Lesson Plans & Activities
Filmmaking: Production
This is the second part of a 3-part unit on the filmmaking process for both formal and informal education settings.
In this lesson, students film interviews with content experts as well as additional B-roll footage, and film mentors help students find existing footage and media to supplement their films.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
HEART Force Curriculum Overview
This unit consists of several lessons and can take anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks to teach, depending on which lesson teacher choose to incorporate.
The HEART Force curriculum builds understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
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.
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?"
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.
How does the changing climate impact the penguins around Antarctica?
This is the second lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems.
In this lesson, students investigate the life history characteristics of different Antarctic penguin species and identify the changes that their populations have experienced.
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.
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.
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.
The Future of Forests
This storyline unit consists of 9 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards
In this middle school unit supported by NASA, students engage with online interactives, authentic datasets, and citizen science protocols to construct models and explanations for the unit driving question, "How do landscapes recover after a wildfire?"
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?"
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?"
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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?, 
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?",
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?",
Data Puzzle: Megafire - Rare Occurrences or the New Normal?
This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Megafires have been a hot topic in the news over the past few years, but are they a new phenomenon? In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic wildfire data to construct explanatory models for the follow question, "How and why has the number of megafires have changed over time?"
Data Puzzle: Megadrought in the Colorado River Basin
This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Much of the western United States is experiencing drought conditions. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic climate data to construct explanatory models for the following question, "What is causing the megadrought in the Colorado River Basin?"
Data Puzzle: Tracing Carbon Through the Arctic Food Web
This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
The Arctic is home to a huge variety of living things (humans included) that have adapted to harsh conditions. However, these conditions are changing as Arctic temperatures rise and sea ice declines. In this Data Puzzle, students trace the flow of carbon through the Arctic food web to construct explanatory models for the following question, "How might the decline in sea ice affect Arctic organisms large and small?"
Data Puzzle: The Tipping Point
This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Plants like moss campion are uniquely adapted to the cold, dry climate characteristic of the tundra biome...but temperatures are on the rise. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze temperature and reproduction data to construct explanatory models for the following question "How is moss campion reproduction affected by temperature?"
PolarPASS Interactive Environments
Using real data, diverse material types, and a range of activities, PolarPASS modules are designed to bring polar science and exploration to the classroom. PolarPASS modules link to Climate Literacy Principles and Polar Literacy Principles and are being tested in teaching models that include semester, quarter, and block teaching models.
Polar Space and Places, or PolarPASS, is connecting polar-focused material with innovative teaching methods to advance STEM undergraduate education and increase polar knowledge.
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?"
From Greenland to our Coasts: Exploring Sea Level Change with QGreenland
This unit consists of 3 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards
In this unit, students will explore how the Greenland Ice Sheet is changing and why that affects coastal communities worldwide. Students will view authentic Greenland geospatial data and learn how to create flood maps to assess local risk in QGIS.
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?",
Drifting North Polar Planetarium
In this MS/HS lesson, students will be transported to the Arctic with the MOSAiC expedition, The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Arctic Climate, in an immersive classroom and field trip experience.
Data Puzzle: Wildfire, Drought, and the Future of Forests
This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.
Wildfires are burning more and more of the forests across the western United States. In this Data Puzzle, Data Puzzle, students analyze post-fire forest recovery datasets as they gather evidence to construct explanatory models for the following question, "How do climate conditions impact the recovery of forests after a wildfire?"
The Emotions Wheel
This activity is a stand-alone exercise part of seven activities from the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
Emotion wheels have been a visual tool used by psychologists for decades to help people better understand and interpret their feelings. This activity is for people of all ages and can be done with family members, in a classroom, with friends, work colleagues, etc.
Active Listening Skills
This activity is one of seven activities in the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will identify emotions they experience as they learn about the impacts of climate change. In pairs, students will practice active listening skills as one student describes their emotions to the partner who applies active listening skills. They then flip roles and the other student describes their emotions while the partner listens.
Nature Appreciation
This activity is one of seven activities in the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will play, explore, appreciate, and practice perspective-taking in nature. All of these actions help positively connect youth to nature, and instill an ethic of care for the environment.
Data Puzzle: Snow in the Rockies
Water from snowmelt high in the Rocky Mountains feeds into the Colorado River, a river system that more than 40 million people rely on for water. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze snowfall and snowmelt datasets to investigate the question, "How have snow conditions in the East River Watershed changed over time?"
Connecting with Special Places in Nature
This activity is one of seven activities in the Climate Mental Health Support Activities.
In this lesson, students will take time to connect to a place that is special to them.
Letters to the Arctic
Letters to 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, students put themselves in the shoes of a scientist who works in a fragile and changing environment. Learning will be guided with the driving question: How do scientists feel about the places they study?
Data Puzzle: Weather vs. Climate - Extreme Cold in a Warming World?
In this Data Puzzle, students explore the difference between weather and climate in the context of an extreme cold event that occurred during a NFL playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on January 13th, 2024. The air temperature at kickoff was -4°F, making it the fourth coldest NFL game ever played! But what does this cold weather event tell us (if anything) in the context of long-term average temperature patterns in the region?
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!