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Stepping Through Climate Science
https://sfcc.plt.org/section1/activity1/

PINEMAP Project, University of Florida, Project Learning Tree

In this short activity, students create a timeline of climate science over the past 200 years and gather information from a U.S. Forest Service video about mitigation and adaptation strategies undertaken by the Service to address climate change in national forests.

Two 45-minute class periods

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»


Grade Level

9 -12, modifiable for 7 - 8 but may be a reach for 6th graders.

Regional Focus

Topics

Climate Literacy

This Activity builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

About the Content

  • This activity uses a systems approach in providing an overview of the connections between forests and climate.
  • Produced by Climate Learning Tree/University of Florida with materials from the US Forest Service.
  • Comments from expert scientist:
    Scientific strengths:
    - great introductory lesson on climate change and forests for more science-specific activities
    - the science bolded words are excellent vocabulary words!
    - timeline stepping / graphing is a great tool

    Suggestions:
    - CO2 concentrations should be updated to reflect current years (the resource lists data from 2013) CO2 is up to 410 ppm! http://www.climatecentral.org/news/we-just-breached-the-410-parts-per-million-threshold-21372

About the Pedagogy

  • Alternate assessment strategies are supplied for teachers.
  • On the home page, http://sfrc.ufl.edu/extension/ee/climate/section1/activity1/ there are three important teacher tools: A video "Tour of the Activity" that lays out objectives and tells instructors exactly what students will be doing and identifies videos or other media that teachers should review, a Check Your Knowledge--Interactive Quiz for educators, and Systems Exercises that can be incorporated.
  • Students assemble a timeline - including both scientific events and policy events - of the history of climate change science, and preview a video on the US Forest Service response to climate change.
  • "Systems Reflections" after each section of the lab tie student results to systems thinking and analysis.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

  • Comprehensive set of teacher materials include answer keys with teacher tips embedded along the way.
  • Video is a good addition to the lab materials.

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN

https://www.plt.org/curriculum/southeastern-forests-climate-change/
Entered the Collection: June 2018 Last Reviewed: April 2017

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