Teaching Activities

Little Shop of Physics
Students act out 4 different molecules (nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor) to discover which ones are greenhouse gases and which ones are not.

Grade Level: High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14), Middle (6-8), Intermediate (3-5)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities, Lab Activity
Subject: Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Greenhouse gas emissions, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Meteorology:Atmospheric structure and composition, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Greenhouse effect, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Anthropogenic causes, Greenhouse effect, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Climate Change:Greenhouse gas emissions, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Anthropogenic causes
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Eyes in the Sky: Using Remote Sensing to Explore the Poles part of CLEAN Collection

https://lamont.columbia.edu/education-outreach/resources...

This lesson covers a plethora of information on glacier dynamics, including basic glaciological concepts. Students learn through slide shows, hands-on activities, and discussion groups.

Grade Level: Middle (6-8), High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Climatology :Climate sensitivity and feedbacks, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Climate Change Impacts part of CLEAN Collection

https://climate.mit.edu/til-about-climate-impacts-educat...

This comprehensive student and teacher guide from the MIT Climate Portal includes an introductory 10 minute podcast about water and climate change impacts, a water cycle class game, independent ...

Grade Level: Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14), High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Online Adaptable, Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Climatology , Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Hydrology, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Energy Efficiency and Climate part of CLEAN Collection

https://climate.mit.edu/til-about-energy-efficiency-educ...

In this activity, students listen to a podcast about energy efficiency; read a brief history of energy efficiency in the United States; do a qualitative energy audit of their classroom, including ...

Grade Level: Intermediate (3-5), High School (9-12), Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14)
Online Readiness: Online Adaptable, Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Energy, Energy:Energy Infrastructure, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Mitigation of climate change
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Connections in the Earth System part of CLEAN Collection

https://scied.ucar.edu/activity/connections

Center for Science Education
In this activity, students demonstrate their knowledge of connections between natural systems and the built environment in which they live.

Grade Level: Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14), High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Climate sensitivity and feedbacks, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Engineering Challenge: Designing a Portable Drilling Rig part of CLEAN Collection

https://icedrill-education.org/portfolio/engineering-cha...

Bill Grosser and Louise Huffman
This resource guides students through the iterative engineering design cycle to build a functional model of a drill rig that can be broken down, reassembled in Antarctica (or other cold icy regions), ...

Grade Level: Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14), High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

It is a slippery slope part of CLEAN Collection

https://www.polartrec.com/resources/lesson/it-is-a-slipp...

Glenn Clark
This is a demonstration that includes a review of scientific abstracts that show how warm water currents speed up ice sheet loss and sub-ice water infiltration into the Southern Ocean.

Grade Level: High School (9-12), Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Oceanography, Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Climatology :Climate sensitivity and feedbacks
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

National Security and Climate Change part of CLEAN Collection

https://climate.mit.edu/til-about-national-security-educ...

Environmental Solutions Initiative
In this set of activities, high school students model changes in climate and their effects on international relations, investigate local climate impacts and solutions and observe global climate ...

Grade Level: College Lower (13-14), High School (9-12), College Upper (15-16)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Extreme Weather, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Extreme weather, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Carbon Travels - Then and Now part of CLEAN Collection

https://www.baesi.org/carbon-travels-then-and-now/

Bay Area E-STEM Institute
Students play the role of carbon atoms to learn about the carbon cycle and how it is changing. Students create two carbon cycle diagrams—visual models of the cycle before and after the Industrial ...

Grade Level: Informal, College Lower (13-14), Middle (6-8), High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Greenhouse gas emissions, Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Anthropogenic causes, Greenhouse gas emissions, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Climate Change:Anthropogenic causes
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Climate Models and Uncertainty Educator Guide part of CLEAN Collection

https://climate.mit.edu/til-about-uncertainty-educator%2...

Environmental Solutions Initiative
In this resource, students play a climate resilience game and then explore the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 5th Assessment Report to learn more about how climate scientists handle ...

Grade Level: High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Sea Level Change, Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Global change modeling, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Mitigation of climate change, Global change modeling, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary