Unit 1 Guide
Unit 1 Guide
2Unit 1: Introduction to Climate ChangeThe first unit of Climate Project provides students a foundational understanding of climate change and introduces a claim-testing tool they can use to evaluate evidence throughout the course. Students explore how scholarly consensus on climate change was established, why disagreement persists despite the evidence, and go on to assess the case for optimism as a driver for action. The unit concludes with a study of international climate targets and an examination of the benefits and limitations of setting climate goals.
Unit Learning Objectives1.Understand the basics of climate change including its causes and effects2.Use claim-testing skills to evaluate information surrounding climate change.3.Assess reasons for optimism in the face of climate change.4.Analyze the strengths and challenges international climate targets.For individual lesson learning objectives, please review the Lesson Teaching Guides.
Big Questions In this unit, students will consider the Unit Problem: What is climate change and how can we accurately evaluate the information surrounding it? To help them answer the Unit Problem, they will also consider the following questions in each lesson:1.What is climate change?2.Why can it be so difficult to agree when it comes to climate change?3.Why should we be optimistic when it comes to climatechange?4.How can setting effective goals help us address climatechange?
Lessons Overview As students move through the lessons of Unit 1, they will ground themselves in an overview of climate change. This unit is about understanding the current landscape and setting the context for the deeper discussions and investigations students will encounter as they move through the course.•Lesson 1: Understanding Climate Change—Students evaluate the basics of climate change to develop an evidence-based definition of what climate change means to them, and they walk away able to describe it to someone else. •Lesson 2: Climate Disagreement—Students learn to use claim-testing tools to investigate the reasons behind climate change disagreements and develop the skills needed to critically evaluate new information..•Lesson 3: The Case for Climate Optimism—Students explore different perspectives to determine if an optimistic attitude is justified.•Lesson 4: International Climate Goals—Students learn about the opportunities and challenges of international climate policies.Follow the links above to explore each lesson in this unit. Look for this symbol to find the lesson guides, which provide teacher guidance, including sample answers.
6Teaching Tips
OpenersYou’ll find quick opener activities like these at the start of each lesson. They’ll help students preview the upcoming material and engage their prior knowledge. Although we’ve written them to align with the content of each lesson, feel free to swap in openers/do-nows/bell ringers that you already use! Openers in Unit 1:•Lesson 1.1 Opener: What Does Climate Change Mean to You?•Lesson 1.2 Opener: Claim Tester Review•Lesson 1.3 Opener: A Different View •Lesson 1.4 Opener: What Do You Know What Do You Ask?For more information, check out Openers & Closers Quick Tips.
InfographicsWe use infographics with intention throughout the course to teach key concepts that we want students to remember as they move through the units. Infographics help students engage in different forms of media literacy, engage critical thinking skills, and encourage students to think flexibly and creatively. This content type uses a mix of data, images, and explanatory text to help boost reading comprehension and embed information in memory. As an added benefit, the graphics are engaging and fun and, compared to blocks of text, can help lessen cognitive load. Infographics in Unit 1:•Lesson 1.1 Infographic: Small Parts, Big Impacts•Lesson 1.4 Infographic: What Caused Climate Change?For more information, see our Infographics Guide.
ReadingsOER Project includes primary sources and articles written by a diverse range of scholars and OER Project staff. Some of the reading involved in OER Project courses can be challenging, but it is vital for engaging with the course content. All texts in the course—other than those that are part of Investigations or DBQs or are primary source materials—have been Lexile leveled, and each article has three or four versions to accommodate students of all reading levels. (Lexile levels coming soon in Climate Project!)OER Project provides Guiding Questions alongside each reading. These questions encourage students to approach the text at three levels—first by skimming the text, next by reading to answer Key Idea questions, and finally by evaluating the text through questions that encourage connection and synthesis. Readings in Unit 1:•Lesson 1.2 Article: Understanding Climate Change Disagreement•Lesson 1.3 Article: The Need for Climate Optimists•Lesson 1.4 Article: Understanding 1.5 CFor more information, see our Reading Guide.
VideosWe use videos to vary the content delivery and provide a visually engaging approach to the course material. Students are often excited to learn that they’ll be watching a video in class. However, as you likely know, video-watching is a skill, just like reading an article. Here are a couple of quick strategies to get you started:•We highly recommend that students read the video description and Guiding Questions first—this serves as a prereadto prepare them. You can also have them open and skim the video transcript. We’ve provided you with time stamps and sample answers, which students will not see. •Most Climate Project videos are 10-13 minutes. We recommend chunking the videos. The easiest way to do this is to use the Key Ideas feature, which is built in to the video viewer. When this is turned on, the video will automatically pause at the times and corresponding Guiding Questions, providing great opportunity for discussion or for students to record their answers for a later discussion. •If you have enough time, you can always play the video twice: the first time without pausing so students can watch all the way through, the second time pausing at the Key Ideas. Videos in Unit 1:•Lesson 1.1 Video: Crash Course -What is Climate Change?•Lesson 1.3 Video: A Case for Optimism•Lesson 1.4 Video: Crash Course -International Climate GoalsFor more information, see our Video Guide.
Data ExplorationsStudents will encounter data explorations throughout Climate Project. The purpose of these is to guide students through a series of charts and graphs to help them develop a deeper understanding of the data and evidence behind key learning objectives. Data Explorations in Unit 1:•Lesson 1.1 Article: How Do We Know Climate Change Is Real?•Lesson 2.2 Activity: Mapping a Climate FutureFor more information, see our Data Literacy Guide.
Claim TestingIn this course, and in everyday life, we encounter assertions or claims—in the news, on social media, as advertisements, in marketing for products, and even in films and books. At times, we can take these at face value, but more and more, it’s important to question and test the claims that we come across. We use what we call claim testers to help us check the soundness and strength of beliefs—our own and those of others. The four claim testers are intuition,authority,logic,andevidence. •Intuition—We look for intuition to test some claims. Intuition is often a gut feeling, something we experience when the support for the claim just “seems” right.•Authority—This is when we accept information or data from a credible or believable source.•Logic—Sometimes we test claims by carefully thinking about something to see if it makes sense.•Evidence—The available information we gather up. Remember, evidence is an interesting word because it comes from evident: to be able to see something.Claim Testing in Unit 1:•Lesson 1.1 Activity: Claim Testing: Earth's Climate Record•Lesson 1.2 Opener: Claim Tester Review•Lesson 1.2 Activity: Claim Testing: Evaluating Authority
ActivitiesLessons contain a variety of activity types all of which are meant maximize student engagement and learning.Activities are an important part of OER Project lessons, and serve to build student understanding. While articles and videos help students learn key content objectives, activities provide opportunities for them to show their understanding in a variety of ways, often through informal writing. Finally, activities provide opportunities for student collaboration through group work and presentations, and deeper engagement through activities like simulations and debates, which get students moving and “doing” history. For all activities in OER Project—except for openers and closers—teachers can find directions and sample answers in the accompanying lesson guides. Some activity types appear in multiple units. This intentional repetition offers students and teachers consistent practice in a variety of skills.
ClosersYou’ll find closer activities at the end of all lessons—they’re meant to give students the opportunity to reflect and show their understanding. While we’ve written them to align with the content of each lesson, feel free to swap in exit tickets or other checks for understanding. Closers in Unit 1:•Lesson 1.1 Closer: Individual Impacts•Lesson 1.2 Closer: Exploring Climate Disagreement•Lesson 1.3 Closer: A New Perspective•Lesson 1.4 Closer: Setting Effective GoalsFor more information, check out Openers & Closers Quick Tips.
AssessmentsClimate Project 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. 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 Climate Project Writing Rubric provides support to illuminate writing criteria and help you evaluate student writing.Unit 1 DBQ Assessment: •1.4.7Introduction to Climate Change