This interactive mapping tool shows the resiliency to climate change across the United States.
Students can view component data, choose from a variety of layers, or draw a polygon around a region to get a more detailed analysis of the area.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This map is comprehensive and easy to use.
Students can access more information by clicking on the links for the layers or component data.
Additional Prerequisites
The map does not show the data for Indigenous lands within the United States without a password.
Teachers may want to go over the information in the Core Concepts section (located in the top right-hand corner of the screen) with students to ensure understanding before students use the map individually.
Differentiation
Social studies or geography classes could ask students to zoom in on their local area and analyze the resiliency data. Students could compare their area to another area in their region and discuss the similarities and differences between the two areas.
Science classes could examine the map and discuss which of the seven regions appear to be the most resilient, which appear to be the least resilient, and why.
The resource shows levels of resilience for land in the United States. Other variables such as migration and sea level rise are considered for mapping. This is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-3 Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
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.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
HS-LS2-5 Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
HS-LS2-6 Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
