This resource provides data, interactive media, animated models, and graphs that detail what the effects of climate change are now and what they may be in the future.
The resource provides a number of links to additional information and gives students an idea of what things might be like on Earth and in different parts of the United States over the next 30 to 100 years.
Teaching Tips
Positives
There are many ways to expand this lesson by following the links provided.
The animations of future conditions in the U.S. will likely be very impactful for students.
Additional Prerequisites
You may want to look through the links in each section to see which ones would work best for your lesson.
Differentiation
Students could work in groups to investigate the different sections and then present their results or write a report, reflection, or summary.
Social studies and history classes could use this resource to estimate what these conditions might mean for human civilizations around the world, especially if compared to the effects of natural disasters in the past.
Related resources include the opening chapter of The Ministry for the Future, which describes what Earth might be like in the future, and this SubjectToClimate lesson plan on wet-bulb temperatures and their impacts on human health.
Scientist Notes
This resource offers an extensive list of the negative impacts of climate change and offers evidence as to how scientists know this. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS2: Earth's Systems
MS-ESS2-4 Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
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.
HS-ESS3-5 Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (ACTFL)
Connections: Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career-related situations.
3.1 Making Connections: Learners build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking and to solve problems creatively.
