Understanding Climate Change
Driving Question: What is climate change?
There’s no simple definition for climate change. But to overcome it, we have to understand it. Explore what climate change is, and think about how it impacts you—and the entire world.
Learning Objectives:
- Define climate change.
- Explain the main causes of climate change.
- Analyze historical data and trends that demonstrate climate change over time.
- Apply claim-testing skills to evaluate data and people’s perceptions about climate change.
What do you know about climate change? Develop your own definition and perspective.
Heads up: You can turn on captions, slow down the speed of the video, and have students follow along by reading the video transcript. For more video tips, check out the OER Project Video Guide.
Climate change has been around for 4.5 billion years. What’s so special about it now? Watch the video to explore what’s different about today’s climate change, then come up with a working definition of the term as you work through the activity.
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Guiding Questions
The numbers tell a story—but is it the right one?
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Guiding Questions
Claim testing is OER Project’s approach for assessing the quality and veracity of claims—an essential skill when building digital literacy. This is the first of many claim-testing activities that appear throughout the course.
Are they liars or just uninformed? People are getting way too good at presenting opinion as fact. Luckily, claim testers help us get to the bottom of just about anything.
Did you know Eunice Foote was the first to describe the greenhouse effect? (Spoiler: A male scientist got the credit.) Graphic bios like these bring overlooked and forgotten stories to light.
Learn more about Eunice Foote and her impact on our understanding of climate change in this blog post.
Meet the scientific pioneer who was the first to describe the greenhouse effect. Did she get the credit she deserves?
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Guiding Questions
Don’t forget: You can find key ideas and sample answers to these materials—and all articles, videos, and activities—in the Lesson Guide found at the top of the page.
How do we know climate change is happening? Dive into the charts in the article to find the evidence, then put the claims to the test in the activity that follows.
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Guiding Questions
Created in partnership with Heatmap News, this newsletter will help you cut through the noise of social media and headlines and focus on what matters most.
Check out the check-for-understanding questions on page 4: perfect for a Kahoot-style trivia game.
Browse past editions here for ready-to-go activities for that extra half hour on Friday.
Climate is in the news daily—but what really matters? Check out the most important current events to stay in the know.
It’s time to make a claim—but be prepared to defend it.
