Climate Course Standards Brief
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0.OER Project: ClimateCourse OverviewOER Project: Climate is a semester-long course that works, whether used as a primary curriculum or as a supplemental learning resource.Authentic inquiry is foundational to the course, as each unit is grounded in compelling driving questions such as “How is climate change affecting us?” and “Why do some people deny climate change?” Students regularly analyze data, maps, articles, and case studies, and engage with diverse source types including interviews, multimedia, and external datasets from organizations like NOAA and the EPA. Through recurring, scaffolded claim-testing activities, OER Project: Climate emphasizes critical literacy, helping students evaluate assertions using intuition, authority, logic, and evidence. Course materials meaningfully connect learning to students’ lives through personal inventories, career reflections, and civic-action planning. Collectively, these course features move students from passive data consumers to active argument creators who synthesize evidence to address real-world climate issues.One benefit of the Climate course is that its structure also supports teacher and curricular flexibility while aligning with the rigor and standards of the C3 Framework, Common Core, and Next Generation Science Standards.Standards AlignmentAs part of a High Quality Instructional Material (HQIM) review of OER Project: Climate (April 2026), American Institutes for Research (AIR)1found alignment with topic areas across standards in 49 states and the District of Columbia.2Topics with the broadest geographic coverage include:•Technological Innovation(present in 47 states) •Economics & Economic Decisions(present in 47 states) •Environment(present in 49 states) •Globalization Trends(present in 47 states) •Public Policy(present in 46 states) •Resource Allocation(present in 40 states)Collectively, these topics reflect an emphasis on economics, geography, civics, and history standards on decision-making, systems, and the interaction between society, government, and the environment.1The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance in education, among other fields.2Vermont adopted the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for their state social studies standards. While Vermont provides sample content connections, they do not have explicit social studies content standards.
2Climate Topics and AlignmentStandard ClusterTopic and FocusClimateEconomics & Economic DecisionsMarket economy and external influences; production and distribution; scarcity and choice; international tradeUnits 1–5EnvironmentHuman-environment interactions; climate changeUnits 1–5Globalization TrendsGlobal economy and tradeUnits 1–5Technological InnovationScience, technology, and communication; living standards and economic growth; inventions and innovations; adaptationUnits 3 and 4Public PolicyGovernment policies; current issues; civic actionUnits 3–5Resource AllocationResources and human populations; stewardship of environmentUnits 3 and 5Total pacing: Approximately 75 days (adaptable for local school calendars and pacing guides). All units are taught to depth, not breadth, with sustained opportunities for source analysis, evidence-based argumentation, and multiple-perspective inquiry throughout.Course StructureFive units, each organized around a compelling inquiry question: •Unit 1: Introduction to Climate Change—What is climate change and how can we accurately evaluate the information surrounding it?•Unit 2: The Impacts of Climate Change—What are the impacts of climate change?•Unit 3: Adaptation and Innovation—How can we leverage innovation and action to respond to climate change?•Unit 4: Decarbonization—What are the challenges of and solutions to decarbonization?•Unit 5: Taking Action—How can you take action to respond to climate change?Key FeaturesInquiry-Based Learning Aligned to Social Studies and Science StandardsEach unit begins with a compelling question and builds student understanding of and thinking about the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to the climate crisis. This structure aligns with Social Studies Standards across 49 states and the District of Columbia by engaging students in developing and refining questions; examining evidence and evaluating sources; analyzing and claim testing arguments from varied perspectives; and constructing evidence-based arguments and explanations. The practices
3are not taught as discrete skills in isolation but are woven into every unit as habits of mind students use repeatedly across content.Skill-Intensive and Literacy-RichThroughout the course, students practice historical thinking skills of causation and claim testing as they encounter interdisciplinary concepts. Data-literacy skills are woven across units, offering students practice with data analysis and data storytelling. Climate lessons build key geographic understandings through data investigations on climate impacts. The course frames climate change as a global problem and a shared economic challenge, prompting students to explore how the production, distribution, andconsumption of everyday goods impacts people and the planet. Students engage with civics concepts in exploration of laws, policies, and international agreements in response to climate change. To develop their literacy, students read a variety of texts, including articles, charts, maps, and comics.Ready for Use as Elective or Supplemental CurriculumOER Project: Climate includes all necessary materials: ready-to-use lessons, articles, videos, datasets, formative and summative assessments, and teacher guidance. No student accounts are required and there is no physical textbook to purchase. Teachers candownload, embed, and share learning materials or direct students to the OER Project website.PLC-Friendly DesignShared inquiry questions, shared analytical frames, and transparent standards-alignment support professional learning community (PLC) work and department-wide coherence without requiring external programs or consultant support. The alignment to state standards and disciplinary concepts enables cross-grade collaboration and supports districts’ obligations for continuous curriculum review and improvement.Assessment AlignmentOER Project: Climate’s assessment design reflects a standards-based approach to rigorous social studies and interdisciplinary instruction.•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.•Units 1–4 emphasize writing claims to demonstrate conceptual understanding grounded in evidence. Scaffolded opportunities to write paragraphs that explain information or make an argument increase students’ efficacy in evidence-based and logical writing across these first four units. Units 1–5 contain DBQs and Unit 5 offers four different opportunities for summative assessments.
4•All assessments are embedded in daily instruction, not separated from it, reducing curriculum-to-assessment misalignment and ensuring authentic engagement with the disciplinary concepts central to social studies.By aligning everyday classroom work with these standards, OER Project: Climate ensures students’ daily practice develops the historical thinking, civic dispositions, and global competencies required for informed citizenship in a diverse, interconnected world.Why OER Project: Climate for Middle and High Schools?1.Aligned to social studies standards—Addresses standards for economics, environment, public policy, resource allocation, and globalization to fit a semester-long elective’s scope-and-sequence or plug in as a lesson or module aligned to core standards.2.Literacy-rich—Teaches students to express informed perspectives while developing key reading, writing, and media-literacy skills.3.Civic engagement-ready—Provides daily instruction that builds students’ ability to analyze claims across perspectives, evaluate evidence, analyze data, make claims, and engage in interdisciplinary thinking.4.Global citizenship-focused—Emphasizes geographic interconnection, global systems, and economic exchange, building enduring understandings to help students in an increasingly interconnected world. 5.Teacher-friendly—Includes all necessary materials; no backfilling; shared inquiry questions and analytical frames support coherent instruction and collaborative PLC.6.Cost-effective—No textbook purchase, no licensing, no recurring vendor fees; sustainable and accessible for districts of all sizes and funding levels.Using OER Project: ClimateDistrict and school leaders, supervisors of social studies, instructional coaches, and teacher teams can use this guide in several ways to support standards-aligned implementation of the course.For adoptions and approvals•Review the standards alignment overview table to see how the course scope and sequence aligns with the major standard clusters.•Use the OER Project: Climate alignment document to confirm that required content knowledge and performance expectations are addressed across the five units; open the spreadsheet file and filter by your state’s standards.For curriculum and PLC planning•Use the unit-level notes in the OER Project: Climate alignment table when building or revising pacing guides, identifying which topics are emphasized in each unit.
5•Reference the Climate Course Overview to see where in the course assessments for each skill occur.•Draw on the described student tasks and embedded activities to design common formative and summative assessments that align with local benchmarks and district curriculum review cycles.For audits and documentation•Use the alignment tables as evidence that OER Project: Climate addresses your state’s standards aligned to the course scope and sequence, unit goals, or lesson objectives. •Attach or reference this guide in curriculum adoption reports, program reviews, and district documentation to demonstrate that OER Project: Climate serves as a standards-aligned, semester-long elective or supplemental curriculum option for social studies in your state.Adoption ReadinessClimate addresses standards for economics, environment, public policy, resource allocation, and globalization. Each unit is built around a compelling question and a coherent sequence of lessons, articles, videos, and writing tasks; however, these lessons and materials are intentionally designed to easily supplement a variety of courses, so teachers don’t have to scramble to incorporate climate into the classroom. Together, this standards alignment guide, the Climate Course Overview, and the online Unit Guides provide a documentation stack that curriculum supervisors and department teams can use for adoption decisions, curriculum audits, and professional learning.Implementation of OER Project: Climate does not require a separate textbook or ancillary program. Every unit includes ready-to-use lessons, articles, videos, data explorations, formative and summative assessments, and guidance for using the course’s historical thinking skills across classrooms and professional learning communities. Assessment design is intentionally literacy-rich to develop the skills necessary to fulfill the expectations for disciplinary readers and writers.Unlike traditional, textbook-based approaches, which organize instruction around discrete chapters and factual recall, OER Project: Climate structures all five units around compelling questions and interdisciplinary concepts, helping students develop the durable habits of historical thinking and civic reasoning essential for postsecondary success.Implementation Support•Online course materials (freely available): Unit overviews, detailed Lesson Guides, source sets, and assessment rubrics.•Teacher guides and pacing recommendations for flexible implementation across school calendars and local pacing requirements.•Comprehensive standards-alignment documentation (this brief plus detailed standards alignment tables) for adoption, audit, and accreditation purposes.
6•No district-specific textbook adoption, no ongoing licensing fees, no vendor lock-in.Next Steps•Review the detailed Climate Standards Alignment Guide for standard-by-standard topic alignment.•Explore OER Project: Climate online course materials at oerproject.com. •Schedule a demonstration session or website walkthrough with OER Project.For questions or to schedule an adoption consultation, contact team@oerproject.com.