LCC Astronomy OER

This collection includes resources for teaching college-level introductory astronomy courses. The resources include interactive lecture slides, class activities, and projects. Topics include solar system astronomy, stellar astronomy, and galaxies and cosmology. Sample schedules are included for a sequence of three 10-week courses.This collection was created by Andrea Goering (goeringa@lanecc.edu) and Richard Wagner (wagnerr@lanecc.edu), instructors of physics and astronomy at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Development of these resources was funded through LCC's OER Initiative (https://inside.lanecc.edu/oer).

Material Type: Full Course

Authors: Andrea Goering, Richard Wagner

NCESD Integrated Conceptual Science Program Course 1 Integrated Physics and Chemistry

The Integrated Conceptual Science Program Course 1 Integrated Physics and Chemistry is a three dimensional course based on the Conceptual Progression Model of the Next Generation Science Standards. It is designed to be used as part of a three course program that addresses all high school science performance expectations. Course 1 is designed for ninth grade students. This resource includes the teacher materials, supporting documents, and short videos to support teachers in using the materials. The Courses were designed using the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) framework. It is strongly encouraged that before using these materials that you be familiar with AST. We suggest that you watch the AST Overview short video found here: https://datapuzzles.org/ambitious-science-teaching and explore this Google Slide deck that contains many resources designed to further your understanding of AST: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WOUVmlm636_7i2l0GYa9JkX1TCK3NMdySfpxKN7IM7A/edit?usp=sharing

Material Type: Full Course

Authors: Carissa Haug, Lisa Monahan, Mechelle LaLanne, NCESD contributors

Grade 4 - Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects: Sage Grouse and Sagebrush, Threatened Partners

Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects is a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Integration can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Module, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Georgia Boatman, Barbara Soots, Ellen Ebert, Kimberley Astle, Washington OSPI OER Project

Interdisciplinary Models for Climate Science Integration

In their continued support of climate science education, the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) created these sample bundles of Washington State Learning Standards from multiple content areas that teachers could use to center their classroom instruction around climate change and climate science. 

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Lori Henrickson, Ellen Ebert, Kimberley Astle, Johanna Brown, Washington OSPI OER Project

Grade 1 - Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects: Plants and Their Parts

Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects is a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary integration  can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Georgia Boatman, Barbara Soots, Ellen Ebert, Kimberley Astle, Washington OSPI OER Project

Climate Learning Resources

Global climate change is rapidly impacting all life on earth. But impacts of climate change are complex, uneven, and worsening, with people from poverty-impacted and BIPOC communities often experiencing impacts most sharply. We must be prepared to understand and respond to climate science. Education is a vital context for building capacity for just, community-driven adaptation and resilience efforts as well as for promoting the enactment of equitable mitigation efforts around the world. Justice-centered climate change learning is complex, but urgent. To support educators to build capacity for this work, we are creating a suite of resources focused on different aspects of this work. Climate science learning has to happen across PK-12 classroom, in informal education and outdoor contexts, and in community-based learning settings.

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Jamie Rumage, STEM Teaching Tools

Climate Project

Grounded in the belief that students need to explore climate change for themselves, the high school-level Climate Project course from the OER Project equips students with the knowledge and skills to take action. The course aims to understand the climate crisis by examining facts, impacts, and solutions, fostering civic action, education, and career readiness, and promoting constructive discussion. Through an inquiry-based approach, students interrogate diverse sources, build data and digital literacy skills, and engage with timely materials. Flexible in design, the course can be taught as a comprehensive semester program or through standalone lessons, culminating in projects ranging from climate-focused careers to community civic action.

Material Type: Full Course, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Module, Unit of Study

Author: OER Project

Climate Science Learning

ClimeTime is a state-led network for climate science learning that helps teachers and their students understand climate science issues affecting Washington communities. OSPI manages the network and the grant funding flows through all nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) in Washington ($3 million) and seven community-based organizations (CBOs) ($1 million) which are launching programs for science teacher training linking Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science. In addition to teacher professional development, the project supports the 16 grantees to develop instructional materials, design related assessment tasks and evaluation strategies, and facilitate student events.

Material Type: Case Study

Author: ClimeTime: Climate Science Learning

PEI SOLS Kindergarten Fire: Humans and Wildfires

Wildfires are occurring at an increasing rate in Washington state. Students often have questions regarding forest habitats, safety and the prevention of wildfires. In this storyline students will learn about native ways of knowing through oral storytelling, trees as part of habitats local to them, and wildfire prevention. Students will participate in integrated science and literacy lessons to build their understanding of how wildfires are connected to weather and to communicate solutions to prevent  human initiated wildfires. 

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

PEI SOLS: 5th grade Forests: Ecosystem Benefits

El objetivo del caso de quinto grado, Bosques: Beneficios del ecosistema forestal, es aprovechar el conocimiento previo de los estudiantes sobre las necesidades de las plantas / animales, los ecosistemas y la protección de los recursos de la Tierra. En este caso, los estudiantes desarrollan una comprensión de los ecosistemas forestales, los beneficios de los árboles, incluyendo la captura de carbono, y lo que los árboles necesitan para crecer/ agregar masa. 

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

Oregon Climate Education Hub

A statewide resource for Oregon educators working toward integration and infusion of PK-12 climate change education across all core subject areas.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson

Authors: Jamie Rumage, Subject to Climate

​Where Does Our Clean Water Come from and Where Does it Go After We Make it Dirty?​ — Next Generation Science Storylines

In this fifth-grade science and engineering unit on earth systems and on the structure and properties of matter, students investigate where the dirty water that drains out of their homes and schools goes and where the clean water they use comes from. Their investigations lead them to discover connections between the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. Their discoveries spark a series of design problems to solve in order to protect freshwater reservoirs and minimize human impacts on the environment, including ways to mitigate flooding and erosion, naturally filter water and prevent contamination of water reservoirs, and conserve water usage in drought-prone areas of the world.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson

Authors: Jamie Rumage, NextGenStorylines

"Voices of Hope: Climate Science"

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.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Full Course, Lesson Plan, Reading

Author: Kate Lindholm

PEI SOLS MS Forests: Carbon Sequestration

Students explore the phenomena of how a tree gets its mass. They are encouraged to think back to what they know about photosynthesis and explain what they know and what they wonder about the phenomena of a seed transforming into a large tree and having mass. Specifically, carbon is taken in from the atmosphere in the form of CO2 and transformed into glucose to provide energy and ultimately building material (cellulose). In this storyline, carbon sequestration refers to the removal of carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. Carbon storage refers to the amount of carbon bound up in woody material above and below ground.  Carbon sequestration occurs in trees, other plants, the ocean, and soil. Not all plants sequester the same amount of carbon, for example, there’s a difference in the amount of carbon sequestered between young and old trees, and between different species of trees. This has implications for working forests and old growth forests. Using information from this storyline, students will draw conclusions about the value of managing forests to benefit human needs and natural needs.  

Material Type: Unit of Study

Authors: Hattie Osborne, Pacific Education Institute

America's Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change

This video production is a part of a four-panel report from the National Academies' America's Climate Choices project. The video maps out the realm of our accumulated knowledge regarding climate change and charts a path forward, urging that research on climate change enter a new era focused on the needs of decision makers.

Author: National Academies

The Arctic: Our First Sign of Climate Change

This video provides an overview of changes happening in the Arctic.

Authors: NOAA Oceantoday, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

At the Core of Climate Change

This video shows where and how ice cores are extracted from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The cores are cut, packaged, flown to the ice core storage facility in Denver, further sliced into samples, and shipped to labs all over the world where scientists use them to study indicators of climate change from the past.

Authors: KQED, Teachers' Domain

Beetle Outbreaks and Climate Change

This interactive shows the extent of the killing of lodgepole pine trees in western Canada. The spread of pine beetle throughout British Columbia has devastated the lodgepole pine forests there. This animation shows the spread of the beetle and the increasing numbers of trees affected from 1999-2008 and predicts the spread up until 2015.

Author: American Museum of Natural History