Teaching Activities

Jet Propulsion Laboratory
This activity allows students to demonstrate the thermal expansion of water for themselves using water bottles and straws. The discussion allows them to explore the connection between this concept ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), High School (9-12), Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity
Subject: Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Geoscience:Oceanography, Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Sea Level Change
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Modeling Earth's Energy Balance part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College
In this exercise, students use the STELLA box modeling software to determine Earth's temperature based on incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation. Starting with a simple black body model, ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Energy, heat and temperature, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Global energy balance, Climate sensitivity and feedbacks, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Solar and terrestrial radiation, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Solar radiation
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary, Passed Peer Review

Understanding the Carbon Cycle: A Jigsaw Approach part of Climate Change:Activities
David Hastings, Eckerd College
In this "jigsaw" exercise, each student is assigned one of five geochemical processes in the carbon cycle to research, fully understand, and then explain to others in groups of five. At the end of class ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14):College Introductory, College Lower (13-14)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity, Classroom Activity:Jigsaw, Activities:Classroom Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Atmospheric structure and composition, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Natural causes, Environmental Science:Ecosystems:Biogeochemical cycling, Environmental Science:Policy, Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Climate Change:Natural causes, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Atmospheric gases
Activity Review: Passed Peer Review, Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Poleward Heat Transport Jigsaw part of Hurricanes-Climate Change Connection:Activities
E. Christa Farmer, Hofstra University
Based on great plate tectonic exercise by Sawyer et al. (2005 JGE), this small-group exercise with maps of data about earth's energy balance helps students visualize poleward heat transport.

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities, Lab Activity, Classroom Activity:Jigsaw
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Global energy balance, Solar radiation, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Extreme weather, Atmospheric circulation, Energy, heat and temperature, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Atmospheric and oceanic circulation, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Extreme Weather:Hurricanes, Environmental Science:Energy, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science, Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Solar and terrestrial radiation, Geoscience:Oceanography:Ocean-Climate Interactions
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Modeling Early Earth Climate with GEEBITT part of Early Earth:Activities
Cindy Shellito, University of Northern Colorado
This activity requires students to use a simple spreadsheet model to consider the roles of solar luminosity, planetary albedo, and greenhouse gases in controlling surface temperature in the present and during the ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Activities, Lab Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science, Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Evolution of climate and atmosphere
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Ice Core Exercise part of Climate Change:Activities
William Locke, Montana State University-Bozeman
This assignment (for upper-division/graduate students) provides exposure to ice core data, problem-solving to register data sets, technical challenges in data manipulation and statistics, and an opportunity to ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), Graduate/Professional
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity, Project
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Paleoclimate records, Climate feedbacks, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Climate sensitivity and feedbacks, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Paleoclimate records
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Daisyworld Model part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College
In this exercise, students recreate the classic Daisyworld model of Watson and Lovelock (1983). Daisyworld is a planet covered by two species of daisy, one white and one black, whose growth is determined by ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Solar radiation, Climate sensitivity and feedbacks

Oceans and Climate Debate part of Oceanography:Activities
Branwen Williams, Claremont McKenna College
This activity orally tests students understanding of the links between ocean processes and global climate change. It is set up as a debate with students serving as the science experts and volunteer faculty serving ...

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities, Classroom Activity, Lab Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Greenhouse gas emissions, Greenhouse effect, Anthropogenic causes, Geoscience:Oceanography:Ocean-Climate Interactions, Geoscience:Oceanography, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Greenhouse gas emissions, Greenhouse effect, Anthropogenic causes, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Atmospheric and oceanic circulation, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Atmospheric gases, Global energy balance
Activity Review: Passed Peer Review

Climate as Constraint part of Climate Change:Activities
Suzanne Pierce, The University of Texas at Austin
This classroom assignment and discussion guide presents the relationship between groundwater availability, use, and climate conditions. Students are asked to consider the possible implications of regional climate ...

Grade Level: Graduate/Professional, College Upper (15-16)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Lab Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology :Hydrologic cycle, Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Meteorology:Extreme weather, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Extreme Weather:Drought, Geoscience:Hydrology:Ground Water
Activity Review: Passed Peer Review

Incorporating Information Literacy into Climate Change Teaching part of Climate Change:Activities
Lura Joseph, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This module contains 10 topics related to finding and evaluating scientific information related to climate change. The skills learned are transferable to any subject area. Each topic includes exercises.

Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Problem Set, Lab Activity, Writing Assignment, Project
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Environmental Science:Policy
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary