Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change
Articles/Websites
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 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 NASA
What it is
- This NASA article describes the difference between weather and climate, and defines the terms climate change and global warming.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The text is clear, concise, and written in student-friendly language.
- The text defines and distinguishes between climate change and global warming, which are two commonly interchanged terms.
Prerequisites
- The site includes many links to additional NASA resources related to climate change.
- This text is not translated into Spanish, but it links to related texts that are provided in both Spanish and English.
Differentiation & Implementation
- In a science class, this text would be a great introduction to or review of the terms weather, climate, climate change, and global warming.
- In an English Language Arts class this text could be used to practice reading comprehension of technical science texts.
- If you are looking for a more extensive introduction to the basics of climate change, try the video What is Climate Change?
- Other resources that discuss the difference between weather and climate include the video and questions Weather vs. Climate by CK-12, the video Weather vs. Climate by Crash Course Kids, and the video The Real Reason We Confuse Weather and Climate by Hot Mess.
From the scientist review
This resource offers an explanation on the differences between weather and climate. Additionally it details what global warming is and how we know it is happening and how we know humans are causing it. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on climate.nasa.gov
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
