Range Shifts in Mountain Species
Provided by: BioInteractive|Published on: May 8, 2026
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Biology
Authors: BioInteractive
Region: Global
Languages: English, Spanish
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 →
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 →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will understand how climate change has caused different mountain species' ranges to shift.
- Students will analyze a box-and-whisker plot that shows the results of a study to determine how far species' ranges are shifting due to climate change.
- The materials are also available in Spanish.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The figure that is the focal point for this lesson is fairly clear and easy to understand, using images to help student who may not be familiar with their categorization on the left.
- The resource provides a multitude of discussion questions, allowing for various avenues for discussion.
Prerequisites
- It may benefit students to have familiarity with box-and-whisker plots.
- This activity builds on students' awareness of climate change and its impacts.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers can use this video on a similar topic to show how some mountain-dwelling organisms adapt to climate change.
- Teachers can provide students with the list of discussion questions and allow groups to select one or two from each section to discuss. Alternatively, teachers can select discussion questions to focus on depending on students' background knowledge and current topics of study.
- This lesson can be connected to Sustainable Development Goal 15, Life on Land.
This resource guides students through interpreting a graph about range shift in mountain species due to climate change. The activity shows how climate change can affect living things and how we can already see these effects. This activity is also great practice for interpreting graphs found in scientific journals. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
BioInteractive
BioInteractive brings the power of real science stories into tens of thousands of high school and undergraduate life science classrooms.
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.
Learn about our review process →
