In this part of the unit, students are exploring how global temperatures have changed over the past hundred years.  Students will examine tables and graphs about global temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, human consumption of food, and human consumption of natural resources.  They will find patterns in the graphs.  Based on this data, students will construct an argument about how human activities (increase in population and consumption of natural resources) cause global temperatures to increase.

This AP Environmental Science class is intended to meet the same objectives as a first-year college-based course.
However, the method of instruction for this course is unique compared to similar courses because we have adopted
a project-based learning (PBL) approach. Although PBL may take many forms, our approach involves student
investigations and simulations that require students to think like scientists, policymakers, farmers, and other adults
in real-world settings. Teachers engage students in collaborative problem solving, argumentation, and deep
exploration of the concepts and principles of the discipline. The goal for student learning is understanding rather
than relying on rote memory to create meaningful learning and knowledge that is actionable, adaptive, and
transferable.

The AQ-IQ Contest for Seventh Grade Students has students creating a project on an air quality problem, looking for solutions to the problem, and creating a poster, on-line interactive, artist, or video project to educate others about the issue. Students will submit the projects and bibliographies using an on-line tool. The pest projects will be invited to a recognition ceremony and receive a prize package. Visit the AQ-IQ Landing Page for more information and resources: http://web.eenorthcarolina.org/resource/about.aspx?s=121764.0.0.37430

Selected resources provide three web-based activities to complement science lessons in an issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. The free, online magazine for Grades K-5 teachers explores the essential principles of climate literacy.

As emissions of heat-trapping bases accumulate in our atmosphere, Earth's polar regions are warming more quickly than at lower latitudes. The rapid environmental changes that result from this warming can have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of rural Alaskans: unpredictable weather and changes in the seasons have made harvesting food more difficult, hazardous, and stressful. The risk of physical injury has also increased, as poor ice, extreme weather, and coastal erosion bring new travel hazards. Increasingly difficult harvest conditions for fish, shellfish, berries, caribou, and sea mammals have also increased concerns about food security. Additionally, declines in snow pack, the threat of drought, changes in lake and river conditions, and damage and disruptions to community water systems have prompted concerns of water security. The climate-related challenge faced by Alaska’s tribal health system is to recognize new health stressors and community vulnerabilities, and then find healthy adaptation strategies in an increasingly uncertain future.

In 2012, water managers in Fredericktown, Missouri, saw their city's main source of water dwindle. They used the EPA’s Climate Ready Water Utilities program to consider options and develop plans to protect their water source.

In Florida's humid climate, strawberry growers are in a constant battle with two kinds of fruit rot. Using a decision support system, they can save money by spraying fields only when the plant diseases are a threat.

In this lesson, students will learn that ice formations on land will cause a rise in sea level when they melt, whereas ice formations on water will not cause a rise in sea level when they melt. They will also learn that ice is less dense than water, that ice displaces water equal to the mass of the ice, and they will practice some of the steps involved in a science investigation.

Students analyze a map of the North Polar region, test their knowledge of the Arctic, and brainstorm examples of the interconnectedness of life in this region with life around the world.

Stakeholders of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program in California worked with resources from the EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries program to identify their climate risks. Their results helped them prioritize actions for building resilience.

An interactive map based on four decades of satellite images helps residents, resource managers, and stewards of the land anticipate and plan for coastal change.

Conservation organizations teamed up to document the climate vulnerability of mountain springs that support unique ecosystems. Now, the Alliance they formed facilitates restoration work to enhance habitats and improve resiliency.

Building on lessons learned over several summers, Kristin Raab—Health Impact Assessment and Climate Change Program Director in the Environmental Health Division of Minnesota’s Department of Health—packaged information from diverse communities into a cohesive toolkit that communities of all sizes can use to prepare for heat waves. The Minnesota Extreme Heat Toolkit describes changing weather conditions in Minnesota, the magnitude of potential health consequences from extreme heat, and key steps communities can take to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths. The toolkit acknowledges that extreme heat response plans will vary with the size of the community and the habits of its residents: examples from the mostly rural Olmsted County and the urban centers of Saint Paul and Minneapolis illustrate a range of community plans that could be useful in Minnesota and beyond.

In this nonfiction story, young readers and listeners learn how scientists use cross sections from trees to reconstruct past climates. Versions are provided for readers at two levels, k-2 and 3-5, and in text-only and illustrated formats. The story is also available as an electronic book with recorded narration. An original story is a regular feature of each issue of the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. The story can be used in science and literacy lessons and activities throughout the magazine.

This article continues an examination of each of the seven essential principles of climate literacy on which the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured. Principle 2 covers the complex interactions among the components of the Earth system. The author discusses the scientific concepts underlying the interactions and expands the discussion with diagrams, photos, and online resources.

This article features children's literature about weather, climate, and climate change. What’s the difference between weather and climate? How do scientists observe, measure, and predict weather phenomena? How is Earth’s climate changing, and why? This month’s bookshelf will help students develop a solid grasp of weather-related concepts. It will also introduce students to global warming and climate change and inspire them to do what they can to combat the problem.

This video provides information about the causes and effects of Earth's changing climate, specifically focusing on wildlife populations and the impact global warming has on habitats.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, highlights resources that help elementary teachers learn about climate change and teach their students important foundational concepts.

This article assembles free resources from the Climate Change and the Polar Regions issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5.

This article discusses how crops, such as wine grapes, are shifting their harvest times due to climate change.