In this lesson, students will explore many possible solutions to climate change across the sectors of electricity, transportation, land use and agriculture, buildings, and materials.
An interactive module allows students to design a combination of solutions and visualize the total impact those solutions would have.
Teaching Tips
Positives:
This lesson plan really gets students considering the impacts of and possible solutions to climate change at a deep level.
The "Design Our Climate" simulation is outstanding.
Additional Prerequisites
This is part 9 of 9 in Explaining Climate Change, a series of lessons from The King's Centre for Visualization in Science.
This lesson assumes students already have an understanding of the science behind climate change.
Teachers should instruct students to closely read the text and follow all directions carefully.
Differentiation
The readings in this lesson are extensive. Teachers should consider reading scaffolds for students who would benefit from that support.
The lessons are set up so that students can proceed at their own pace.
Teachers can have students work individually, as a small group, or as a class.
Students can present their solutions plan from the "Design Our Climate" simulator to their classmates and discuss the pros and cons of different plans.
This resource provides insight into community climate response mechanisms such as site-specific climate adaptation, resilience, and risk management. It is recommended for teaching climate science and environmental justice.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-2 Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
ETS1: Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
HS-ETS1-2 Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
HS-ETS1-4 Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.9.9-12 Evaluate the influence of long-term climate variability on human migration and settlement patterns, resource use, and land uses at local-to-global scales.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
