Assignment #1 Student-led discussion of articles from the literature
We assign one or two groups of two or three students to each of four or four or five topics related to climate change, and provide each group a set of related articles from the literature on their assigned topic. The group will lead a one-hour, in-class discussion on the topic, with up to a dozen students and one instructor in each discussion. In preparation for the discussion, the discussion co-leaders must collectively write a set of "Reading Questions" about each assigned article, which help readers focus on the key points made by the articles and can serve as points of discussion. The other students participating in the discussion must read the articles with the aid of these Reading Questions and annotate the portions of the articles that address the Reading Questions. We (instructors) evaluate the Reading Questions written by the co-leaders (they receive a shared grade for these), and we also check the annotated articles turned in by the other discussion participants to ensure that they prepared to participate in the discussion (they receive individual grades this). Discussion co-leaders each receive a grade for the quality of their discussion leadership.

The purpose of this assignment is in part to help students prepare for their final writing assignment by requiring that they read a set of articles closely enough to help other students discuss and understand the key points, and get feedback about their level of understanding, up to a month before the final paper on the topic is due. The immediate outcome that we expect from this assignment is a demonstration that students can read the assigned articles critically, identify and articulate the key points, and help engage other students in a discussion about the articles, including conceptually important or difficult aspects of them.
Assignment #2: Final writing assignment

For this assignment, which follows from the previous one, students are asked to:

locate two or more significant additional articles that relate closely to the articles on which they based the discussion that they co-led; and
write a 8-12 page (typed, double spaced) overview of the history and current state of our scientific understanding about the topic(s) covered by the set of discussion articles, based on the articles themselves plus relevant material presented in class or in assigned reading. In particular, wherever justified by the source material, students should try to include the following in the narrative:

initial observations/evidence;
initial hypotheses posed to account for initial observations/evidence (including external forcings and feedbacks);
subsequent observations/evidence that have confirmed or disproved earlier hypotheses;
technology that made making observations/gathering evidence possible and led to breakthroughs in understanding;
scientific controversies and how they played out historically or are currently playing out;
current understanding and remaining uncertainties.

The outcome should be a written demonstration of the student's ability to analyze and synthesize a set of articles from the literature and supporting materials provided in class to describe the history, current state, and unresolved aspects of our scientific understanding of an interdisciplinary aspect of climate change.

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Students use a spreadsheet to compute the hypothetical risk of an Andrew-like hurricane to downtown Miami.

This is an activity that uses the spreadsheet program Excel to explore the origins of subsidence in New Orleans. There are two versions. The first is a traditional Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum (SSAC) module that couples a PowerPoint presentation with an embedded Excel spreadsheet where students construct a spreadsheet, and then submit the Excel file for grading. The second is a macro-enabled Excel spreadsheet that provides automatic feedback to answers and calculates the score. Upon completion the students are given a code that encrypts their spreadsheet score and then take a follow-up quiz that probes their understanding.

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Students use spreadsheets to analyze the reasons why New Orleans has subsided in the past 250 years.

Hurricane Sandy served as a wake-up call for many coastal communities along the East Coast: they learned that planning and preparation for future hazards and climate change impacts needs to take place before the next disaster. As this type of planning was new to many communities, they needed assistance in identifying the most beneficial data, tools, and resources that could inform their local planning and decision making.

Part 1

The SAGUARO Exploring GIS Investigations for Earth Science curriculum requries the use of ESRI's ArcView GIS software version 3.0 for Macintosh or 3.2 and higher for PC.
Use ArcGIS and data files from the SAGUARO Project's (http://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/help/projects/supported-data-types-and-items.htm) Exploring Tropical Cyclones investigations. After the students are introduced to the program they are asked to determine what criteria are required for the formation of tropical cyclones.
Exploring Tropical Cyclones Unit 1 has a great deal of data for the students to use. The data is presented as layers on a world map. Different features can be turned on and off at will, and layers can be brought in from other units if desired.

Features they can work with are:

August SST
February SST
tropical cyclone tracks
locations of tropical cyclone formation for Jun-Sep
locations of tropical cyclone formation for Dec-Mar

Part 2

Students are divided into small groups (3-4 students works well) where they compare their findings (including what evidence they used) with the findings of the other group members. Each group is then asked to determine the threshold temperature for tropical cyclone formation as well as to calculate the area of the ocean that has SST equal to or above this threshold temperature (you can have them calculate this for each season, or as a total area including both February and August data).

Part 3

Class discussion of what they have found so far. Introduce them to model predictions of SST for different atmospheric CO2 levels. Propose a 2 degree C increase in tropical SST and ask what they think that will mean. What other factors might influence the formation of tropical cyclones?

Part 4

Assign an article or two (ideally a published peer reviewed article - to introduce them to this type of scientific writing - that is if you can find one that you consider appropriate for your students) that introduces them to other factors required for tropical cyclone formation and predictions of how climate change might affect them. For example an article that discusses the role of wind speed near the surface of the ocean, or vertical wind shear, or one that shows that the threshold temperature is actually predicted to increase by the same magnitude as the SST increase.
Have them write a report that summaries the criteria for cyclogenesis as well as explaining how they would go about predicting where tropical cyclones will form as a result of an increased SST. They do not need to perform all of the tests they propose! They should state what sort of information they would like to obtain and why.

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Identifying the differences between hazards and risks is key to understanding how we react, mitigate, and live with natural disasters. This unit will begin with a discussion on identifying the differences between hazards and risk. Students will learn that hazards are the phenomenon while risk is the likelihood of that phenomenon affecting a particular region. Next, students will read an article that puts risk into context and participate in an in-class discussion. The unit will finish by having students calculate personal risk using a simple mathematical formula.

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In Unit 2, students apply and evaluate foundational concepts about storm hazards and risk in the context of two cases studies: Superstorm Sandy (2012) and the Storm of the Century (1993). Through different activities and assignments, students develop skills for finding, evaluating, and relating data to case studies and build an understanding of preparedness, response, and resilience. The activities include: an analysis of hazard mitigation plans for their local community, examination of storm-related geophysical processes in the context of societal risks, preparation of a press release for community preparedness, and a peer review and revision opportunity for the press releases. Instructors may also end this unit by having students revise their concept maps from Unit 1, applying lessons learned in Units 1 and 2.

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Hurricanes form as the atmosphere and ocean interact to transport a tremendous amount of energy. Students will read about the conditions necessary for hurricane formation, how a hurricane evolves at sea, how it gains or loses speed, and the characteristics of a hurricane making landfall. Students will also use data to predict hurricane formation and to make recommendations, in the face of uncertain data, for a ship in the potential path of a hurricane at sea.

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Over the course of one week, students will apply and evaluate concepts in the context of their local community, culminating in the formulation and evaluation of Hazard Mitigation Plan recommendations presented in stakeholder position papers. These position papers, which will also serve as the summative assessment of the Major Storms and Community Resilience Module, will be presented and assessed during a Town Hall Meeting. In this role-playing activity, students apply and evaluate concepts in the context of assigned stakeholder positions from their local community. Over the course of the week, students formulate and evaluate Hazard Mitigation Plan recommendations for major storms, and then present those recommendations in a town hall-style meeting. These assignments demonstrate students' ability to develop strategies and recommendations to mitigate local community vulnerabilities to storms with specific emphasis on different sectors and/or stakeholders in that community. Instructors will assess student achievement of the learning goals through a formal oral presentation and a team policy position paper. As such, the culmination of Unit 3 in the Town Hall Meeting serves as the summative assessment for the Major Storms module.

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The purpose of this unit is to learn some of the scientific tools used to determine hurricane location, path, and strength. Students plot the path of a recent hurricane (Irene, 2011), work with an online viewer to learn the typical tracks hurricanes follow, and use a measure of hurricane energy to compare individual hurricanes and yearly totals. In Activity 3.1, on a standard National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlantic Hurricane Map, students gain experience in plotting a hurricane track and in basic mapping skills. In Activity 3.2, students work with an online viewer to learn about the typical paths and landfall patterns of Atlantic hurricanes. Students compare the locations, paths, and variation of hurricane tracks from a century-scale record. In Activity 3.3, students use the Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index as a way of measuring hurricane season totals and consider the policy implications of a predicted above-normal hurricane year. Note: computer lab with Internet access (or student laptops in the lecture/lab room) required for Activity 3.2.

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This unit has three options for 40-minute activities that address hurricane impacts. Alternatively, if time allows, all three could be used in sequence. Activity 4.1 includes a presentation on the terrestrial impacts of hurricanes and is mostly based on what happened when Hurricane Irene (2011) and Superstorm Sandy (2012) made landfall. This can be used as a presentation or as a topic for student-led in-class discussion. Activity 4.2 is an in-class activity: groups of students work together to make observations from before and after pictures of the same site and describe the type and magnitude of changes to the areas. Activity 4.3 explores the relationship between rainfall, river flow, and hurricanes, which has been relevant in both coastal and perhaps more importantly (and surprisingly) inland areas of the northeastern United States during recent hurricanes.

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This unit addresses changes in hurricane risks due to coastal development. Students will calculate the risks from hurricanes and how the hazards have changed (or not) from 1901 to 2010. Students will determine how changes in coastal development have altered the risks presented by hurricanes by analyzing data in Activity 5.1 and historic maps and aerial photographs in Activity 5.2.

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Students watch a video and read about past evacuations, including a premature or unnecessary evacuation, a late or botched evacuation, and about people determined to stay put no matter what. Students participate in a role-playing exercise about making the decision to evacuate in the face of uncertain predictions.

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In this role-playing activity, students are assigned into groups which will explore specific roles related to Hurricane Sandy. A mock town meeting scenario where the community is requesting input for how to address the challenges of rebuilding their homes, businesses, and infrastructure allows for the class to learn more about the multiple perspectives, issues, and interests resulting from this devastating disaster.

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Poster for Federal Theatre Project presentation of "Big Blow" at Maxine Elliott's Theatre, 109 West 39th Street, New York City, showing a woman and a man struggling against gale force winds. Date stamped on verso: Jun 28 1939. Posters of the WPA / Christopher DeNoon. Los Angeles : Wheatly Press, c1987, no. 288

Wind surge is a JAVA based applet for exploring how water level on the windward and leeward side of a basin depends on wind speed, basin length, water depth, and boundary type.

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This is a short assessment for working with informational writing and the topic of hurricanes with 6th graders.