Stability
Articles/Websites
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, English Language Arts
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Probable Futures
What it is
- This article explores the reasons behind a lack of temperature stability and is presented with several specific examples of accelerated warming on Earth.
- Students will learn how increased greenhouse gases upset the balance of nature, and lead to an unstable environment.
- The entire article serves as an introduction to another article specifically about heat.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The article is segmented with specific examples of the results of global warming.
- The information provides a clear, step-by-step, explanation of how increased greenhouse gases affect the planet.
- The narration of the article is quite helpful in assisting English-language learners and learners who prefer auditory learning.
Additional Prerequisites
- In content areas other than science, the phrase "biotic feedback loop" may be new even for teachers.
- Students will benefit from a definition list, since the vocabulary is rigorous, especially for upper elementary and middle-school populations.
- A graphic is presented, but no explanation is provided, so teachers may wish to discuss the graphic briefly before assigning the article.
- Younger students may be unsettled after reading the section about climate models, and the lack of preparation by individuals.
- The narration differs slightly from the visual text, with several words added and sentence phrasing modified. A few sentences are deleted altogether in the narration. The narration length is 11 minutes and 29 seconds.
Differentiation
- For geography classes, students can use a globe and/or a map to locate Kyoto, Japan, which is mentioned in the article.
- The use of interactive maps is mentioned, so teachers may wish to utilize a global interactive map while reading the article as a class.
- Connections can be made in math classes, with students creating graphs depicting the relationship between carbon emissions and rising temperatures.
From the scientist review
This article walks readers through the basics of temperature, heat, and climate change. It starts with a video discussing the history of the earth’s climate before humans, when humans were nomadic, and when humans settled down into civilizations up to today. It also discusses why the climate changed during these times, how their changes were natural causes of climate change, and how that differs from the anthropogenic climate change we are seeing now. The article also has a series of pages that go into more detail about climate change, why these changes are occurring, how they will differ in different parts of the world, and why this is a concerning problem. The article is quite detailed and emphasizes how the current climate changes are pushing our climate out of balance. The information presented is accurate. Interactive maps are included and sources of the data of these maps and figures are included. This resource is recommended for teaching.
How we review resourcesReady to use it?
Hosted on probablefutures.org
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
