Confronting Climate Change in California

Topics:  Global Warming, Its Affects on the Ecosystem, Possible Preventative Measures

Source:  Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), an independent non-profit organization; co-authored by climate scientists and ecologists, peer-reviewed by scientific experts.

Web Address: http://www.ucsusa.org (This is the home page. Select Global Warming on the left, then Global Warming Materials for Educators. This page contains links for various guides; the California guide is 2/3 of the way down the page. If this does not work, try the search option with "Global Warming Materials for Educators")

Grade Levels:  HS, some activities adaptable to lower grades

Learning Strategies:  Student-centered activities, tied to content standards; hands-on; personal research; creativity and imagination.

Frameworks Connections:

Science and Technology/Engineering

• Earth and Space Science, Grades 6-8

Heat Transfer in the Earth System

• Earth and Space Science, Grades 9-10

1. Matter and Energy in the Earth System

• Life Sciences, Grades 6-8

Living Things and Their Environment
Changes in Ecosystems Over Time

• Biology, Grades 9-10

6. Ecology

History and Social Science

• Main theme "the development of scientific reasoning, technology, and formal education over time, and their effect on people's health, standards of living, economic growth, government, religious beliefs, communal life, and the environment."

Cost:  Free download, or $15 and $25 for hard copies of guides and all materials.

Description: The curriculum guide consists of 8 student-centered, interactive activities.  The guide is based on a report on global warming in California (reports can also be downloaded).  The activities present questions or ideas to the students, and challenges them to analyze issues, causes/effects, and solutions.  Students are encouraged to consider different view-points and draw their own conclusions based on what they learn.  Students often investigate concepts through hands-on activities, personal research or creativity and imagination.

A complete lesson plan is provided for each activity, formatted using the following sections: 

  • Objectives
  • Specific Skills
  • Materials
  • Time
  • Background Information
  • Activity Guide
  • Extensions and
  • Additional Resources

The extensions for each activity are provided to allow teachers to challenge students more, or in a different way.  Additional resources (mostly links) for more information are listed for each activity, and a few more are listed on the web site.  Relevant background information is provided to the teacher for each lesson.  Connections to the California standards for Science and History and Social Science are made for each activity.

This guide is a very good resource for teachers who wish to study climate change from both science and social science perspectives.