El Niño: Connections to Global Warming

Provided by: Project Look Sharp |Published on: April 27, 2021

Lesson Plans

678

Scientist Reviewed ↗

Synopsis

In this activity, students will examine an article and videos that explain how warmer ocean temperatures that occur during an El Niño year cause extreme weather.
Students will decode the media messages from the NOAA, Voice of America, and CBS News.
This resource includes a student worksheet, a lesson plan, and a student handout.

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Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Geography

Authors: Project Look Sharp, Sox Sperry

Region: Global

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

The lesson plan provides discussion questions for a variety of academic subjects.
Students will learn how to evaluate information sources for reliability.
This lesson is designed to help students learn how media messages can affect the way that people understand a topic.

Additional Prerequisites

Teachers must create a free account to access materials.
Teachers should research the sources ahead of time to understand the viewpoints and biases.
The lesson plan refers to a "constructivist media decoding process;" these materials will help teachers to understand the goals and design of the lesson.

Differentiation

Students can respond to questions individually or in small groups before discussing their answers as a class.
The reading for this activity is a bit dense, so a structured reading process may help some students.
Other resources on this topic include this lesson on short-term variability in climate, this Vox video on the impacts of melting sea ice on the Arctic, and this digital book on climate change and extreme weather.

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About the Partner Provider

Project Look Sharp

Project Look Sharp is a nonprofit, mission-driven outreach program of Ithaca College. Their mission is to help K-16 educators enhance students' critical thinking, metacognition, and civic engagement through media literacy materials and professional development.

Scientist Reviewed

This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.

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El Niño: Connections to Global Warming

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

About the Partner Provider

Scientist Reviewed

Related Teaching Resources