In this activity, students will examine information about the connection between climate change and extreme weather from three sources: Climate Communication, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and The Guardian.
The resource includes a lesson plan, a student handout, a student worksheet, and a PowerPoint presentation.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The lesson plan provides discussion questions for several academic subjects.
Students will hone their media literacy skills as they decipher the subtle difference in the messages from each source.
Additional Prerequisites
Teachers must create a free account to access materials.
The lesson plan refers to a "constructivist media decoding process;" thesematerialswill help teachers to understand the goals and design of the lesson.
Teachers may want to go over this handout on analyzing media messages before students complete the worksheet.
Teachers should research the sources ahead of time to understand the viewpoints and biases.
Differentiation
Students could respond to questions individually or in small groups before discussing the answers as a class.
The reading for this activity is a bit dense, so a structured reading process may help some students.
Other resources on this topic include this video on why climate change makes extreme weather worse, this video on how climate change has intensified hurricane season, and this TED-Ed video on the increasing number of extreme weather events.
Scientist Notes
This resource scales weather events relative to the magnitude and frequency of occurrence. The activity is suitable and recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS2: Earth's Systems
MS-ESS2-5 Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
MS-ESS3-2 Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.2.6-8 Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions, and changes in their environmental characteristics.
D2.Geo.8.6-8 Analyze how relationships between humans and environments extend or contract spatial patterns of settlement and movement.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: History/Social Studies (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
