Taking the Pulse of our Changing Planet
A public lecture and professional development series at Liberty Science Center
Pulse Activity Guide
Global Warming... It is Later than we Think… but not too Late!
A decade ago, we debated it. Now, climate experts reporting for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say with more than 90% certainty that global warming is caused by human activities. Their recent reports detail this overwhelming scientific consensus and warn that larger and faster changes in climate may lie in our future.
Let’s take a look at how we might introduce the concepts behind carbon dioxide in the ocean and it's relationship to climate change in a K-12 classroom.
Guiding Questions
- Where does this information fit in our curriculum?
- What resources are available?
- How can we integrate this information seamlessly into our current curriculum?
Online Resources
The following activities are designed to follow the scope and sequence for Ocean Literacy Principle #3: The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate, as developed by the Ocean Literacy Network.
Scientific Resources
- Communicating and Learning About Global Climate Change - An event for teachers, students, and other communicators and learners. This archive of a 2007 AAAS event features a lot of great online presentations, articles, and lesson plans.
- Rutgers University Climate & Environmental Change Initiative
- EPA Climate Change Index
- Feeling the Heat - A United Nations site on global warming that includes a lot of information and good illustrations explaining the greenhouse effect and the carbon cycle. (suitable for high school students)
Classroom Activities
- Climate Change Backpacks
- GEMS Guide on Global Warming & the Greenhouse Effect (for grades 7-8)
- Climate Change Activity List - A collection of activities from UCAR
- Climate Discovery Teacher's Guide - Another activity from UCAR
- Arctic Change - A collection of activities that extend the themes of the exhibit Arctic: A Friend Acting Strangely at the Smithsonian Institution.
- IGLO - A collection of hands on Global Warming activities
- Global Warming Materials for Educators - A collection of activities and peer-reviewed information on global warming for educators from the Union of Concerned Scientists
- EPA's Climate Change Site for Kids
- NOW Episode on Global Warming - An activity based on Climate Change Debate and the Kyoto Protocol as reported by the PBS series NOW.
Other Resources
- The Story of Stuff
- How to Talk to A Climate Skeptic
- Climate Change - What you can do - Information for students and educators from the EPA
- Sustainability Resource List - A collection of resources from American Public Media's series on Sustainability
- An Inconvenient Truth
- An Introduction to Earth's Climate - An on-line course about climate change for educators provided by NCAR
- Global Change Master Directory - Contains a variety of climate change related data sets available for download and analysis
Articles
- Climate Feedback - The Climate Change blog from Nature
- DotEarth - New York Times science writer Andrew Revin examines efforts to balance human affairs with the planet’s limits
- Lessons About Climate Change Pose Many Challenges for Science Teachers (Education Week)
Miscellaneous
- What is Global Warming? - Information and nice graphics that explain the greenhouse effect and global warming
- Woods Hole Research Center - Simple explanation of global warming with cartoon graphics; however, the vocabulary is high school level. Good graphs under scientific evidence (next page).
- The Energy Hog - Game-like format with information on how to make better choices. Good for 5th-8th graders.
- Climate Hot Map - A collection of some of the local early warning signs of a changing climate
- Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center - An extensive list of answers to common questions about Carbon Dioxide
- Planet Green Game - Created by Starbucks Coffee, this game demonstrates various ways individuals and communities can reduce carbon emissions.
