CP Course Guide
OER PROJECT: CLIMATE COURSE GUIDEINSPIRING A GENERATION OF IMPATIENT OPTIMISTSGrounded in the belief that students need the opportunity to explore climate change for themselves, this course provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to take action.Why Teach Climate Change?Climate change will affect every part of our lives, from health care and food systems to business and governance. An understanding of climate change and how we can respond to it is critical knowledge for the next generation of experts, leaders, workers, and citizens.Today’s students are the best advocates for climate-mitigation we have, and many of them are eager to take action. Students deserve the chance to interrogate information—free of fear and bias—to understand how to reduce impacts, build resilience, and contribute to a zero-carbon future. Integrating the knowledge of causes, impacts, and solutions into the classroom will prepare students to take on the challenges climate change presents and will help them envision their own role in shaping our future.Course Goals1. Examine the facts, impacts, and promising solutions to better understand the climate crisis.2. Advance awareness, interest, and the skills needed to address climate change through civic action, education, and career readiness.3. Evaluate information to engage in constructive discussion and move past pessimism and inaction.Our Approach✔Inquiry-based: Interrogate diverse sources to understand the causes, impacts, and potential solutions.✔Focused on skills: Build data- and digital- literacy skills to critically analyze arguments. ✔Engaging materials: Offer students timely, clear-eyed articles, videos, and activities.✔Action opportunities: Choose from a range of culminating projects—from an exploration of climate-focused careers to community civic action.ContentsCourse Problem & Learning Objectives .........................................................................................................................2Course Structure & Materials .........................................................................................................................................2Standards Alignment .......................................................................................................................................................4Skills ................................................................................................................................................................................5Assessment .....................................................................................................................................................................6Facilitating Climate Discussions .....................................................................................................................................7Support & Contact Information .......................................................................................................................................7
2Course Guide Course Problem & Learning ObjectivesCourse Problem:How can you effectively evaluate information about climate change to more fully understand the causes, impacts, and most powerful ways to address it?Course Learning Objectives:1. Critically assess diverse sources to fully understand the causes, impacts, and most powerful ways to address climate change.2. Evaluate the impacts of climate change on natural and human systems at the global, local, and personal scales.3. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the most effective ways to leverage innovation and targeted action to drive decarbonization and adaptation.4. Deepen an understanding of the skills needed to address climate change through civic action, education, and career readiness.5. Build and apply data and digital literacy, reading, and writing skills to craft evidence-based arguments to effectively communicate about climate change. Course Structure & MaterialsOER Project: Climate lessons are designed to be flexible and easily integrated into your classroom setting. The course can be taught as a full-semester program or through standalone lessons, allowing teachers to tailor the curriculum to meet specific learning goals, schedules, and student needs. Whether you choose to teach the entire sequence for a comprehensive investigation of climate content or select individual lessons to focus on particular topics of interest, course materials follow a clear, cohesive structure to maximize student engagement and learning.Below is an overview of the course framework. For more detailed information, follow the links to the unit and lesson pages.Unit 1—Introduction to Climate ChangeWhat is climate change and how can we accurately evaluate the information surrounding it?Lesson 1.1—Understanding Climate ChangeUnderstanding the key concepts will help you develop better ways to communicate about climate change.Lesson 1.2—Climate DisagreementExplore the political, economic, and social forces that complicate important discussions.Lesson 1.3—The Case for Climate OptimismImpatient optimists see climate challenges as opportunities to shape the future we want to create.Lesson 1.4—International Climate GoalsLearn about some of the successful—and not-so-successful—tools used to create alignment.Lesson 1.5—The History of Climate ChangeDig into Earth’s long climate history to uncover the lessons we’ve learned—and the warnings we’ve ignored.
3Course GuideUnit 2—The Impacts of Climate ChangeWhat are the impacts of climate change?Lesson 2.1—Evaluating Climate ImpactsLearn about the varied effects of climate change on natural and human systems.Lesson 2.2—Direct Impacts of Climate ChangeExplore the direct impacts and implications of rising temperatures on Earth’s natural systems.Lesson 2.3—Indirect Impacts of Climate ChangeExamine the ways climate change is impacting people and communities.Lesson 2.4—Climate Vocabulary Dig into the vocabulary around climate change to build a shared understanding of the topic.Unit 3—Adaptation and InnovationHow can we leverage innovation and action to respond to climate change?Lesson 3.1—Evaluating Climate SolutionsUnderstand the difference between adaptation and mitigation to inform climate action.Lesson 3.2—Climate Change AdaptationExplore adaptation solutions that hold the greatest potential for reducing climate impacts.Lesson 3.3—The Need for Climate InnovationIdentify the areas of opportunity for new solutions that can make the biggest difference.Lesson 3.4—Effective Climate ActionExplore the ways individuals, businesses, and government can work together.Lesson 3.5—The Cost of DecarbonizingUnderstand and address the additional expense for low-carbon alternatives.Unit 4—DecarbonizationWhat are the challenges of and solutions to decarbonization?Lesson 4.1—The Grand ChallengesExplore the five main economic sectors responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.Lesson 4.2—Decarbonization SolutionsEvaluate decarbonization solutions to maximize their adoption and use.
4Course GuideLesson 4.3—Implementing Decarbonization StrategiesDiscover how we can move from goals to action through government policy at local, national, and international levels.Lesson 4.4—A Climate FutureInvestigate how a future with climate change might look based on our current path, and what can be done to shape the future we want to see.Unit 5—Taking ActionHow can you take action to respond to climate change?Lesson 5.1—Climate Action: Career PlanExplore how climate change will impact various careers and think about what your own future might hold.Lesson 5.2—Climate Action: Climate Solution PresentationResearch a solution and build a presentation to educate others about the issue.Lesson 5.3—Climate Action: PolicyInvestigate the importance of government policy in driving climate action and write to a leader in support of one you think will have an impact.Lesson 5.4—Climate Action: Civic ActionApply what you’ve learned about the issue to make a difference where you live. Standards AlignmentAddressing climate change and building an equitable, zero-carbon future requires a comprehensive understanding of the scientific and societal challenges and solutions. State standards provide a framework to equip students with essential knowledge and skills, whether or not your standards explicitly address human- caused climate change.Civics StandardsSome states require civics seals for high school graduation, achieved through the completion of a capstone project that demonstrates civic involvement in conjunction with proficient coursework. Each lesson of Unit 5 is designed to support the requirements of a civics diploma seal through civic participation in students’ communities. Social Studies StandardsMost states have integrated environmental and sustainability issues into social studies standards, focusing broadly on the interactions between humans and their environments. Climate change knowledge is particularly relevant in areas including geography, civics, economics, and government.The College, Career, and Civic Life Framework (C3 Framework) is designed to equip young people with the critical-thinking tools needed for inquiry, communication, and informed action. The C3 Framework is designed to support interdisciplinary application, making it an effective partner to OER Project: Climate materials. Seals for civics are currently offered in Arizona, California, Georgia, New York, and Virginia. Several other states are in the process of developing civics diploma seals.Evaluate the relationship between humans and the environment including climate change. Analyze patterns of production and consumption of energy and the impact it has on climate change. Minnesota Grade 9 Social Studies Standard 9.3.16.2
5Course GuideScience StandardsClimate science involves many disciplines, including geology, physics, biology, and chemistry. Weaving climate content into these areas offers an opportunity for students to gain a deeper understanding of causes, impacts, and viable solutions.In many places, the evidence of a changing climate is recognized in science standards. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) explicitly support the study of climate change by examining climate systems, human impacts, mitigation strategies, and the role of technology. In 2020, New Jersey became the first state to include climate change in its standards across content areas in grades K–12. SkillsData LiteracyLearning about climate change involves looking at complex and constantly changing data. Through data explorations and infographics, OER Project: Climate builds student understanding of how to engage with, interpret, and make conclusions about data. Every Data Exploration centers on a selection of thematic charts with explanatory text to help students engage with the data. OER Project: Climate infographics appear at the beginning of a lesson and introduce students to some of the most important numbers or data concepts they will encounter in that lesson.Climate LiteracyDefined as “an understanding of your influence on climate and climate’s influence on you and society,” climate literacy is essential to students as they prepare to be informed citizens, workers, and leaders in a society affected by climate change. OER Project: Climate provides the knowledge and skills students will need as they navigate a changing natural and societal landscape.1Digital LiteracyBeing able to navigate the flood of online information and disinformation is key not just to understanding climate change, but also to building the skills of a critical consumer. OER Project: Climate develops the skill of claim testing, a strategic approach to assessing the kinds of claims that students see constantly in the news, on social media, and in their everyday interactions.Civic ActionIf they are to feel impatiently optimistic about the future, students need the opportunity and agency to act, and to feel that they are making a real difference. Throughout the course, they will encounter numerous examples of innovators and innovations to help them consider where their interests and skills fit into the puzzle of confronting climate change. We even have an entire unit devoted to offering multiple opportunities for students to act. Students can:• Explore climate careers• Present climate solutions• Advocate via letter-writing based on climate policy research• Participate in a community-based civic-engagement product of their choosing.1 What is Climate Science Literacy? NOAA Climate.gov https://www.climate.gov/teaching/what-is-climate-science-literacyAnalyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.C3 Framework for Social Studies D2.Geo.4.9-12.Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity. Next Generation Science Standards HS-ESS3-4.
6Course Guide AssessmentAssessment needs to be a comprehensive strategy, not just a test at the end of a unit. For this reason, OER Project: Climate embeds assessments throughout the course—all activities, including openers and closers, are developed to help both students and teachers gain insight into their understanding. All articles, videos, data explorations, and infographics contain guiding questions, which can be done as a class or individually to assess understanding.We encourage the use of formative assessment (or, as we find it helpful to think about it, informative assessment—assessment that informs) as opposed to the exclusive use of summative assessment. Instead of making every quiz, test, or extended writing a one-shot opportunity—à la summative assessments—we favor assessment opportunities that allow students to revisit and revise their work, as that is one of the best ways for them to learn.More-formal writing assessments are offered at the end of each unit in the form of a document-based question (DBQ). Each DBQ asks students to analyze documents to respond to the driving question of the unit. The OER Project: Climate Writing Rubric provides support to illuminate writing criteria and help you evaluate student writing.The civic action options in Unit 5 offer authentic assessment opportunities. When students can show their understanding in a format that aligns with the content they’re learning, the experience feels more worthwhile and engaging—and still gives teachers plenty of insight into student understanding. Facilitating Climate DiscussionsStudents and educators enter discussions around climate change with a wide range of background knowledge and lived experience. These discussions are powerful tools to promote critical thinking, awareness, and action, but can also be complicated to navigate. This framework may be helpful to you when you’re approaching classroom discussions surrounding climate change:• Take the role of lead learner: You don’t have to be an expert on climatology or thermodynamics to be able to effectively facilitate discussions. In fact, when it comes to climate change, no one has all the answers. Removing a single person as the ultimate source of truth, and modeling an “I don’t know, but I do know how to find out” ethos promotes discussions grounded in evidence and curiosity.
7Course Guide• Connect discussions to local communities: Educators are best positioned to promote student learning when content is linked to local concerns, interests, and cultural knowledge. Helping students build connections between their firsthand experiences and climate content increases student engagement, builds common understanding, and recognizes students’ backgrounds and values.• Practice testing claims: Much of the information we’re exposed to daily reinforces the biases we already hold. The practice of claim testing builds strategies to critically evaluate the information we encounter online, in the classroom, and out in the world. By making claim testing a consistent classroom practice, students become more adept at evaluating the claims they encounter and at making evidence-backed claims of their own. Support & Contact InformationProfessional learning support: Several opportunities for live and virtual professional development are available throughout the school year. The OER Conference for the Social Studies brings together thousands of educators, historians, experts, influencers, authors, and others to discuss education challenges and ideas for K–12. OER Project also offers several live, virtual professional development sessions aligned to the courses and curricula. These sessions help teachers get familiar with our tools and courses and get ready to use them in the classroom. All these professional-development options are freely available and accessible online and are approved for clock hours in most states in the US. Click here to see the OER Project: Climate professional learning schedule.OER Project: Climate Teacher Community: The online OER Project: Climate Teacher Community is active, open, and brings together the collective wisdom and support of thousands of helpful people. Here you will find educators teaching OER Project: Climate across grade levels, subjects, and regions.OER Project email: team@oerproject.comCourse home