Climate Education Pathways: Allergy Pathway
Lesson Plans
Grades9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by BSCS Science Learning
What it is
- In this six-lesson unit, students will learn about the worsening and early incidence of seasonal allergies in Michigan.
- Students will analyze social media posts and news headings, graph and interpret historical pollen spore data, read multiple sources to determine the cause for increased pollen, look at pollen under a microscope, create models to demonstrate how allergies work, and sum up their learning.
- This allergy section comes from a larger unit focusing on the future of Troy, Michigan.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The initial lesson invites students to share their own experiences with seasonal allergies, increasing student connection and interest in the lesson.
- The inquiry-based nature of the unit will keep students engaged and contributing to the lesson.
Prerequisites
- Lesson 1.2 requires materials teachers may not have on hand, such as colored beads and stackable containers, and Lesson 1.4 requires microscopes and slides.
- Students should know how to use a microscope.
Differentiation & Implementation
- There are many opportunities for turning and talking and partner work throughout the lesson. Teachers can use strategic pairing to maximize student participation.
- The video showing the pollen season time-lapse in Lesson 1.3 goes fast. Teachers may need to show students how to slow the video playback speed.
- If teachers don't have a microscope for Lesson 1.4, there are magnified images of different types of pollen to use instead.
- After Lesson 1.6, teachers can easily transition into a lesson or unit about the causes of climate change with the question, "Why is it getting warmer?"
From the scientist review
This resource from the Climate Education Pathways provides teachers with several lesson plans about the earlier arrival and worsening of allergy seasons in Michigan. Additional links on the website include materials for the lesson, learning tasks, references, and resources. The references and sourced material utilized for this lesson plan are not provided but do appear to be up to date. This site would be a valuable resource for educators seeking to enhance climate-related learning experiences in the classroom.
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