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An Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change in Illinois
Provided by: The Nature Conservancy |Published on: May 16, 2025
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Synopsis
This report from The Nature Conservancy in Illinois is appropriate to provide a summary of the threats that climate change poses to Illinois precipitation patterns, weather, hydrology, agriculture, human health, and ecosystems.
The effects of decreasing and increasing greenhouse gases are examined and potential solutions and areas for further research are detailed.
This report breaks up the different effects of climate change into sections that are easy to find and read.
Local Illinois data and examples that students in this region can relate to are provided in the report.
Prerequisites
Students should have an understanding of what climate change is.
An understanding of the correlation between increased levels of carbon dioxide and increasing temperatures is necessary to comprehend the predictions in this article.
It may be helpful if students discuss if they have noticed any changes in weather patterns, precipitation, or seasonal temperatures over the years prior to reading this report.
Differentiation & Implementation
Students can be placed into groups, and this report can be assigned as a jigsaw activity, giving each group one of the impacts of climate change to become an expert on and report back to the class.
After reading this report, students can choose one of the effects of climate change to elaborate on in a research project or presentation.
Math and data analysis can be incorporated with this resource by having students research any impact of climate change mentioned in the report (water table levels during certain months, corn yield, soybean yield, etc) and graph them to compare the changes.
This lesson can be used to further explain the connection between climate change and increases in extreme weather patterns.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
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Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. The Nature Conservancy has grown to become one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world.
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