Flubber Flow is a 30-minute activity in which teams of four to five children experiment with Flubber and investigate how a solid can flow! They predict and model the properties of glaciers, view images of advancing glaciers, and create their own Flubber flow.

In partnership with the National Science Digital Library and Apple, NCAR and UCAR offer podcasts that provide a brief and accessible overview on climate and climate change. These podcasts, short 5-8 minute videos you can download on your computer or iPod, are a part of the NSDL on iTunes U collection.

This article presents some aspects of the societal and scientific challenges of sharing what is known about climate change by offering insights from Native Alaskans and Western scientists.

In the Future of Electric Transportation Design Challenge - a soup-to-nuts curriculum toolkit from Construct - you'll ask young people to find new and novel ways to increase use & equitable access to electric vehicles.

This comprehensive toolkit is intended for classroom teachers and other educators interested in running a multi-week or full-term design challenge with students. The guide is written with 8th-9th graders as a target grade level, however this curriculum could easily be adapted for both older and younger students: 5th-12th grade.

An optional feature in this challenge experience is to have students submit their design briefs (anonymously from their teacher) for the opportunity to be recognized by Construct and Industry Leaders interested in their concepts!

A teacher running this Transportation Design Challenge could connect it to multiple standards at multiple grade-levels in multiple subject areas.

Construct has facilitated several cohort-based challenges for middle and high school students, using this toolkit, and we are excited to be able to provide this curriculum at no charge to any interested teachers.

We are happy to answer any questions - you can reach us at info@constructlearns.org. We also offer additional coaching support.

Please download this Challenge and share it with your colleagues! If you opt to run the Challenge in your classroom, we do hope you'll reach back and let us know how it worked for YOU! With your feedback, we'll keep iterating and improving and work to make this a user-friendly, joy-provoking, flexible, rigorous, effective, skills-building and FUN curriculum toolkit for you and your students.

In the Future of Electric Transportation Design Challenge - a soup-to-nuts curriculum toolkit from Construct - you'll ask young people to find new and novel ways to increase use & equitable access to electric vehicles. This comprehensive toolkit is intended for classroom teachers and other educators interested in running a multi-week or full-term design challenge with students.

The guide is written with 8th-9th graders as a target grade level, however this curriculum could easily be adapted for both older and younger students: 5th-12th grade. An optional feature in this challenge experience is to have students submit their design briefs (anonymously from their teacher) for the opportunity to be recognized by Construct and Industry Leaders interested in their concepts! A teacher running this Transportation Design Challenge could connect it to multiple standards at multiple grade-levels in multiple subject areas. Construct has facilitated several cohort-based challenges for middle and high school students, using this toolkit, and we are excited to be able to provide this curriculum at no charge to any interested teachers.

We are happy to answer any questions - you can reach us at info@constructlearns.org. We also offer additional coaching support. Please download this Challenge and share it with your colleagues! If you opt to run the Challenge in your classroom, we do hope you'll reach back and let us know how it worked for YOU! With your feedback, we'll keep iterating and improving and work to make this a user-friendly, joy-provoking, flexible, rigorous, effective, skills-building and FUN curriculum toolkit for you and your students.

This video shows the people of Bhutan working to prevent flooding from an outburst of a glacial lake in the country's Lunana region.

Many elements are interconnected and function together to create the natural and productive living system that is your garden. The purpose of this activity guide is to teach students the ecological functions found in any natural system and model how these functions are performed by a natural area like a garden.

This article provides an overview of the types of glaciers, glacial formation, movement and retreat, and how scientists are studying glaciers and their response to climate change.

How might Earth's temperature change in the future? Use this model to explore how changing human emissions of greenhouse gases might affect the temperature. The model incorporates positive and negative feedback loops. Ice cover and cloud cover change in response to the level of water vapor and temperature in the model.

With this simulation from the NASA Climate website, learners explore different examples of how ice is melting due to climate change in four places where large quantities of ice are found. The photo comparisons, graphs, animations, and especially the time lapse video clips of glaciers receding are astonishing and dramatic.

This lesson introduces students to the concepts of air pollution and technologies that have been developed by engineers to reduce air pollution. Students develop an understanding of visible air pollutants with an incomplete combustion demonstration, a "smog in a jar" demonstration, construction of simple particulate matter collectors and by exploring engineering roles related to air pollution. Next, students develop awareness and understanding of the daily air quality and trends in air quality using the Air Quality Index (AQI) listed in the newspaper. Finally, students build and observe a variety of simple models in order to develop an understanding of how engineers use these technologies to clean up and prevent air pollution.

This article provides links to standards-based science and literacy lessons about weather, climate, polar climates, and climate change.

This short Youtube video shows a visual model of greenhouse gases using tennis balls, explaining why carbon dioxide absorbs more heat energy than oxygen or nitrogen.

Students observe demonstrations, and build and evaluate simple models to understand the greenhouse effect and the role of increased greenhouse gas concentration in global warming.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students learn how to analyze characters in stories, reread Why Is Coco Orange?, and complete a journal entry.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson lets students learn about air quality, how to analyze characters in a story, and how to tell a story about the impact of air quality on human health. This lesson has passed the science review process and is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson allows students to explore their own personality traits and relate them to the characters in the story.
-This lesson shows students the best ways to support their classmates who have asthma.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should be familiar with the vocabulary in the story. You can use the vocabulary words slideshow with your students to review the words or play games with the words.
-Analyzing the characters in Inside Out is an easy way for students to begin practicing character analysis.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-You can choose to read the book aloud to your students, watch the video read aloud as a class, or have students read the story independently or in groups.
-You could print the vocabulary cards for students who need to refer to them during the read aloud.
-Students could read their journal entries to the class after they have finished. Some students may want to share their own journeys with asthma or how they are supporting friends and family with asthma.
-Students who finish early could conduct more research on ozone and its impact on the respiratory system.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students reflect on their personal energy use, make a bar graph to analyze data from the class, and create a conservation poster for display.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson is suitable to build the capacity of students to understand energy sources and what they can power, to compute and audit their daily energy consumption, to share their energy footprint in group activities, and to raise awareness on energy consumption to a wide audience by creating a conservation poster. This lesson has passed our science review process and is recommended for classroom use.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson includes using a spreadsheet to create a bar graph. This may be the first time students learn this skill.
-Creating a conservation poster is a great way for students to feel empowered to take immediate climate action.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 2 of 6 in our 3rd-5th grade Renewable Energy unit.
-When you are collecting data for the spreadsheets and graphs, some students may respond that they spent 1,440 minutes using energy (which is the total amount of minutes in a day) due to use of electricity for refrigerators or the heating and cooling of their homes. Although true, having multiple data points of 1,440 minutes is not useful. Have them come up with a lower estimate.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Some students may have difficulty with data entry when adding numbers to their spreadsheet. It may be best to create groups of students so they can check each other's progress to make sure it is correct.
-It may be best to allow students to create conservation posters individually or with a partner.
-Some students may want to create conservation posters using digital tools like Canva or Adobe Spark.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students advocate for renewable energy in their schools and communities.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson introduces students to understand the importance of renewable energy and how they can advocate for energy and climate justice in their community. All materials embedded in the lesson are thoroughly sourced. Accordingly, this lesson is recommended for classroom use.

POSITIVES:
-Students transform into activists in this final lesson in the unit.
-Students are able to engage with community stakeholders outside of the classroom.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 6 of 6 in our 3rd-5th grade Renewable Energy unit.
-It may be difficult to figure out how much renewable energy exists in your community or how much of your local electrical grid is powered by renewable energy. Your students could explore this interactive map from the EPA showing all energy infrastructure and resources.
-If you or your students do not know how to focus your activism, you can advocate for rooftop solar panels on your school if it makes sense.
-Support your students appropriately if they would like to take this project to the next level. Perhaps they could continue their activism before school, at recess, or after school. It may be nice to ask some of your fellow teachers to also support their efforts.
-This lesson plan might lead to the founding of a student activism group!

DIFFERENTIATION:
-There are many options for differentiation in this unit. Students can work individually or in groups as they design their own activism.
-Quieter students may want to write a letter to share their thoughts.
-More extroverted students may want to deliver a speech to a school or community leader or sit down with them for a one-on-one discussion.

This animated video discusses how climate change is altering the environment and increasing disease risk from air pollution, spread of disease vectors, increased high temperatures, violent storms and flooding. Ideas for community preparedness are offered.

From this original story, young readers and listeners learn about four tools scientists use to study climate - climate stations, weather balloons, satellites, and buoys. The story is available at two reading levels and in three formats - text-only, illustrated booklet, and electronic book. Glossary included. Each issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle contains an original story that expands on the theme.