TeachersFirst's Climate Change Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections
This collection of resources about climate change is selected to help teachers and students learn about the short and long term impact of climate change. As students read and see images of climate change then, now, and in the future, they will gain a better understanding. Younger students may have more questions as you explore together. Use these resources with your students to find ways you all can make a difference. Use this opportunity to teach about persuasive writing (letters to the editor or government officials), careers in science, and more.
View all of our resources tagged climate change.
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The Climate Explorer - globalchange.gov
Grades
8 to 12
tag(s): climate (97), climate change (73), floods (13), temperature (35), weather (210)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and share this resource for student research into climate change anywhere in the world. Have groups of students work on different perspectives of climate change including rainfall, annual and monthly temperature change over time, population density, or flooding changes. Have students make an impressive, interactive poster, infographics, chart or multimedia presentation sharing their findings using Genial.ly, reviewed here. Genial.ly allows you to add polls, videos, embeds, web links, PowerPoint, PDfs, and more to any presentation.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Miles of Ice Collapsing Into the Sea - New York Times
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): antarctica (29), climate (97), climate change (73), oceans (168)
In the Classroom
Include this interactive with any lessons on climate change, oceans, or weather. Be sure to help your weaker readers and ESL students by sharing the vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard and highlighting them in the text as you come to them. Share the locations using Google Earth, reviewed here, and have students research other locations experiencing the effects of climate change.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Climate Kids Time Machine - NASA
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): carbon (24), climate (97), climate change (73), earth (227), oceans (168), temperature (35)
In the Classroom
Share these timelines on your interactive whiteboard as an introduction to your unit on weather and climate change. Include a link to the site on your class webpage and classroom computers for students to explore on their own. Have students research causes for climate change, then make a multimedia presentation using Powtoon, reviewed here, or Sway, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Climate Kids - NASA
Grades
3 to 6tag(s): air (141), animals (326), carbon (24), climate (97), climate change (73), energy (213), oceans (168), plants (179), weather (210)
In the Classroom
Include Climate Kids with any unit on weather, oceans, or climate change. Share the site on your interactive whiteboard to feature specific games and activities for your students. The entire site may be overwhelming for younger students; instead of creating a link to the main site, create separate links to games and activities on classroom computers and on your class website. Upon completion of your unit,modify learning by having students create a simple infographic sharing information about climate change using Infogram, reviewed here. Transform learning by having students take pictures of your local environment, then create an annotated image sharing potential effects of climate change, including text boxes and related links, using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GeoInquiries - ESRI
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): agriculture (57), american revolution (88), civil war (150), climate change (73), cold war (31), demographics (18), earthquakes (52), landforms (47), maps (297), minerals (17), oceans (168), population (64), rocks (52), volcanoes (65), weather (210), world war 1 (58)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lessons offered on GeoInquiries for use in your classroom. Divide students into groups to participate in different activities or use as enrichment for gifted students to complete independently. When finished with your inquiries, challenge students to create a presentation using Prezi, reviewed here, demonstrating information learned.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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It's Okay To Be Smart YouTube Channel - Joe Hanson
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (326), climate change (73), earth (227), endangered species (40), energy (213), evolution (106), food chains (26), human body (133), space (234), video (272)
In the Classroom
Flip your classroom and use a video as homework. Have students take notes on the material and write down questions they still have and topics that confuse them. They can do this with pen and paper or online. If you want the assignment online, explain to students they need to open a new tab in their browser window and take notes with a tool such as Webnote, reviewed here; tell students to be sure to save the URL to share their notes and questions with you and their peers. Or you could use a tool like EdPuzzle, reviewed here, for students to pause videos and ask or answer questions right on the video. These activities can uncover misconceptions. Show the video to the class, and then discuss the concept at length. To share a single video from this site without all the YouTube clutter, use a tool such as View Pure, reviewed here, and create a shortcut to the View Pure page directly on the desktop. For more advanced classes, provide time for students to choose a video to view and research the underlying concept.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Changing Planet - NBC Universal Media, LLC
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): arctic (47), climate change (73), diseases (73), glaciers (17), mountains (17), oceans (168), scientific method (68), statistics (134), STEM (216), temperature (35), trees (29), tundra (20), water (140)
In the Classroom
Place the URL to Changing Planet on your classroom website or blog for students to explore the videos on their own. Flip your instruction and assign the videos to your scientists to watch before class. Flipping will maximize classroom time. Encourage budding scientists to investigate climate change. Use this site as a springboard for individual or group projects that connect to our world today. Have students create presentations to share what they learned using a tool such as Powtoon, reviewed here. Build student's background knowledge by watching the videos, and reviewing nonfiction reading strategies with students before reading the transcripts. Use the videos on Changing Planet to help struggling readers with the content on the cue cards. Encourage your scientists to tackle the topic of climate for a science fair experiment or graduation project.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Global Climate Change - NASA
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): climate (97), climate change (73)
In the Classroom
Use this resource for some excellent background information on climate change. Create public service announcements outlining the key points from this site. Create a campaign for making small changes in our lives that can add up to a big difference. Assign small groups to explore one facet of this site and create a multimedia presentation using one of many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Carbon Cycle Game - Windows2Universe
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): carbon (24), carbon dioxide (14), carbon footprint (10), climate (97), climate change (73), fossil fuels (17)
In the Classroom
Follow the terrific directions in the For Teachers section including items students should record as they work through the interactive. Review the assessment and extension activities for outstanding ideas. Encourage students to create a paragraph of the journey of their carbon atom or a concept map outlining the stops and science behind the journey. Find many excellent concept mapping tools here. Research climate change and ways to reduce the amount of carbon at specific steps. Research and present to the class various energy alternatives and ways to reduce carbon released into the atmosphere. Identify the carbon footprint of different countries and identify ways to reduce this footprint. Create a public service announcement to raise awareness of small changes everyone can do.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ABC Splash - ABC TV and Radio Australia
Grades
K to 10tag(s): addition (224), animals (326), antarctica (29), atmosphere (28), australia (35), cells (105), climate change (73), continents (49), counting (108), decimals (124), division (159), earth (227), earthquakes (52), ecosystems (90), egypt (61), energy (213), environment (320), food chains (26), forces (47), forensics (26), fossil fuels (17), game based learning (150), gold rush (20), human body (133), immigration (64), insects (74), light (56), maps (297), molecules (49), money (184), multiplication (209), nuclear energy (27), nutrition (160), oceans (168), parts of speech (67), percent (79), perimeter (29), place value (55), plants (179), probability (136), rhymes (29), rocks (52), songs (49), sound (106), subtraction (187), time (137), vietnam (33), volcanoes (65), weather (210), whole numbers (16), world war 1 (58), world war 2 (144)
In the Classroom
This site is excellent for enrichment. Include it on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class. Share this link on your class web page and/or in a parent newsletter for help with homework and school projects. These high-quality media resources will engage your students and enhance their learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Climate Time Machine - NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory/CIT
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): antarctica (29), arctic (47), carbon dioxide (14), carbon footprint (10), climate (97), climate change (73), temperature (35)
In the Classroom
Want to get students attention? Begin with the Average Global Temperature on an Interactive Whiteboard or projector. Start the slider slowly at 1884 and be sure to pause and back up when global temperatures become cooler. However, be sure to point out to students that even though temperatures cycle a bit through time, as you progress to present day, much warmer temperatures persist. Follow this demonstration. How does this visualization compare to Carbon Emissions? Spend time in class looking at the Sea Level changes and list the areas that will be affected the most because of sea level rise. Create reports or posters about the various facts about those areas (populations, points of interest, culture, and history) to understand what will be lost. Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here. Create a campaign for halting climate change beginning with simple actions that EVERYONE can make. Take time to determine each student's carbon footprint and changes that matter.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Planet Nutshell - Joshua Gunn
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): climate change (73), financial aid (16), internet safety (121)
In the Classroom
Include videos during your Internet safety or climate change unit and view on your interactive whiteboard. Embed on your class website or blog and have students create animated movies online using Dvolver - Movie Maker, reviewed here,. Consider sharing one of the short Internet safety videos with parents during an Open House or Meet the Teacher night.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Big Facts on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security - Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security, CGIAR
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): climate (97), climate change (73), disasters (42), environment (320), food chains (26), population (64)
In the Classroom
As climate change's effect is being seen on every region of the Earth, this site is a great resource for finding accurate information and figures. Share this site in conjunction with your science curriculum as well as in government, current events, and geography classes. Click on one of the specific regions of the Earth or choose from the various topics in the icons along the bottom. Divide the World's seven regions among student groups in class. View the various impacts including undernourishment, population, dietary change, food waste, climate impact on crops, disasters, mitigation, and adaptation. Have groups present their regions to the class. View the comparisons by region by choosing one of the various impacts. Click the Climate Impact on People icon and view the infographic information as a class using a whiteboard or projector. Use the information presented to view the source material and understand the science behind the numbers. Use these facts as a springboard to further discussions about climate change impacts. Talk about what governments can do both proactively and in response to the changes. Besides the really large ways to cut carbon emissions, what are the little things others can do to make a difference? Begin a grassroots campaign to make small changes. The many infographics on this site provide valuable experience reading and understanding graphic presentation of information as required by Common Core.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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If All The Ice Melted - National Geographic
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): climate change (73), continents (49)
In the Classroom
Compare different continents and brainstorm why some continents lose more land than others. Predict the areas that will be the hardest hit socially, politically, and economically. Research the population of these coastal areas to fully realize the enormity of the problem. Discuss the time frame needed to see these changes and begin looking for information that shows land loss is already occurring. (Note: There is research of land loss and reclamation efforts in Scandinavia and in Virginia.) How will this alter ecosystems and how humans depend upon the living things around them? Challenge cooperative learning groups to create simple infographic sharing their findings or predictions using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Climate Change: Lines of Evidence - Division on Earth And Life Studies, National Academies
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): atmosphere (28), climate change (73), earth (227)
In the Classroom
Watch the series of videos as a class or assign them for homework, in a flipped classroom strategy. If using the flipped classroom strategy, use a program like Vizia, reviewed here, where you can embed questions at certain points in the video. Another idea that would put you at the top of the scale as a Common Core prepared teacher would be to use a program like Research Assistant, reviewed here, to help you find articles about climate change, greenhouse emissions, carbon emissions, etc. from many different sources. Then embed the article and video in a program like Actively Learn, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timelapse - Time Magazine
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): climate change (73), maps (297)
In the Classroom
Display the visual portions on your interactive whiteboard. Have students discuss the changes they see. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings from two years using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here) to compare and contrast differences then and now. Explore and discuss the effects of climate changes and urban expansion using images on Timelapse.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spark Science Education - The National Center for Atmospheric Research
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): atmosphere (28), climate (97), climate change (73), glaciers (17), hurricanes (39), snow (21), solar energy (40), sun (75), tornadoes (17), weather (210)
In the Classroom
Spark is a must-bookmark site for any teacher of atmospheric science. Create links to activities on student computers for students to explore and play. Search and use the activities for hands-on lesson ideas, all aligned to National Science Education Standards. Challenge students to create a presentation using Prezi (reviewed here) to demonstrate information learned at Spark. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as Wordle (reviewed here), Tagxedo (reviewed here), or WordItOut (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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