Resources: For Teachers and Students
Last Update: 06.15.2024
06/15/24 I am listing the videos described below in Resources for Teachers and Students because they are well suited for students as well as adults. Many students are in distress over the path that we are on as a result of global warming. The first video here conveys some hope for them.
"Climate Adam" interviews Katharine Hayehoe:
I have mentioned both "Climate Adam" and Katharine Hayehoe before, but in the following interview you can see them together. They talk about how they both cope with the emotional toll that comes with knowing how urgent the problem is while also being on the receiving end of some vicious attacks. They talk about what it means to "practice hope." If readers themselves or those they know (especially our youth) are experiencing dispair over the dangers of climate change, this is a wonderful video for them to watch. To watch it click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiIwksRaynA&t=10s
And while we are mentioning Katharine Hayhoe here is a wonderful example of her work, part of her series on "global weirding":
It explains why we need to be concerned about global warming of just a degree or two even though we experience every day in our own lives a change in the temperature much larger than this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cRCbgTA_78
And while we are mentioning "Climate Adam", here is an example: It discusses how the climate changed naturally over the past million years as the climate went through a series of ice ages. But it also emphasizes the dramatic difference between those 'glacially slow" changes and the alarmingly rapid changes in climate we are now seeing, due to our use of fossil fuels.
Some people find his videos "corny", but I enjoy them. More importantly, I think kids would enjoy them too. To see this one, click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa0ZHAcPHew
12.22.2022
This link directs you to a Los Angeles Times opinion piece by LA Times Editorial Board Member and environmental reporter Tony Barboza: www.yahoo.com/now/think-climate-change-scary-try-110057248.html In it he describes how he talks to his two young daughters about climate change. The younger one is in Kindergarten and the older one is in second grade. It is dismaying to him that at this young age the children accept as normal the current climate in Southern California--frequent heat waves, severe drought, devastating wild fires and the air pollution they bring, etc. etc. They do not realize that this is a dramatic change that has taken place during the last few decades, nor do they realize what has caused this change, not yet being old enough to learn about climate change in school. So how does Mr. Barboza explain to his children what is happening without, as he puts it, burdening them with a sense or dread. And equally important, explain how their family can help deal with it. Here are some of his suggestions: Keep it simple. Explain that we need to switch to solar and wind energy so we don't make things worse by putting gases in the air that will make things hotter. Use things they might see while driving around to teach them, in their case a flare from an oil refinery which leads to the information that it was making gasoline to drive their car which makes those gases. To get across the idea of playing their part in dealing with climate change he plays simple games by asking them questions: What is better: taking the bus or driving to a movie? Lead by example by putting solar panels on your home if possible, walk instead of drive where possible. Let them know that while you are concerned, you are doing everything you can to make their world a livable one when they reach adulthood. That's a simple summary; read is article if you can.
While Barboza's opinion piece addresses his two young children, many studies have shown that among high school students, middle school students and even upper grades in primary school, anxiety and even depression about climate change is not uncommon. The children often feel helpless about the situation. Here again, listening to them about their concerns and getting them involved in lowering the carbon footprint of their own family is useful, For older high school and college student there may be not just anxiety or depression but even anger at older generations. Again, It is important for you to listen to them. Acknowledge that they have a right to be angry and if they are inclined to be active in the fight against climate change, encourage and support them in that! They may not have heard about young adults like Greta Thunberg and the role and example she has set, and if so, help them to read about her. And finally, not too surprisingly she has been both mocked and attacked by adults who think she doesn't know what she is talking about and should just be quiet and leave such matters to grownups. In fact, she does know what she is talking about, and I feel we adults should publicly defend her against such attacks, letting our children and grandchildren know exactly where we stand.
10.20.21_2 The following is a resource explaining the physical concepts and the math used for calculating the passage of radiation through the earth's atmosphere and thus the greenhouse effect. It is mainly intended for college teachers and their students in physics, earth sciences or applied math. But it may also be suitable for advanced high school students and for readers with some acquaintance with basic calculus. But I hope it will be useful for readers without such a background as well. To read it, click on : radtransf.pdf This file contains a reference to the resource immediately below this one which I urge readers to consult.
10.20.21_1 The following link gives a very readable and authoritative article on the greenhouse effect and the role of infrared radiation in controlling the temperature of the Earth, as well as Venus and Mars. It is written by one of the world's experts on the topic, Dr. Raymond Pierrehumbert, and was originally published in the April 2011 issue of Physics Today. To read it, click here:
pierreh_physcstoday_radtransfer.pdf
10.15.21 A resource for parents and teachers of primary grade children: Activities for Environmentally Friendly Living:
Reader Mykael Ray kindly sent the following resource for involving chlldren and their parents or teachers in sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. While it is written for parents of children, it can equally well be used by teachers as part of hands-on school activities.There are seven different topics: Recycling, Reducing Waste, Reusing Items, Water Conservation, Energy conservation, Composting, and "Product Sourcing" (i.e. choosing the companies from whom you purchase goods and service who themselves practice these same things.) In each of these topics you will find "general tips"--specific actions to take--and also tips on how to get children involved.
Thank you Mykael.
To access this resource, click on:
www.mrrooter.ca/about/blog/2021/january/how-to-be-environmentally-friendly-in-a-home-wit/
* * * *
A college student's guide on how to live sustainably on campus (while remaining within their budget) :https://couponfollow.com/research/sustainability-guide. Provided by Lucas, a concerned member of a Scout troop who found this resource page useful and wanted to contribute. Thank James (Scout leader), and Lucas!
Here is a link to a video, and the transcript to it, sent by a reader whose daughter had discovered it as part of a student project. The link is Greenhouse gas emissions Standards in the United States. it deals with the emissions standards for cars that both states and the federal government have enacted. See the 2nd paragraph of the 7/24/18 Recent Websites Update page for the context of this video and an important numerical correction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teachers who have a science unit on Climate Science and Climate Change might be interested in this innovative
suggestion for student group projects. An old Astronomy colleague sent me the attached paper on which her daughter,
Susan Lynds, was a co-author. It was published in the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Science Scope magazine Vol 41 #2 October 2017. Students work in groups to produce short films about the impact
that climate change is having in their communities, interview local experts or officials in their communities. In the
process they learn climate science basics, group skills, basic research procedures and responsible journalism.
I don’t have a way of judging what age group this idea is most suited for, and I think it requires quite a bit of pre-planning
on the part of the teacher, but with the availability of cell phone and tablet video capabilities I am guessing that middle school
through 9th and 10th grade classes could do this. This project could certainly be integrated into the Next Generation Science
Standards curriculum described at the end of the paper. If you feel, as I do, that science literacy and critical thinking
are crucial for students and you know of teachers who might be interested, please pass this on to them.
In any case, look at some of the videos in the “Resources” appended to the paper. Look especially at the following, about “Steroids and Baseball”, not a student production but done by scientists at the University of Colorado. It is very clever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW3b8jSX7ec
Here is the link to the paper. Enjoy
http://common.nsta.org/resource/?id=10.2505/4/ss17_041_02_86
Virginia 3rd grade teacher Alberta Ferris kindly called my attention to a wonderful resource for teachers who are doing a unit on weather, Air & Water: Weather Forecasting for Kids (link below), on which you will find 15 links to further teaching resources about the weather. I think they are suitable for both elementary and middle school classes. Since the primary focus of my website is climate science education I immediately checked out A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change (link below), which has further links to explore various topics in more depth, including an excellent short video. My only mild criticism would be that I wish there were a segment explaining a little more explicitly the difference between "weather" and "climate" since these concepts are often confused in the minds of adults as well as children. All in all, however, these are great resources and thanks to Alberta Ferris for bringing these sites to my attention.
A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change
"his is part of a website provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The main site: Here is a very good source
of information for adults about climate change.
Air & Water: Weather Forecasting for Kids
Teacher Patty Nevlin and her students suggest the following article having excellent links to climate change, energy and waste reduction and recycling information designed for use by children.
NASA Climate Kids NASA's Eyes on the Earth
A great NASA website for children.
The resources here are from the Climate Portal of the Universal-Universalist United Nations Office:
- Climate Resources for Teachers
- Kids' Climate Corner
- Education, IPCC, Videos: Science, Impacts, Mitigation, Models, Data
Global Warming is Hot Stuff Part of the "Environmental Education for Kids" (EEK) series.
"Climate Adam" interviews Katharine Hayehoe:
I have mentioned both "Climate Adam" and Katharine Hayehoe before, but in the following interview you can see them together. They talk about how they both cope with the emotional toll that comes with knowing how urgent the problem is while also being on the receiving end of some vicious attacks. They talk about what it means to "practice hope." If readers themselves or those they know (especially our youth) are experiencing dispair over the dangers of climate change, this is a wonderful video for them to watch. To watch it click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiIwksRaynA&t=10s
And while we are mentioning Katharine Hayhoe here is a wonderful example of her work, part of her series on "global weirding":
It explains why we need to be concerned about global warming of just a degree or two even though we experience every day in our own lives a change in the temperature much larger than this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cRCbgTA_78
And while we are mentioning "Climate Adam", here is an example: It discusses how the climate changed naturally over the past million years as the climate went through a series of ice ages. But it also emphasizes the dramatic difference between those 'glacially slow" changes and the alarmingly rapid changes in climate we are now seeing, due to our use of fossil fuels.
Some people find his videos "corny", but I enjoy them. More importantly, I think kids would enjoy them too. To see this one, click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa0ZHAcPHew
12.22.2022
This link directs you to a Los Angeles Times opinion piece by LA Times Editorial Board Member and environmental reporter Tony Barboza: www.yahoo.com/now/think-climate-change-scary-try-110057248.html In it he describes how he talks to his two young daughters about climate change. The younger one is in Kindergarten and the older one is in second grade. It is dismaying to him that at this young age the children accept as normal the current climate in Southern California--frequent heat waves, severe drought, devastating wild fires and the air pollution they bring, etc. etc. They do not realize that this is a dramatic change that has taken place during the last few decades, nor do they realize what has caused this change, not yet being old enough to learn about climate change in school. So how does Mr. Barboza explain to his children what is happening without, as he puts it, burdening them with a sense or dread. And equally important, explain how their family can help deal with it. Here are some of his suggestions: Keep it simple. Explain that we need to switch to solar and wind energy so we don't make things worse by putting gases in the air that will make things hotter. Use things they might see while driving around to teach them, in their case a flare from an oil refinery which leads to the information that it was making gasoline to drive their car which makes those gases. To get across the idea of playing their part in dealing with climate change he plays simple games by asking them questions: What is better: taking the bus or driving to a movie? Lead by example by putting solar panels on your home if possible, walk instead of drive where possible. Let them know that while you are concerned, you are doing everything you can to make their world a livable one when they reach adulthood. That's a simple summary; read is article if you can.
While Barboza's opinion piece addresses his two young children, many studies have shown that among high school students, middle school students and even upper grades in primary school, anxiety and even depression about climate change is not uncommon. The children often feel helpless about the situation. Here again, listening to them about their concerns and getting them involved in lowering the carbon footprint of their own family is useful, For older high school and college student there may be not just anxiety or depression but even anger at older generations. Again, It is important for you to listen to them. Acknowledge that they have a right to be angry and if they are inclined to be active in the fight against climate change, encourage and support them in that! They may not have heard about young adults like Greta Thunberg and the role and example she has set, and if so, help them to read about her. And finally, not too surprisingly she has been both mocked and attacked by adults who think she doesn't know what she is talking about and should just be quiet and leave such matters to grownups. In fact, she does know what she is talking about, and I feel we adults should publicly defend her against such attacks, letting our children and grandchildren know exactly where we stand.
10.20.21_2 The following is a resource explaining the physical concepts and the math used for calculating the passage of radiation through the earth's atmosphere and thus the greenhouse effect. It is mainly intended for college teachers and their students in physics, earth sciences or applied math. But it may also be suitable for advanced high school students and for readers with some acquaintance with basic calculus. But I hope it will be useful for readers without such a background as well. To read it, click on : radtransf.pdf This file contains a reference to the resource immediately below this one which I urge readers to consult.
10.20.21_1 The following link gives a very readable and authoritative article on the greenhouse effect and the role of infrared radiation in controlling the temperature of the Earth, as well as Venus and Mars. It is written by one of the world's experts on the topic, Dr. Raymond Pierrehumbert, and was originally published in the April 2011 issue of Physics Today. To read it, click here:
pierreh_physcstoday_radtransfer.pdf
10.15.21 A resource for parents and teachers of primary grade children: Activities for Environmentally Friendly Living:
Reader Mykael Ray kindly sent the following resource for involving chlldren and their parents or teachers in sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. While it is written for parents of children, it can equally well be used by teachers as part of hands-on school activities.There are seven different topics: Recycling, Reducing Waste, Reusing Items, Water Conservation, Energy conservation, Composting, and "Product Sourcing" (i.e. choosing the companies from whom you purchase goods and service who themselves practice these same things.) In each of these topics you will find "general tips"--specific actions to take--and also tips on how to get children involved.
Thank you Mykael.
To access this resource, click on:
www.mrrooter.ca/about/blog/2021/january/how-to-be-environmentally-friendly-in-a-home-wit/
* * * *
A college student's guide on how to live sustainably on campus (while remaining within their budget) :https://couponfollow.com/research/sustainability-guide. Provided by Lucas, a concerned member of a Scout troop who found this resource page useful and wanted to contribute. Thank James (Scout leader), and Lucas!
Here is a link to a video, and the transcript to it, sent by a reader whose daughter had discovered it as part of a student project. The link is Greenhouse gas emissions Standards in the United States. it deals with the emissions standards for cars that both states and the federal government have enacted. See the 2nd paragraph of the 7/24/18 Recent Websites Update page for the context of this video and an important numerical correction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teachers who have a science unit on Climate Science and Climate Change might be interested in this innovative
suggestion for student group projects. An old Astronomy colleague sent me the attached paper on which her daughter,
Susan Lynds, was a co-author. It was published in the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Science Scope magazine Vol 41 #2 October 2017. Students work in groups to produce short films about the impact
that climate change is having in their communities, interview local experts or officials in their communities. In the
process they learn climate science basics, group skills, basic research procedures and responsible journalism.
I don’t have a way of judging what age group this idea is most suited for, and I think it requires quite a bit of pre-planning
on the part of the teacher, but with the availability of cell phone and tablet video capabilities I am guessing that middle school
through 9th and 10th grade classes could do this. This project could certainly be integrated into the Next Generation Science
Standards curriculum described at the end of the paper. If you feel, as I do, that science literacy and critical thinking
are crucial for students and you know of teachers who might be interested, please pass this on to them.
In any case, look at some of the videos in the “Resources” appended to the paper. Look especially at the following, about “Steroids and Baseball”, not a student production but done by scientists at the University of Colorado. It is very clever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW3b8jSX7ec
Here is the link to the paper. Enjoy
http://common.nsta.org/resource/?id=10.2505/4/ss17_041_02_86
Virginia 3rd grade teacher Alberta Ferris kindly called my attention to a wonderful resource for teachers who are doing a unit on weather, Air & Water: Weather Forecasting for Kids (link below), on which you will find 15 links to further teaching resources about the weather. I think they are suitable for both elementary and middle school classes. Since the primary focus of my website is climate science education I immediately checked out A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change (link below), which has further links to explore various topics in more depth, including an excellent short video. My only mild criticism would be that I wish there were a segment explaining a little more explicitly the difference between "weather" and "climate" since these concepts are often confused in the minds of adults as well as children. All in all, however, these are great resources and thanks to Alberta Ferris for bringing these sites to my attention.
A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change
"his is part of a website provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The main site: Here is a very good source
of information for adults about climate change.
Air & Water: Weather Forecasting for Kids
Teacher Patty Nevlin and her students suggest the following article having excellent links to climate change, energy and waste reduction and recycling information designed for use by children.
NASA Climate Kids NASA's Eyes on the Earth
A great NASA website for children.
The resources here are from the Climate Portal of the Universal-Universalist United Nations Office:
- Climate Resources for Teachers
- Kids' Climate Corner
- Education, IPCC, Videos: Science, Impacts, Mitigation, Models, Data
Global Warming is Hot Stuff Part of the "Environmental Education for Kids" (EEK) series.