Lesson Plans for Educators

EPA has compiled a suite of hands-on, interactive lesson plans to complement and make use of the material on this website. The plans, aimed primarily at middle school students, work systematically and individually to reinforce students’ knowledge of climate change, as well as enhance skills across multiple disciplines. The lessons are correlated to national science standards.

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Summary of Lesson Plans
Lesson Description Type of Activity Setting Time National Science
Learning Standards
Weather and Climate: What’s the Difference? (PDF)
(13 pp, 1MB)		 Students learn the differences between weather and climate. They collect local weather data for a defined period of time, and then compare these data with longer-term climate data for their community. Outside data collection and classroom computer activity; Internet access needed Formal, Informal Three class periods of 30 to 60 minutes, plus 10 minutes for data collection per day (for one or more weeks)
  • Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
  • Content Standard D: Earth and space science
Mapping Greenhouse Gas Emissions Where you Live (PDF)
(11 pp, 752K)		 Students use an EPA database of greenhouse gas emissions from large US sources to learn about the major greenhouse gases, what industries they come from, and where these emission sources are located. Classroom and computer activity; Internet access needed Formal, Informal 45 to 60 minutes
  • Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
  • Content Standard D: Earth and space science
  • Content Standard E: Science and technology
Carbon Through the Seasons (PDF)
(14 pp, 1MB)		 Students learn about the carbon cycle, how concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere vary as the seasons change, and how the overall amount of CO2 is increasing in the atmosphere and changing the carbon cycle. Classroom activity Formal 60 to 90 minutes
  • Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
  • Content Standard D: Earth and space science
  • Content Standard E: Science and technology
Getting to the Core: Climate Change Over Time (PDF)
(15 pp, 1MB)		 Students analyze the link between atmospheric temperatures and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations by looking at ice core data spanning hundreds of thousands of years. Classroom activity Formal 60 minutes
  • Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
  • Content Standard D: Earth and space science
  • Content Standard E: Science and technology
Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate (PDF)
(12 pp, 876K)		 Students analyze tree ring patterns to draw conclusions about precipitation patterns in the past and compare their own analysis with actual data. Classroom activity; Internet access needed Formal 60 minutes
  • Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
  • Content Standard C: Life science
  • Content Standard D: Earth and space science
Sea Level: On the Rise (PDF)
(6 pp, 457K)		 Students learn about the relationship between climate change and sea-level rise. Educator demonstration and classroom experiment Formal 60 to 75 minutes
  • Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
  • Content Standard B: Physical science
  • Content Standard D: Earth and space science
Corals and Chemistry (PDF)
(7 pp, 700K)		 Students learn how increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are changing the acidity (pH) of the ocean and affecting corals and other marine animals. Educator demonstration and classroom experiment Formal 45 to 60 minutes
  • Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
  • Content Standard B: Physical science
  • Content Standard C: Life science

For more educator resources, including lesson plans through the Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Networkexit EPA, visit the Additional Resources page.

Acknowledgments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would like to thank the following organizations and agencies who created the original activities from which some of these lesson plans were adapted:


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