Climate Change

OER Project: Climate equips students with the information and skills to make a difference and have an impact on the future of our planet. Teach students what’s contributing to the climate crisis and guide their critical-thinking development to overcome these obstacles. Teach the full course, or grab one of the classroom-ready lessons or teaching materials below.
Full Course

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Climate Teaching Resources

OER Project: Climate Course Guide External link

Unsure how to start teaching climate change in your classroom? Begin with a zoomed-out view of the course to see the full landscape.
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Climate Standards Alignment External link

Information about how OER Project: Climate aligns with social studies, science, and civics standards.
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PD Event: Climate News, Clear Thinking with Heatmap External link

Spark student curiosity and boost climate smarts with real-world stories from Heatmap journalists.

discussions

Community Forum: Going to War with Climate Change Issues External link

Explore this community forum thread to see how real teachers are integrating climate content across different subjects.
Blog

Blog: Teaching Climate Change in Every Classroom External link

Climate education is not just about teaching facts—it’s about building hope, agency, and resilience.

Teach Tomorrow: Climate Lessons

Lesson 1.1
Climate
Introduction to Climate Change
Understanding Climate Change
There’s no simple definition for climate change, but a shared understanding is crucial to addressing it. Exploring what climate change means is the first step to addressing it.
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Lesson 4.1
Climate
Decarbonization
The Grand Challenges
51 billion tons of greenhouse gases every year. Make sense of a number that big by exploring the Grand Challenges—the major categories responsible for emissions.
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Lesson 1.5
Climate
Introduction to Climate Change
The History of Climate Change
What can looking to the past teach us about a future shaped by climate change? Dig into Earth’s long climate history to uncover the lessons we’ve learned—and the warnings we’ve ignored.
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Ready-to-Use Climate Change Lesson Plans

History and Climate Change External link

Students investigate how climate change shaped the past, influences the present, and could impact the future.

Earth & Space Science and Climate Change External link

Students investigate scientific evidence for climate change by analyzing real-world data on global temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, sea-level rise, and extreme heat.

Writing and Climate Change External link

Explore why there’s so much disagreement surrounding climate change and have students develop a response that explains their perspective.

Geography and Climate Change External link

Discover how geography and geographic skills can help students better understand modern climate change and the interaction between humans and their environment.

OER Project: Climate Activities and Resources

How Do We Know Climate Change Is Real?
Low angle view of two scientists wearing warm clothes and using tools to core ice in Utqiavik, Alaska.
Climate
Article

How Do We Know Climate Change Is Real? External link

Dig into four charts about global temperatures, emissions, and the correlation between them.
Data Warm-Up
Climate
Opener

Data Warm-Up External link

What does the future hold? You interpret the data. In this quick warm up activity, students use data literacy skills to investigate predictions for a future with climate change.
Small Parts, Big Impacts
Climate
Infographic

Small Parts, Big Impacts External link

Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing the concentration of CO2 and other gases in the atmosphere. This infographic dives into the big impacts that even small changes can have.
What Is Climate Change?
Climate
Video

What Is Climate Change? External link

Climate change has been around for 4.5 billion years. What’s so special about it now? Explore what’s different about today’s climate change.
Understanding Climate Change Disagreement
A crowd of tourists observe an iceberg in a lagoon during an autumn day in Iceland.
Climate
Article

Understanding Climate Change Disagreement External link

If the scientific community agrees that climate change is real, why do some people deny it? Investigate why there’s so much disagreement about climate change.
Mapping a Climate Future
Mapping a Climate Future
Climate
Activity

Mapping a Climate Future External link

Investigate a series of climate maps to visualize what extreme heat looks like now, and what scientists predict it will look like in the future.

Writing Assessments for Teaching Climate Change

Pre-Writing: Introduction to Climate Change
Climate
Assessment

Pre-Writing: Introduction to Climate Change External link

Why should we care about climate change? Time to unpack the prompt and brainstorm how you’ll respond.
DBQ Sources: Introduction to Climate Change
Climate
Assessment

DBQ Sources: Introduction to Climate Change External link

Use evidence from the sources to support your response to why we should care about climate change.
Writing: Introduction to Climate Change
Climate
Assessment

Writing: Introduction to Climate Change External link

You’ve brainstormed the topic and read the sources, now it’s time to write!
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