What’s the Worst Impact of Climate Change?

In this lesson, students learn about climate change, choose one impact of climate change, and write a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video on the basics of climate change.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students take notes while watching four videos on the impacts of climate change.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one of the impacts of climate change and write a paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.

Positives

• This lesson is terrific for teaching paragraph structure.

• The color coding of the sentences in the paragraph is really helpful, especially for concrete thinkers.

Additional Prerequisites

• This lesson shows some of the impacts of climate change. Some of these might be difficult to hear. Students may feel anger, sadness, anxiety, or grief after hearing about some of these devastating impacts. Encourage them to share their emotions.

• This lesson will naturally lead into the discussion of solutions to the climate crisis. Lean into that discussion.
• There is, of course, no right answer to "What's the worst impact of climate change?" These impacts of climate change are all catastrophic in their own right.
• Encourage the students to use as many hard facts as possible in their supporting sentences. These include dates, names, places, and specific events.
• You can use 2-3 videos of impacts of climate change if you do not want to use all of them.
• This lesson can be paired with the StC Lesson Plan What's the Best Solution to Climate Change?

Differentiation

• Most students will benefit from color coding their sentences. Encourage them to keep their text highlighted as they write. They can even keep their paragraphs highlighted after they finish.

• Weaker students may write only five sentences. Stronger students may expand more in their supporting sentences.
• If students are struggling with their closing sentences, ask them to read their claim sentences aloud. Sometimes this helps guide their thinking.
• Stronger students who finish early can read their paragraphs to one another, discuss the writing process, and discuss the climate crisis.

Understanding the key drivers of climate change and weather extremes, including the carbon cycle and processes and changes in the earth-atmosphere-ocean systems, have been discussed in this lesson. This is important for students to learn and prepare for future climate risk. This lesson has passed our science review process.

Primary Standards

• Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
  • Writing (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Supporting Standard

• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
    • MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.