Students observe demonstrations, and build and evaluate simple models to understand the greenhouse effect, the role of increased greenhouse gas concentration in global warming, and the implications of global warming theory for engineers, themselves and the Earth. In an associated literacy activity, students learn how a bill becomes law and research global warming legislation.

Looking for lichens is an activity that can be done almost anywhere. Students get to search for them in the playgrounds and schoolyards, and they can be used as an indicator of air quality.

Students observe and discuss a cup and pencil model of a cyclone to better understand the science behind how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution.

This lesson introduces students to the natural resources that help plants grow. Students will work in small groups to explore natural resource items and discuss their importance to humans. The teacher then shares with students a booklet about the natural environment, which provides information via a series of concept maps and allows recording of students' experiences and thoughts through both writing and drawing. Students will also read, discuss, and illustrate booklets about seeds and plants.

In this activity students will be conducting investigations that will help them develop and refine their ideas about air. To start the lesson students will be asked to write an explanation of what air is. At various points in the lesson they will be asked to revisit their explanations and refine them based on the phenomena they have experienced in the lesson.

In this activity, students use chocolate candies to create pie graphs that show their understanding of the composition of air. They discuss why knowing this information is important to engineers and how engineers use this information to improve technology to better care for our planet.

This short film, in English and Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles, chronicles FLOAT, a project that puts both the playful and practical heritage of kites to work convincing Beijing residents that monitoring the city's air quality can be as simple as child's play.

Looking at transportation and the environment, students learn that some human-made creations, such as vehicles, can harm the environment. They also learn about alternative fuels and vehicles designed by engineers to minimize pollution. The associated hands-on activity gives students a chance to design their own eco-friendly vehicle.

This list of children's books recommends nonfiction titles that supplement basic information found in lessons and activities of this themed issue of the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. The books are grouped by topic -- water, weather and climate, and atmosphere. Each book is described by its content, reading level, and possible uses in the classroom. Covers are pictured. The online magazine is produced for elementary school teachers and is structured around the essential principles of climate sciences and climate literacy.

The airplanes unit begins with a lesson on how airplanes create lift, which involves a discussion of air pressure and how wings use Bernoulli's principle to change air pressure. Next, students explore the other three forces acting on airplanes thrust, weight and drag. Following these lessons, students learn how airplanes are controlled and use paper airplanes to demonstrate these principles. The final lessons addresses societal and technological impacts that airplanes have had on our world. Students learn about different kinds of airplanes and then design and build their own balsa wood airplanes based on what they have learned.

Students develop awareness and understanding of the daily air quality using the Air Quality Index (AQI) listed in the newspaper. They explore what engineers can do to help reduce poor air quality.

What Is Air? Is a brief introduction to the properties of air using two It’s Our Air videos (http://www.itsourair.org) with a student worksheet for evaluation. (www.itsourair.org).  

In this lesson, students develop an understanding of the effects of invisible air pollutants with a rubber band and hanger air test and a bean plant experiment. They also learn about methods of reducing invisible air pollutants.