Lesson Plans for Educators

EPA has compiled a suite of hands-on, interactive lesson plans to complement and make use of the material on this website. The plans, aimed primarily at middle school students, work systematically and individually to reinforce students’ knowledge of climate change, as well as enhance skills across multiple disciplines. The lessons are correlated to national science standards.

You will need Adobe Reader to view the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Content Standard D: Earth and space science

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Content Standard D: Earth and space science
• Content Standard E: Science and technology

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Content Standard D: Earth and space science
• Content Standard E: Science and technology

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Content Standard D: Earth and space science
• Content Standard E: Science and technology

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Content Standard C: Life science
• Content Standard D: Earth and space science

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Content Standard B: Physical science
• Content Standard D: Earth and space science

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Content Standard B: Physical science
• Content Standard C: Life science

For more educator resources, including lesson plans through the Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network , visit the Additional Resources page.

Acknowledgments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would like to thank the following organizations and agencies who created the original activities from which some of these lesson plans were adapted:

• Weather and Climate: What’s the Difference?
  National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
• Carbon Through the Seasons
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Getting to the Core: Climate Change Over Time
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• Sea Level: On the Rise
  Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility and California Academy of Sciences
  California Academy of Sciences
• Corals and Chemistry
  California Academy of Sciences