data, and each other, (2) promote clean air, land, and water, (3) promote the use of the Washington Tracking Network data mapping system, (4) support equitable, 3-dimensional learning, including the use of community wisdom to solve public health issues, and (5) use science for student action and leadership in response to current and historical misuses of science. These modules were created in collaboration with epidemiologists and communications professionals from the Washington Department of Health.

Purpose of UnitThe purpose of this Climate Science NTC Project GLAD® unit is a call to action, providing equity of access for all students. Through a model of instruction that promotes language development within core content, the Voices of Hope unit teaches students the science behind climate change and equips them with the tools necessary toward making a positive impact on our planet. This unit was written for 4th - 7th grade.

Hands-on outdoor lesson plan for students to understand the meaning and components of climate change, and engineer and model how greenhouse gasses cause heat trapping.

Students will be exploring the idea of ecosystems and wildfires. They will become familiar with what an ecosystem is and how to keep them healthy. Students will also see the positive and negative effects of wildfires on ecosystems. Also how wildfires influence the local government and federal government when it comes to land management.