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Lesson Plans & Activities

Lesson plans and activities from CEEE

Lesson Plans & Activities

Hurricane Tracks shows global tropical cyclones from 1950 - 2020. The majority of this activity is in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Eastern pacific, Southwest Asia, and in the Indian Ocean.
Hurricane Tracks

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
Land Surface Temperature of the Americas in Fahrenheit
Land Surface Temperature - Arctic Blast

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
Global temperature map showing climate patterns across Earth. Warmer regions are highlighted in red and orange around the equator, Africa, South America, and Australia. Cooler regions in light blue and deep blue appear in the polar areas of the Arctic and Antarctica, as well as northern Asia and North America
Surface Air Temperature Forecast - Climate Zones

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly. Depicts much warmer than usual water temperatures globally during an El Niño year.
Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly - El Niño

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
Nine people in hard hats standing and kneeling around scientific equipment which are large white cubes with the label 'WINDCUBE'. In the background there is an open field and mountain ridge.
Data Puzzle: Windstorms on the Front Range

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 Although strong windstorms are a common weather event at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, a record-breaking windy spring soon after the Marshall Fire disaster had the public feeling on-edge. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze data on the number of windstorms and the number of red flag warnings to investigate the question, “Is it getting windier on the Front Range as the climate warms?”
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo
Orange sun with squiggly orange lines pointing down to green earth with electrons and molecules demonstrating global warming
Data Puzzle: Not All Warming is Equal

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 The dramatic increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has caused global temperatures to rise by more than 1.1°C (~2°F), but not all warming is equal. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide datasets to construct explanatory models for the following question, "Do the places on Earth where temperatures are increasing the most also have the greatest increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo, Mosaic logo
A white wind turbine turns in front of green and tan mountains. There are dried tall grasses in the foreground.
Shifting Winds
In this short unit, students investigate the question "Are wind patterns at the foot of the Rocky Mountains changing?" Students explore what causes wind and look at recent wind data. Students create a public-facing infographic to explain to the public if and how wind patterns are changing.
Unit
Middle School
Map of the United States with red dots showing the location of Wind Turbines in the United States
Data Puzzle: Wind Farms of the Future

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources like wind is essential if the US is to reduce its carbon emissions. But where should new wind farms be constructed? In this Data Puzzle, students analyze surface roughness and wind speed data to construct an evidence-based explanation for the following question, "Where in the United States (lands and waters) should new wind turbines be constructed to generate the most energy?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo
Polarstern at night
Seasons and Light in the Arctic

Seasons and Light in the Arctic is one of four activities in the The Drifting North Polar Planetarium Experience that invites students to explore what it was like to participate in the MOSAiC expedition to the North Pole.

 In this activity, student's will explore why we have seasons and changing daylight throughout the year by graphing different daylight hours around the world. Learning will be guided with the driving question: How do we understand the Arctic light and seasons?
Lesson
Middle School
High School
Polar landscape
Sea Ice, The Character

Sea Ice, The Character is one of four activities in the The Drifting North Polar Planetarium Experience that invites students to explore what it was like to participate in the MOSAiC expedition to the North Pole.

 In this activity, student's will compare and contrast the different structures of freshwater ice and seawater ice with a hands-on lab. Learning about what makes sea ice so unique in the Arctic will be guided by the driving questions: How does saltwater sea ice differ from freshwater ice? What is sea ice like in the Arctic? and Why is sea ice important in the Arctic?
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
The Greenland Ice Sheet covers 79% of the surface of Greenland. Greenland is located north of Canada and the United States. Map credit: QGreenland
Data Puzzle: Balancing Act

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 Since the early 2000s, the Greenland Ice Sheet’s mass balance has been consistently negative, meaning more mass is being lost than gained. But this change in mass balance hasn’t always happened at the same rate. What could account for observed changes to the amount of ice in the Greenland Ice Sheet in recent decades?
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Geospatial resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo, QGreenland logo
Demonstrates an arctic food web with animals including ocean algae, zooplankton, polar cod, a seal colored gray, a bowhead whale colored black and white, a polar bear, and sea ice algae colored green. In the background is a yellow sun, light blue sky, and there is also White Sea ice which the polar bear is on and the sea ice algae is underneath.
A Changing Arctic Ecosystem

This storyline unit consists of 8 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards

 The Arctic is warming more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth. One consequence of a warming Arctic is a dramatic decline in sea ice, an important habitat for many Arctic plants and animals. In this unit students will engage with 360° virtual reality tours, hands-on labs, and authentic Arctic datasets as they gather evidence to construct explanatory models for the unit driving question, "How might the decline in sea ice affect Arctic organisms large and small?"
Unit
Middle School
High School
Mosaic logo
MOSAiC scientist Gina Jozef poses with her drone on snow with giant ship in the background and a small white and red sled with a brown box behind her.
Data Puzzle: It's All Connected

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 What makes the Arctic climate system so unique is the sea ice, which influences the Arctic climate in many ways. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic Arctic data to construct explanatory models for the following question, "What effect, if any, do leads (cracks in the sea ice) have on the transfer of moisture between the Arctic Ocean and atmosphere?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo, Mosaic logo
Flattened image of globe with colors ranging from white to yellow to orange to red showing changes in Celsius from 1950-2019. Darker the color is equal to a higher change in temperature.
Data Puzzle: On a Budget

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 The Arctic is currently warming at a rate faster than the global average, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic Arctic datasets to construct explanatory models for the following question, "Why might the Arctic be warming faster than other places on Earth?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo, Mosaic logo
NASA photo showing Arctic sea ice minimum extent for each year from 1979 through 2019 with red line over image on faded graph showing decline in sea ice minimum.
Data Puzzle: To Reflect or Not to Reflect

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 The color of Earth's surface determines how much of the Sun's energy is reflected or absorbed, where lighter-colored surfaces are more reflective (higher albedo). In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic Arctic data to construct explanatory models for the following question, "How might the Arctic’s albedo be affected by the observed decline in sea ice?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo, Mosaic logo
Child splashing and playing in a body of water with orange sunlight in background
We are Water Kahoot Trivia - Beginner Level

Answer some fun trivia questions about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region! Pick a level where you want to start and see how far you can go!

 Challenge your students with beginner level trivia from We are Water about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region.
Game
Elementary School
Middle School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
A flooding orange river with dark clouds in the sky and green brush surrounding the river
We are Water Kahoot Trivia - Intermediate Level

Answer some fun trivia questions about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region! Pick a level where you want to start and see how far you can go!

 Challenge your students with intermediate level trivia from We are Water about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region.
Game
Middle School
High School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Reflection Canyon at sunset with still water in the canyon which is made of varying shades of orange rock. The sunset in the background is mostly light blue and pink.
We are Water Kahoot Trivia - Advanced Level

Answer some fun trivia questions about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region! Pick a level where you want to start and see how far you can go!

 Challenge your students with advanced level trivia from We are Water about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region.
Game
Middle School
High School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Grand Canyon National Park with image of canyon with red and orange rocks, and a winding blue river, and some green trees in the foreground.
We are Water Kahoot Trivia - Expert Level

Answer some fun trivia questions about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region! Pick a level where you want to start and see how far you can go!

 Challenge your students with expert level trivia from We are Water about the science of water and the geography of the Four Corners Region.
Game
Middle School
High School
University/College
Out-of-school/Non-formal
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Antarctic Iceberg in McMurdo Sound with dark blue water surrounding it
Human Impacts on Climate Change: What will happen and what can we do about it?

This is the fifth lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems. 

 In this lesson, students explore how human activities will continue to impact Antarctic ice, discuss human contributions to climate change, and investigate what we can do to stop/reverse these negative effects.
Lesson
High School
Long stretch of blue ice in East Antarctica with brown snow covered mountains in background and bright blue sky
Why does the ice melt on the “Frozen Continent”?

This is the fourth lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems. 

 After exploring albedo in the previous lesson, this lesson expands on more factors that lead to surface ice melt in Antarctica.
Lesson
High School
Emperor penguin colony gathers tightly together on dark blue snow
Antarctic Life & Albedo

This is the third lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems. 

 In this lesson, students explore the importance of albedo (or reflectivity) to penguins and the surfaces they inhabit and learn how penguin colonies may be mapped using satellites.
Lesson
High School
Light blue meltwater on the ice shelf
What do we already know, or think we know, about climate & Antarctica?

This is the first lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems.

 In this lesson, students will elicit initial ideas about climate, explore images of Antarctica, learn important vocabulary, and synthesize how satellite imagery can help us understand climate change in Antarctica.
Lesson
High School
Emperor penguins in Antarctica
Antarctica: Connecting Climate Change, Melting Ice Shelves, and Pooping Penguins

This is a five-part curriculum about Antarctic environmental processes and building connections between ice shelves, surface melt, climate change - and penguins! 

 This is a five-part curriculum about Antarctic environmental processes and building connections between ice shelves, surface melt, climate change - and penguins!
Unit
High School
A graph of temperature anomalies with flattened map with red, orange, and yellow shades.
Arctic Feedbacks: Not All Warming Is Equal

This storyline unit consists of 10 lessons, each tied to NGSS Earth's systems standards

 In this MS/HS unit, students engage with 360° virtual field trips, authentic Arctic datasets, and app-based labs to construct models and explanations for the unit driving question, "Why might the Arctic be warming four times as fast as the rest of the world?"
Unit
Virtual field trip
Middle School
High School
Mosaic logo
MOSAiC scientists drill through the Arctic ice with the research vessel Polarstern illuminated in the background.
Exploring the New and Old Arctic

This unit consists of 6 lessons, each tied to NGSS nature of science understandings

 In this MS/HS unit, students compare and contrast Arctic expeditions of the past (1893-1896 Fram expedition) and the present (2019-2020 MOSAiC expedition) to prepare for the Arctic of the future.
Unit
Virtual field trip
Middle School
High School
Mosaic logo
Trelynn Watkins, 10, laughs as she plays in the Julia Primrose Fountain.
What’s Up With The Rising Temperatures in Colorado Cities?

This is the first lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 This lesson introduces why certain cities in Colorado are getting hotter using a video by the Denver Post that describes the pattern.
Lesson
Middle School
A student stands while doing a presentation.
How Can We Present Solutions for Food Waste and Emissions at School?

This is the fifth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.

 This lesson provides guidance for students to create and practice a presentation about their design challenge results that they developed in the previous lessons and how to present it to the school administration.
Lesson
Design Challenge
Action Project
Middle School
High School
A group of students using laptops at desks all pushed together to form one collaborative workspace.
How Can We Reduce Emissions Associated with Food Waste in Our School?

This is the fourth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.

 In this activity students utilize the data that is collected and propose solutions to mitigate food waste in their school.
Lesson
Design Challenge
Action Project
Middle School
High School
A grocer checks milk on a shelf at a grocery store.
How Can We Understand Waste and Emissions in Our School's Food System?

This is the third lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.

 This lesson outlines for students how to design and carry out an investigation to audit their school’s food waste system.
Lesson
Design Challenge
Action Project
Middle School
High School
A trash can overflowing with food.
How Does Our School Food System Create Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

This is the second lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.

 In this design challenge lesson, students examine their school food system and develop an investigation about food waste in order to know what should change.
Lesson
Design Challenge
Action Project
Middle School
High School
A large truck dumps trash into a landfill.
How Can We Decrease Our Impact on the Earth’s Climate at our School?

This is the first lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which was designed to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.

 In this design challenge lesson students explore the Denver Public School District’s solid waste plan and discuss how their school can save or decrease emissions by reducing solid waste at our school.
Lesson
Design Challenge
Action Project
Middle School
High School
A satellite image of the state of Colorado.
Why Are Cities and Other Regions of the World Getting Hotter?

This is the third lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education High School Climate Unit.

 This lesson has students investigate how albedo is contributing to temperature increasing in some places, like cities, are increasing at faster rates than elsewhere.
Lesson
STEAM Activity
High School
A wall full of colorful post-it notes.
Why Are Cities Getting Hotter?

This is the first lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education High School Climate Unit.

 During this lesson, students explore the increase in summer temperatures and describe the pattern as it relates to Colorado using a video by the Denver Post.
Lesson
High School
A table of states with the fastest warming summers from Climate Central.
What is Special About Cities Compared to Rural Places?

This is the second lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education High School Climate Unit.

 This lesson explores climate data at local, national, and global levels to determine that temperatures are changing all over the world, and that there are certain locations where temperatures are warming faster than the global average.
Lesson
High School
Two smokestacks releasing smoke into the air.
How Do Humans Contribute to the Increase in Global Temperatures?

This is the fourth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education High School Climate Unit.

 Students explore the greenhouse effect in this lesson using a computer simulation and develop a model for how it works.
Lesson
High School
The sign at the entrance of NOAA's Maua Loa Observatory in Hawai'i.
Is it Normal That World Temperatures Are Rising This Fast?

This is the fifth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education High School Climate Unit.

 This lesson explores if it is normal that world temperatures are rising at the currently observed fast pace.
Lesson
High School
The carcasses of dead fish lie in a dry lake bed.
What Impact do Increasing Greenhouse Gases Have?

This is the sixth and final lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education High School Climate Unit.

 In this lesson, students utilize case studies to learn about the ways climate change is currently impacting people and other living things around the world.
Lesson
High School
An illustration of how solar radiation is trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which includes the earth and a yellow squiggly line bouncing on and off the earth's surface.
How Does an Increase in CO2 Cause an Increase in Temperature?

This is the eighth and final lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 In this lesson, students learn how more CO2 in the atmosphere causes global warming.
Lesson
Middle School
A long line of cars in heavy traffic.
How Do Cars Impact CO2 in the Atmosphere?

This is the seventh lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 During this lesson, students explore how fossil fuel burning in cars contributes CO2 to the atmosphere.
Lesson
Middle School
A cloud spelling CO2 wafts out of smoke stacks with a blue sky in the background.
How Does Human Activity Affect the Warming Temperatures on Earth?

This is the sixth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 This lesson explores whether human activities release greenhouse gases, like CO2, and whether these activities can cause temperatures on Earth to increase.
Lesson
Middle School
A graph showing global temperature rising over time from 1880 to 2020
What Was Earth’s Temperature Like in the Past?

This is the fifth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 Students examine what the world’s temperature trend was in the past and whether temperatures have changed recently.
Lesson
Middle School
A surface temperature anomaly or trend map by NASA.
Are Other Parts of the World Getting Hotter?

This is the fourth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 In this lesson, students investigate whether other parts of the world are changing and getting hotter just like Colorado.
Lesson
Middle School
A satellite image is shown over the same image in infrared, showing that the paved sidewalks and roads retain more heat than homes and vegetation.
Why Are Growing Cities Hotter?

This is the third lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 This lesson has students explore what land use changes are happening and how changes in surface color affects temperatures in cities.
Lesson
Middle School
Sun flare refracting through leaves.
What Makes Cities Hotter?

This is the second lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Middle School Climate Unit.

 In this lesson, students explore reasons why temperatures in particular Colorado cities are rising.
Lesson
Middle School
Rocky Mountain National Park; rock in the forefront with snowy peaked mountains in the background
Arctic Climate Connections
The Broader Impacts portion of the NSF proposal studies the analysis of existing data from Arctic terrestrial stations with multi-year measurements of the surface energy budget, clouds, soil temperature profiles, and basic meteorological measurements.
Unit
High School
Two scientists in large red parkas kneeling on the ground working on scientific equipment in a snowy landscape while a cold wind whips snow up around them.
Do you really want to visit the Arctic?

This is the second activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.

 This jigsaw activity introduces students with Arctic weather data using a role-playing activity that has students read and interpret graphs while considering the optimal time to plan a research mission to the Arctic.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
University/College
A close up image of a grooved glacier in black and white
Exploring Arctic Climate Data

This is the third activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.

 In this final activity, students use authentic Arctic climate data to explore albedo and its relationship to seasonal snowmelt as a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, which is then applied to large scale global climate change.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
University/College
Alpine tundra vegetation with large boulder with snowy mountain range in the background
Exploring the Arctic

This is the first activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.

 This activity introduces students to the Arctic and Arctic climate. Through a virtual exploration of the geography of the Arctic students become familiar with the region. They are then introduced to meteorological parameters that Arctic research teams use.
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
University/College
Greenish yellow fern growing in between two brown rocks
Photosynthesis, Respiration, and the Short-Term Carbon Cycle

Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.

 This lesson is focused on the short-term cycling of carbon and is designed to put the processes of photosynthesis and respiration within a global perspective.
Lesson
Middle School
Extremes
Compass
Creating a Compass from a Magnet

Project EXTREMES lessons were intended to stand alone, but this lesson can be included in a unit on the Earth’s interior.

 In this lesson, students create a compass and apply their reasoning about magnetism to how compasses work to help us navigate around the globe while utilizing the Earth’s magnetic field. 
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Elementary School
Middle School
Extremes
Two mostly black cows grazing on green grass with foggy green grassy hillside in background
Energy Pyramids and Food Webs

Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.

 In this lesson, students identify the sun as the source of energy and understand how energy flows through an ecosystem. 
Lesson
Middle School
Extremes
Illustration of two people high-fiving in a work environment

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