In this lesson, students will research climate solutions by sector, investigate sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, and create a plan to remove 1,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2100.
Students will use resources from Project Drawdown and work collaboratively in groups to write a plan and support it with quantitative evidence and reasoning.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The focus on solutions in this lesson empowers students and sets a hopeful tone for the climate change discussion.
The suggested grouping allows many different students to work together.
Additional Prerequisites
Some students may need the terms anthropogenic, photosynthesis, biomass, degraded land, agroforestry, aquaculture, nascent, fossil fuels, and others defined before starting the lesson.
It may benefit students to precede this lesson with a unit about the carbon cycle, the greenhouse effect, and climate change.
Differentiation
Language arts classes can connect the claim, evidence, and reasoning format and the typical persuasive essay format.
Speech students can give a persuasive speech about why their plan is the best.
Students can choose a solution that is feasible in their community and write a proposal for their local government or local businesses to implement it.
Geography students can discuss what political, environmental, or economic factors make some solutions better in certain areas than others.
Students can practice using the Internet and digital media such as video, audio (podcast), and digital art to publish their plans to reduce carbon emissions.
Scientist Notes
This classroom activity from UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) Center for Science Education provides students the opportunity to analyze data in the form of infographics and graphs to learn about the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide, and allow them to develop their own theory about curbing carbon dioxide emissions.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS2: Earth's Systems
HS-ESS2-6 Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
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.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.13.9-12 Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
Dimension 2: Economics
D2.Eco.1.9-12 Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
D2.Eco.3.9-12 Analyze the ways in which incentives influence what is produced and distributed in a market system.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.7 Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11-12 texts and topics.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Common Core Math Standards (CCSS.MATH)
Number & Quantity: Quantities (9-12)
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSN.Q.A.2 Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling.
