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UNDERSTANDING
CLIMATE CHANGE
GRADES 7–12
LAUR A TUCKER
LOIS SHERWOOD
Copyright © 2019 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.
TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK, please visit https://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781681406329
UNDERSTANDING
CLIMATE CHANGE
GRADES 7–12
UNDERSTANDING
CLIMATE CHANGE
GRADES 7–12
LAUR A TUCKER
LOIS SHERWOOD
Arlington, VA
Claire Reinburg, Director Art and Design
Rachel Ledbetter, Managing Editor
Will Thomas Jr., Director
Andrea Silen, Associate Editor
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Jennifer Thompson, Associate Editor
design
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Capital Communications LLC, interior design
Printing and Production

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National Science Teachers Association
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Copyright © 2019 by the National Science Teachers Association.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tucker, Laura, 1956- author. | Sherwood, Lois, 1950- author.
Title: Understanding climate change : grades 7-12 / by Laura Tucker and Lois Sherwood.
Description: Arlington, VA : National Science Teachers Association, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018052213 (print) | LCCN 2019001837 (ebook) | ISBN 9781681406336 (e-book) |
ISBN 9781681406329 (print)
Subjects: LCSH: Climatic changes--Study and teaching (Secondary)--Activity programs.
Classification: LCC QC903 (ebook) | LCC QC903 .T83 2019 (print) | DDC 363.738/74071--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018052213
Contents
Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Information for Teaching This Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Session 1: What Have You Heard About Climate Change? . . 15

Teacher Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 minutes
Classroom Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 minutes
Session 2: Sources of CO2 in the Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Materials Preparation
(for the first time teaching the unit) . . . . . . . . . 90 minutes
Classroom Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60–90 minutes
Session 3: The Greenhouse Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Classroom Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 class periods
Session 4: Fact or Phony? Scientifically Evaluating Data . . . . 65

Classroom Activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2 class periods
Session 5: Conducting Research on Current

Climate Change Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Teacher Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 minutes–1 hour
Classroom Activity. . . . 3–4 class periods, plus homework
Optional: Classroom Activity With Independent
Investigations . . . . . . . . 5–7 class periods, plus homework
Contents
Session 6: Climate Change Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Classroom Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90–120 minutes
Session 7: Climate Change Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Classroom Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60–90 minutes
(Note: Some research may need to be done for
homework.)
Session 8: Climate Change Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Teacher Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2 hours
(Note: It will take 1–2 hours to research local resources
the first time teaching the unit; afterwards, it will take
30 minutes.)
Classroom Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 class periods
Session 9: Connecting to Your Community . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Teacher Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 minutes–1 hour
Classroom Activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3 class periods
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Foreword
In the autumn of 2018, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)

published a powerful position statement on its website about teaching climate
change. And at the end of the year, New York Times writer David Leonhardt
wrote, “There were more obvious big news stories than climate change in 2018.
But there weren’t any more important stories, in my view. That’s why it is my
choice for the top story of the year. It’s the one most likely to affect the lives of
future generations.” Among all areas of science, climate science may well be the
most critical for all citizens to understand. While the science of climate change
is well understood by scientists, everyone will be affected by its consequences
and everyone has a stake in how we respond.
Beyond its societal importance, climate science has a nearly unique peda-
gogical position as an inherently multidisciplinary, practical subject. Histori-
cal observations of weather and climate take into account everything from the
physics of incoming and outgoing radiation balance to the chemistry of gases
that absorb infrared radiation to the biology of photosynthesis and respiration
applied to the land, ocean, and atmosphere of our planet. What’s more, the sub-
ject is accessible to all ages: A Framework for K–12 Science Education articulates
grade band endpoints for students from 2nd through 12th grade (NRC 2012,
p. 188).
While many organizations and agencies have published materials to help
educators teach about climate science, few books provide assistance for teachers
in covering the scope of climate science with special attention to humanity’s
role. Laura Tucker and Lois Sherwood have set out to do just that with con-
scious attention to the three-dimensional teaching and learning called for in the
Framework. Recognizing that many teachers have not had specific training in cli-
mate science, the authors provide useful summaries of the underlying science.
The sections on the greenhouse effect, scientifically evaluating data, and con-
ducting research on climate change topics are particularly helpful in recognizing
the multidisciplinary aspects of climate science.
The response to climate change is not itself a scientific subject. Tucker and
Sherwood are very clear that there is no debate about climate science. When
considering what actions to take in the face of a changing climate system, we
move from the scientific to the social or economic or political, where we need
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE vii
Foreword
science to inform our arguments and decisions. The boundary between science
as a means of understanding the natural world and the consequences of that
understanding is often poorly defined. The NSTA position statement empha-
sizes the “science side” but recognizes the implications for society, as well. The
authors have made a real contribution in this area by providing structured sug-
gestions that encourage students to use the science they have learned in consid-
ering the effects of human activity. By making this connection, students have the
best chance to use science to positively “affect the lives of future generations.”
—David L. Evans, PhD

Executive Director
National Science Teachers Association
References
Leonhardt, D. New York Times. 2018. The Most Important Story of 2018. Decem-
ber 31.
National Research Council (NRC). 2012. A framework for K–12 science education:
Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies
Press.
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). 2018. NSTA Position Statement:
The Teaching of Climate Science.
viii NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
About the Authors
Laura Tucker has been a science educator for more than 40 years. Initially
educated as a wildlife biologist, she found her passion teaching students in the
outdoors. In 1979, she founded a nonprofit educational organization called
Exploring New Horizons. It was designed to provide a comprehensive outdoor
environmental science program for K–8 grade students and a summer camp
program for children ranging from age 9 to 18. During her tenure at the orga-
nization, she helped develop a variety of programs that combined environmen-
tal science curricula (redwood, coastal, and Sierra Nevada natural history and
ecology, marine biology, botany, zoology, geology, and astronomy) with music,
dance, drama, art, and team building. The programs blended the teaching skills
and talents of staff naturalists with those of classroom teachers to facilitate the
incorporation of the outdoor school experience into the classroom. Approxi-
mately 60,000 students attended the programs while Laura was the executive
director. Exploring New Horizons continues to this day, serving about 6,000
students per year on three campuses in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains.
In 1992, Laura became the professional development coordinator for Great
Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS), a nationally acclaimed resource for
activity-based science and mathematics at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the
University of California, Berkeley. While at GEMS, she worked with a variety of
educators, including preservice teachers; classroom teachers; district, regional,
and state curriculum coordinators; university faculty; and nonformal educators
from museums, zoos, and nature centers. She was a leader in establishing the
GEMS Network, which included approximately 72 sites and centers around
the United States and 11 international locations. Laura served as a curriculum
developer and reviewer for many GEMS publications, including Aquatic Habitats
(Barrett and Willard 1998), Dry Ice Investigations (Barber, Beals, and Bergman
1999), River Cutters (Sneider and Barrett 1999), and Schoolyard Ecology (Barrett
and Willard 2001) teacher guides. She also worked on handbooks that support
the implementation of GEMS units and other programs.
Laura has focused a great deal of her energy on climate education. In 2012,
she was selected as a Climate Reality Project presenter and joined former vice
president Al Gore and 1,000 other educators from 59 countries for three days of
intensive training. She is an NOAA Climate Steward as well as a team member
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE ix
About the Authors
of the Climate Change Environmental Education Project-Based Online Learn-

ing Community Alliance in partnership with Cornell University, the North
American Alliance for Environmental Education, and the EECapacity Proj-
ect. She serves as a mentor with Students for Sustainability, a group from Port
Townsend High School in Port Townsend, Washington, that is taking action to
mitigate climate change at their school, in their community, in their state, and
at the national level. Laura also serves on the Jefferson County/City of Port
Townsend Climate Action Committee and chairs the L2020 Climate Action
Outreach Group. In December 2015, she attended the 21st Conference of the
Parties in Paris where she conducted live interviews between young climate
scientists and activists and students in her community.
Currently, Laura wears two hats. She is the waste reduction education coor-
dinator for Jefferson County, Washington, teaching the community to reduce,
reuse, and recycle. She is also a consultant, providing custom professional
development for formal and informal educational programs in standards-based
environmental and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
education.
When Laura is not working to address the climate crisis, she is recharging
her batteries by hiking, swimming, sea kayaking, soaking in hot springs, and
enjoying the beauty of our natural world with her husband and their English
bulldog, Yogi.
Lois Sherwood originally trained in zoology at Washington State University

and worked in the medical profession after graduating. But after a chance visit
to a high school classroom, she realized that teaching was her calling.
Lois began her teaching career at the SEA Discovery Center (formerly the
Poulsbo Marine Science Center) and then moved to Port Townsend High School.
During her career, she has taught health, marine biology, oceanography, physical
science, math, biology, and integrated science.
While teaching, she earned a master’s degree in science, also through Washing-
ton State University. As she deepened her understanding of science, she became
interested in constructivist teaching and allowing students to learn through
engaging in science practices. She refined this skill through inquiry training with
the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco, California. Her training later led to
codeveloping inquiry workshops, which she taught for several summers through
the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.
Lois also served as a district teacher leader and as a Teacher on Special
Assignment (TOSA) with the North Cascade and Olympic Science Partner-
ship, which was a five-year science leadership project sponsored by Western
Washington University and funded by a National Science Foundation grant.
Along with a cohort of five other TOSAs, she promoted teacher leadership and
best teaching practices in a five-county region of northwestern Washington.
x NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
About the Authors
With the cohort of TOSAs, she designed and led monthly regional workshops
in addition to working with partner teachers in their classrooms.
Lois received National Board Certification in Teaching in 2007 and was
recertified in 2017. For her work in the classroom, she received the Amgen
Excellence in Science Teaching award in 2011 and was a finalist for the Presi-
dential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in both 2013
and 2015.
Beyond the classroom, Lois served as a regional representative with the
Washington Science Teachers Association (WSTA) from 2007 to 2016. In 2011,
she cochaired a joint statewide teachers conference with WSTA and the Envi-
ronmental Education Association of Washington. In 2016, she was appointed
as professional development coordinator for WSTA. In this role, she has facili-
tated the design and presentation of professional development offerings for the
organization.
Connecting science to student involvement motivated Lois to facilitate
a variety of student-led environmental clubs over the course of her career.
Although the focus of the clubs has evolved based on student interest, the goal
has always been to promote environmental and social justice locally, regionally,
and nationally.
Lois’s passion for science education is driven by a personal passion to under-
stand and experience the natural world. This also fuels her hobbies, which
include bird watching, beach exploration, kayaking, hiking, biking, and running.
References
Barber, J., K. Beals, and L. Bergman. 1999. Dry ice investigations. Berkeley, CA:
Great Explorations in Math and Science.
Barrett, K., and C. Willard. 1998. Aquatic habitats: Exploring desktop ponds. Berkeley,
CA: Great Explorations in Math and Science.
Barrett, K., and C. Willard. 2001. Schoolyard ecology. Berkeley, CA: Great Explora-
tions in Math and Science.
Sneider, C., and K. Barrett. 1999. River cutters. Berkeley, CA: Great Explorations in
Math and Science.
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE xi
Acknowledgments
My endless appreciation goes out to Lois Sherwood, my exceptional coauthor,

who brings her years of high school classroom experience and extensive knowl-
edge of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to take this revised edition
to a new level of excellence and effectiveness.
I am also grateful to Lois for allowing me to use her four 10th-grade classes
to field-test the first edition of this book in 2011. After completing this unit, a
number of students formed their own group—Students for Sustainability—and
went on to make huge changes in their school and in their community. They
even took public transportation from Washington state to Washington, D.C., to
lobby for climate action—6,000 miles round-trip. They are featured as Climate
Change Agents in Session 8.
This book would not have been possible without spending 20 years working
with the brilliant and talented curriculum developers and staff of GEMS (Great
Explorations in Math and Science) at the University of California, Berkeley’s
Lawrence Hall of Science. Their years of experience and keen insight into creat-
ing effective, teacher-friendly curricula have taught me well. They were on the
cutting edge of climate change curricula with the book Global Warming and the
Greenhouse Effect, written in 1990.
GEMS was the inspiration for Understanding Climate Change. Sessions 2 and 3
are adapted and modified from Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect, copy-
righted by The Regents of the University of California and used here with per-
mission. Other sessions are partly inspired by the activities in the GEMS guide
but are substantially revised, rewritten, and updated by the authors.
The scientific discourse circle in Session 4 is inspired by similar student-
group activities in the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading curriculum by GEMS,
copyrighted by The Regents of the University of California and used here with
permission.
Special thanks to the Climate Reality Project. Their extraordinarily talented
staff conducts trainings around the globe and provides support for more than
15,000 Climate Reality Leaders, ranging from 12 to 86 years in age. I was hon-
ored to be included in their 2012 training in San Francisco that brought more
than 1,000 leaders from 59 countries together for three days of information,
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE xiii
Acknowledgments
empowerment, and hope. We went out into our corners of the world to share
the science of the climate crisis and provide a vision for how we can solve it.
I particularly want to thank all of the wonderful Climate Change Agents
who so kindly agreed to be interviewed for this book and give a face to those
working on the front lines for climate change solutions:
•• James Balog
•• Dr. Robert Bindschadler
•• Dr. Shallin Busch
•• Kate Chadwick
•• Eliza Dawson
•• Dr. Ziv Hameiri
•• Dahr Jamail
•• Rayan Krishnan
•• Dr. Heidi Roop
•• Ewan Shortess
My deepest gratitude goes to the exceptional staff at NSTA Press. To Claire
Reinburg, my sincere appreciation for accepting my manuscript and moving
it forward. To my phenomenal editors, Rachel Ledbetter and Andrea Silen, I
am in awe of your ability to make sense of every word, every page, and every
graphic. Thank you for weaving this all together so beautifully.
—Laura Tucker
xiv NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Information for
Teaching This Unit
Teaching With Fidelity

for Student Comprehension
This unit has been designed with the Learning Cycle (Atkin and Karplus 1962)
and the BSCS 5E Instructional Model in mind. In order to bring students along
the continuum from awareness to comprehension, it is critical that the entire
unit be taught with fidelity. It takes time to cover a topic as complex as climate
change. It is recommended that this unit be taught once during grades 7–12. Of
course, older students will have a greater ability to understand some topics, and
different standards apply to middle and high school. Decide where this unit fits
best in your school or district’s scope and sequence to maximize the learning
opportunities while building solid comprehension. Teachers are always encour-
aged to personalize their curriculum but should do so with a broad view, ensur-
ing that key components are not left out for time’s sake. It is recommended that
teachers follow the suggested time frame so that complex topics are not short-
changed and students are allowed ample time to engage, process, and reflect.
Conceptual Flow of the Unit

The unit has been strategically structured to engage student interest and build a
conceptual foundation without overloading learners. It then provides students
with the scaffolding to conduct their own research and draw their own conclu-
sions about climate change. These sessions are linked and sequenced in such a
way that students are able to build on concepts in order to better understand
what is to come next, providing a constructivist model of learning.
Session 1 begins with a networking activity to give students a brief intro-
duction to the Climate Change Agents they will meet throughout the unit.
Then they share what they have heard about climate change, not what they
know, in order to allow unfettered information to flow freely and provide the
teacher with an understanding of student misperceptions. Questions are gener-
ated that serve to drive the entire unit as students uncover factual information
supported by evidence.
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE 1
Information for Teaching This Unit
In Session 2, students discover some sources of CO2 in the atmosphere

and compare their relative concentrations. The primary objective, in addition to
being an interesting lab, is to show students that there is a considerable amount
of CO2 in car exhaust. This sets the stage for students to understand the role of
fossil fuel combustion in warming our planet.
Session 3 uses two types of models to help students understand the key
concept of the greenhouse effect and the role that CO2 plays. Students then
analyze data showing sources and quantities of greenhouse gases produced in
the United States and worldwide.
The need to evaluate accurate information in a timely and effective way is
addressed in Session 4, which concludes with students considering why com-
mon misconceptions might be held by some people. Emphasis on the need to
support their claims with evidence is woven throughout this session.
Having gained a solid foundation for conducting research, students begin
Session 5 by forming research groups and selecting climate change–related top-
ics. Students in each group investigate their chosen topic in order to develop a
deep understanding of it. Teachers may choose for students to develop inde-
pendent investigations to model their topic, as well. Groups then synthesize all
of their information into presentations that they share in Session 6 at a mock
climate change conference, just as scientist share their findings in real life.
Session 7 has students reflect on the ripple effects of the topic they
researched. For example, they might consider the initial effects of a three-foot
rise in sea level for a coastal city. Then they consider the secondary effects and
also list the human, environmental, and economic effects, which gives them a
broader understanding of predicted changes resulting from a warming planet.
In Session 8, students use this same ripple effect model to look at the posi-
tive measures being taken to solve the climate crisis by local, state, national, and
international agencies, corporations, and institutions. This lays the groundwork
for Session 9, which brings together all they have learned in the unit to inform
how they will make changes in their own lives and communities.
Structure of the Unit

Each session is constructed in a similar fashion with most—if not all—of the
following components (not always in the same order):
1. Introduction: This is a brief overview of the session, providing the
focus for the teacher.
2. Objectives: These are clear measures to define the skills and
knowledge acquired by the students during the session.
2 NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
3. What You Need: This includes detailed material lists divided by what
you need for the class, what’s needed for each group of students, and
what each individual student needs.
4. Preparation: This provides instructions for how to prepare prior to
and on the day of instruction, including what student handouts are
necessary.
5. Begin!: This is the signal for the teacher to begin instruction after
reading the preparatory information.
6. Reviewing Statements and Questions About Climate Change:
In the first session, students record what they have heard about climate
change in their notebooks. They also brainstorm and post questions
that they have about climate change. At the end of each subsequent
session, students review their notebooks and the questions as a way
to measure their learning. They decide if any of the ideas listed in
their notebooks can be put forth as a statement that is either accurate
or inaccurate, based on evidence. They may also determine that new
knowledge answers a question or leads to new questions. This is
intended to be a dynamic process where students continually reflect
and re-evaluate their learning. It serves as a critical step in cementing
the conceptual knowledge that students gain in each session.
7. Extending the Session: This provides opportunities for students to
delve deeper into the topic covered in the session or to challenge more
advanced students.
8. Extras Page: All materials used by students (data sets, rubrics,
worksheets, Climate Change Agent interviews, etc.) can be found on
the web page www.nsta.org/climatechange. This allows the data sets to be
updated frequently, keeping them current. Storing the materials online
also allows for the production of higher-quality student copies.
9. Climate Change Agent Interview: In each session, students read at
least one interview with someone who is working to address the issue
of climate change. The interviewees, who are referred to as Climate
Change Agents, range from students to scientists. Each is asked the
same three questions:
•• Describe your work as a Climate Change Agent.
•• Describe your pathway to becoming a Climate Change Agent.
•• What do you think students should know about climate change?
10. Background for Teachers: This includes the science and pedagogy
that support a deeper understanding of the content and process of each
session. The information is not to be read to the students; rather,
it is designed to support teachers who may not have a background in

this topic.
11. Assessment Opportunities: A variety of assessment modalities are
provided to assist the teacher in determining the students’ progress and
depth of understanding. Student notebooks are designed to be used as
assessment tools throughout the entire unit and as a final evaluation on
student understanding and progress.
12. Resources: Additional information for both students and teachers
is provided to support both the research component that is woven
through the unit and enrichment opportunities.
Safety Considerations
for Hands-on Activities
Teachers must address potential safety issues with engineering controls (ven-
tilation, eyewash stations, etc.), administrative procedures/safety operating
procedures, and appropriate personal protective equipment (indirectly vented
chemical splash safety goggles or safety glasses meeting ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 D3
standard, chemical-resistant nitrile gloves, etc.). Teachers can make it safer for
students and themselves by adopting, implementing, and enforcing legal safety
standards and better professional safety practices in the science classroom and
laboratory. Before undertaking any science activity or investigation, teachers
should do a hazards analysis and risk assessment and then perform safety actions
to ensure a safer teaching/learning experience. Remember that personal protec-
tive equipment is to be worn during the setup, hands-on, and takedown seg-
ments of the activity.
Always provide safety training and demonstrate proper use of hand tools, lab
equipment, and personal protective equipment before having a student under-
take any hands-on activities. Also provide follow-up safety reminders during
each activity.
Throughout this book, safety notes are provided for classroom/laboratory
activities. Teachers should also review and follow local policies and protocols
used within their school district and/or school (e.g., chemical hygiene plan,
Board of Education safety policies).
Additional standard operating procedures are provided by the National Sci-
ence Teachers Association (NSTA). Visit NSTA’s Safety in the Science Class-
room web page (www.nsta.org/safety), which includes Safety Acknowledgment
Forms for elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. Students should be
required to review the document or one similar to it under the direction of the
teacher. Both students and their parents/guardians should then sign the docu-
ment acknowledging the procedures that must be followed for a safer working/
learning experience in the laboratory.
The Council of State Science Supervisors (CSSS) provides information
about classroom science safety, including a safety checklist for science class-
rooms. See the CSSS website at www.csss-science.org/safety.shtml to access this
information and get links to other safety-related resources.
Disclaimer: The safety precautions of each activity are based in part on use of
the recommended materials and instructions, legal safety standards, and better
professional practices. Selection of alternative materials or procedures for these
activities may jeopardize the level of safety and therefore is at the user’s own risk.
Unit Design With Standards in Mind

To meet today’s standards, three-dimensional learning is integrated throughout
the unit with specific references to performance expectations, crosscutting con-
cepts, science and engineering practices, and disciplinary core ideas in the Next
Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead States 2013). The concept of
climate change provides exceptional opportunities for addressing the standards.
The cross-curricular nature of the topic weaves in STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and math), plus social studies, history, and current world problems.
A correlation to the standards is provided for you in Table 1 (see pp. 12–13).
Background Information
Necessary Concepts
The following are concepts that are important for students and teachers to know
before starting the unit.
For Students
It is recommended that students have some background knowledge of the fol-
lowing topics before beginning this unit in order to understand the concepts
they will be required to learn as they move through the unit:
•• Photosynthesis
•• The structure and properties of matter (atoms, molecules, solids,
liquids, gases)
•• The carbon cycle (the basics of how carbon moves through earth, air,
water, and living things by way of photosynthesis, respiration, and
decomposition)
For Teachers
Current Carbon Versus Sequestered Carbon
Part of the debate about the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
includes arguments from those who rationalize that CO2 is “natural,” because
living organisms breathe it out in respiration. Of course, all carbon dioxide is
natural, but the level of CO2 in our atmosphere has been a determining factor
in our climate for more than a billion years. Paleoclimatologists have concluded
that CO2 levels were five times higher when dinosaurs roamed the Earth than
they are now. The seas were approximately 100 feet higher than they are now,
and most of the Earth had a tropical climate. Yet, it is dangerous to imply that
the existence of a CO2 level this high in the past means it is a natural process
and, therefore, not harmful. During these times, Earth had no human inhabi-
tants, much less our current population of more than 7 billion people—many
of whom live along coastlines that are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise
caused by a warming planet.
For the past 800,000 years, the CO2 level in our atmosphere has not risen
above 300 parts per million (ppm) and has averaged 280 ppm. In 1850, the
amount of atmospheric CO2 was 285 ppm. In 1910, it crossed the 300 ppm
mark. As of this printing in 2019, it sits at 412 ppm.
During those 800,000 years, our planet has evolved the ecosystems we live
in today, with a livable temperature in most places and adequate rainfall for
plants to thrive. This level of CO2 has kept the heat energy on our planet from
driving the weather systems to extremes. The CO2 in this carbon cycle is con-
sidered current carbon, or the amount that has existed for this 800,000-year period
of balance in our ecosystems.
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, oil deposits
that were sequestered (or buried) from 540–65 million years ago were brought up
to the surface of the Earth and burned, releasing their stored CO2 into the atmo-
sphere. This additional CO2 caused the greenhouse effect to increase by more
than 30%, resulting in numerous outcomes from a warming planet. Students
will research these lines of evidence of global warming in Session 5.
History of the Study of the Greenhouse Effect

and Climate Change
The earliest recorded thoughts about the greenhouse effect go back to the 1820s
in France when Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier (1768–1830) calculated that an
object the size of the Earth should not be as warm as it was, given its distance
from the Sun. He reasoned that something else must be affecting our planet’s
temperature. He theorized that the light coming from the Sun was able to pass
through our atmosphere, but radiant heat coming from Sun-warmed surfaces
must somehow be trapped.
In the 1860s, John Tyndall (1820–1893), an alpine naturalist and climber,
was fascinated by his observations of evidence that an ice sheet once covered
northern Europe. Tyndall considered a number of possible explanations but
settled on an idea that there could be variations in the composition of the atmo-
sphere. He experimented with heat-trapping gases like water vapor and carbon
dioxide. Even though there is such a small amount of CO2 in the atmosphere,
he thought it still could have an effect.
In 1896, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius (1859–1927) concluded that if
atmospheric CO2 levels doubled to 560 ppm (from preindustrial levels of 280),
then surface temperature levels would rise several degrees. Arrhenius and his
colleague, Arvid Högbom (1857–1940), started to consider the amount of car-
bon dioxide emissions from factories and were surprised to find that man-made
emission rates were very similar to those occurring in nature. At the rate that
coal was being burned in the 1890s, they didn’t see this as a problem since it
would take thousands of years for the doubling to take place. They also thought
the oceans could absorb most of those emissions, so there was no cause for
concern. This was the first suggestion that the burning of fossil fuels for heat
could add enough CO2 to the atmosphere to make a difference. They didn’t
have a concept of how this increased heat could affect the overall climate of the
planet—only how it might melt glaciers.
Throughout the early to mid-1900s, there was considerable discussion, and
considerable doubt, that the increase in CO2 would have much of an effect on
the planet. Again, the ocean was considered to be an endless carbon dioxide sink.
With the advent of the atomic age in 1945, carbon isotopes were able to be
identified and compared in tree rings and other carbon-fixing forms. Scientists
were able to distinguish between “old” carbon from fossil fuels and “current”
carbon from their present atmosphere. They were also able to discern what per-
centage of CO2 in their present atmosphere came from burning fossil fuels and
what was part of the current carbon system.
In the mid-1950s, researcher Charles David Keeling (1928–2005) wanted
to accurately measure the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere but felt that using
monitors near population centers would give inaccurate results. He settled on
positioning sensors at the 13,600-foot-high Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.
Sitting at this altitude in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in 1958, Keeling began
his measurements. They now serve as an important baseline, and scientists have
been constantly monitoring and updating atmospheric CO2 concentrations ever
since. At the onset of his research, Keeling noticed a steady increase in CO2, one
much higher than what would be expected if the oceans were absorbing 80% of
the emissions as had been commonly accepted. Keeling’s son Ralph continues
his father’s research to this day with the data from the Keeling Curve (a daily
record of atmospheric carbon dioxide) that’s used extensively by scientists.
The first published use of the term global warming appears to have been by
the climatologist Wallace Broecker in a 1975 article in the journal Science that
was titled “Climatic Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global
Warming?” It is quite remarkable that a prediction made in 1975 using a sim-
ple model of the climate system could so accurately match the observed global
temperature change we are seeing today. It is a testament to the dominant effect
of CO2 and the fact that we have had a solid understanding of the fundamental
workings of the Earth’s climate for many decades.
In June 1988, global warming became a more popular term after NASA scien-
tist Dr. James Hansen told the U.S. Congress that “global warming has reached
a level such that we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a cause-and-
effect relationship between the greenhouse effect and the observed warming.”
After Dr. Hansen’s retirement from NASA in April 2013 (following 46 years
of government service), he took on a more active role in the political and legal
efforts to limit greenhouse gases.
The term climate change dates at least as far back as 1939. A closely related
term, climatic change, was once also common, as exemplified in the 1955 scien-
tific article “The Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climatic Change” by Gilbert Plass.
By 1970, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a
paper titled “Carbon Dioxide and Its Role in Climate Change.” In 1988, when
the world’s major governments set up an advisory body of top scientists and
other climate experts to review the scientific literature every few years, they
named it the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This group
is working on its sixth climate assessment, drawing on the work of hundreds of
scientists from all over the world to enable policymakers at all levels of govern-
ment to make sound, evidence-based decisions. The IPCC shared the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2007 with Al Gore for “their efforts to build up and disseminate
greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations
for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.”
The Difference Between Global Warming and Climate Change

We often hear people say, “It used to be called global warming, now it’s called
climate change. Make up your mind!”
These are two different concepts. Global warming refers only to the rising
temperatures of the Earth’s oceans, land, and atmosphere, whereas climate change
includes warming and the effects of warming—such as more severe storms,
melting glaciers, or more frequent droughts, which may also result in increasing
forest fires. As the planet warms, there is more heat energy to run the Earth’s
systems like the water cycle and air currents, which affect the jet stream.
It is important to distinguish between the normal warming patterns that
have occurred over time and the current patterns we are observing due to the
burning of fossil fuels. In Earth’s history before the Industrial Revolution,
the planet was warmer due to natural causes not related to human activity. These
trends are part of the natural cycles described by the Serbian astrophysicist Milu-
tin Milankovitch in the 1920s. He hypothesized that the small changes in the
Earth’s orbit, axial tilt, and “wobble” cause enough difference in the amount of
sunlight falling on the Earth to influence the climate. Ice cores taken in Green-
land and Antarctica prove his hypothesis by showing temperatures warmer than
they are now, hitting peaks about every 100,000 years.
Currently, the term climate change can mean human-caused changes to cli-
mate or natural ones, such as ice ages. On the other hand, global warming gen-
erally refers to human-caused warming—warming due to the rapid increase
in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from humans burning coal, oil,
and gas since the Industrial Revolution. Besides burning fossil fuels, humans
can cause climate changes by emitting aerosol pollution—the tiny particles that
reflect sunlight and cool the climate—into the atmosphere or by transforming
the Earth’s landscape (for instance, from carbon-storing forests to farmland).
Some scientists use the term climate disruption to delineate the difference
between a mere change (for instance, a slight uptick in average winter tempera-
tures) and the type of swings in the weather that we see as the Earth warms.
New York won’t just change to be more like Florida, for example; rather, its
climate will be different from what is normal for New York, which can include
severe rainstorms, snowstorms, droughts, and floods. True, the average tem-
perature in most locations will get warmer as we put more CO2 into the atmo-
sphere. More important, the additional heat and moisture in our atmosphere
from global warming will cause major disruptions to what we used to consider
normal for a particular location.
A simple distinction is that as the planet warms, it causes the climate to
change, resulting in a cause-and-effect relationship between global warming
and climate change.
“Believing” in Climate Change

As science educators, it is critical that we don’t use the phrase believing in climate
change. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines a belief as “an acceptance that
something exists or is true, especially one without proof.” Our beliefs are per-
sonal and do not need to be proven to anyone.
The nature of science, on the other hand, is reproducible results. A concept
in science is accepted if the same situation is repeated over and over again, with
evidence collected that shows the same results. Only after repeatedly collecting
evidence can we say whether the results support or do not support our initial
predictions. If a study is published, we might say that we agree with the results
of that study or accept the results of that study. If there are lots of replications
and variations that all say the same thing, we might call the results a “fact,”
such as the fact that water freezes at 32°F or 0°C. We can agree with those facts.
When the research of multiple lines of evidence all lead to the same conclusion,
we might start talking about a theory, such as evolution. In the case of climate
change, there are countless reputable studies that show the Earth is warming,
causing changes in our climate. We don’t believe in climate change; we accept
the results of tens of thousands of studies and papers by reputable scientists that
show our Earth is warming, resulting in a changing climate.
Controversy Over Climate Change

As scientific thinkers, skepticism is important. The term skeptic comes from the
Greek noun skepsis, which means “examination, inquiry, and consideration.”
Questioning in science goes back thousands of years. The Royal Society of Lon-
don for Improving Natural Knowledge, commonly known as the Royal Society,
was founded in November 1660 and is the oldest national scientific institution
in the world. Its motto, Nullius in verba (Latin for “on the word of no one” or
“take nobody’s word for it”), challenged scientists to question information pre-
sented to them. This is solid scientific practice. Scientists rely on reproducible
results, large numbers of reputable studies, and respectful discourse to come to
conclusions.
This is why it is hard to fathom the controversy over climate change, which
has been researched at length. Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence for
global warming and the observed effects on our climate, it can still be a contro-
versial topic.
Why is climate change and its effects still disputed? Perhaps the best expla-
nation can be found in the age-old saying “Follow the money.” James Hansen
claims that in order to keep our planet from warming more than 2°C, a com-
monly accepted limit by scientists, we can only put another 565 gigatons of CO2
into our atmosphere (Hansen et al. 2013). The Carbon Tracker Initiative, a team
of London financial analysts, estimates that proven coal, oil, and gas reserves of
fossil fuel companies and countries would put an additional 2,795 gigatons of
CO2 into the atmosphere if extracted and burned (Leaton 2011). That is five
times the amount we can release to maintain a 2°C limit of warming. At today’s
market values, those reserves are estimated to be worth $27 trillion in U.S. dol-
lars. That’s 27 trillion reasons to burn as much fossil fuel as possible, if you’re
in the business of selling those reserves. It’s also a $27 trillion loss if the reserves
are kept in the ground. The controversy is essentially an economic issue and
should not be a scientific or political one.
In August 2017, for example, two Harvard researchers published a paper

assessing whether ExxonMobil Corporation has in the past misled the general
public about climate change (Supran and Oreskes). They presented an empir-
ical document-by-document analysis and comparison of 187 climate change
communications from ExxonMobil, including peer-reviewed and non-peer-
reviewed publications, internal company documents, and paid, editorial-style
advertisements in The New York Times. The researchers looked at the company’s
views of climate change as real, human-caused, serious, and solvable. They stated
in their conclusion that “the company’s apparent acknowledgment of climate
science and its implications seems dramatically at odds with basically its current
business practice.” Those 27 trillion reasons would most definitely affect stock-
holders for ExxonMobile and other fossil fuel companies. The actions taken by
these companies might be best summed up by an Upton Sinclair quote: “It is
difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his
not understanding it.”
In order to get results that stand up against self-interested parties and avoid
undue skepticism, scientists must conduct their research with impunity and care-
fully examine all of the data, not just data that support their predictions. What’s
more, research funding can raise issues when the results of a study funded by a
particular company or group are contrary to that company’s or group’s bottom
line. Therefore, scientists must guard against the influence of funders.
The “Debate” Over Climate Change

It is probable that discussion of the presumed controversy over human-caused
climate change will arise in the classroom during this unit. It is important to
remember that 97% of scientists worldwide agree that the causes of our rapidly
warming planet are directly related to the burning of fossil fuels. To allow a debate
by “both sides of the argument” is akin to having a debate about geocentric versus
heliocentric models of the solar system. Although a geocentric model was widely
accepted in its day, overwhelming scientific evidence has shown that model to be
inaccurate, and it has not been accepted for more than 200 years.
The same is true for climate change. As of this printing in 2019, the United
States is the only country to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, which
was signed by 195 countries. At the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in
2015, every “party” (each country, plus the European Union) came together to
set limits that would ensure a sustainable future for humans on Earth. Of all the
parties at the conference, only two did not sign the agreement. One was Nicara-
gua, which claimed the limits did not go far enough. The other was Syria, which
was steeped in a civil war. Since then, both Nicaragua and Syria have signed the
agreement. In 2017, the United States committed to withdraw, taking effect in
2020. This should make any skeptic ask, “Why?” Every other country in the
world agrees that climate change is real, is primarily caused by burning fossil
fuels, and if unchecked could make Earth uninhabitable to most humans. They
also agree there are solutions that need to be put in place as soon as possible.
12
Table 1: NGSS Correlations
Next Generation Science Standards Session

Performance Expectations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
MS-PS4-2 **
MS-ESS3-5 ** **
HS-ESS2-2 ** **
HS-ESS2-4 ** **
HS-ESS3-5 ** **
HS-ESS3-6 *
HS-ETS1-3 * *
HS-ETS1-4 *
Disciplinary Core Ideas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
PS4.B *
ESS2.A ** **
ESS2.D ** ** **
ESS3.D ** * **
ETS1.B * *
Continued

NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Table 1 (continued)
Next Generation Science Standards Session

Crosscutting Concepts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Patterns * *
Cause and Effect * ** ** ** ** **
Scale, Proportion, and Quantity * * *
Systems and System Models * ** ** ** ** *
Energy and Matter *
Structure and Function *
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE

Stability and Change ** ** *
Science and Engineering Practices 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Asking Questions and Defining Problems ** * ** ** (**) * *
Developing and Using Models ** (**) **
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations (**)
Analyzing and Interpreting Data ** ** ** **
Using Mathematics and ** *

Computational Thinking
Constructing Explanations and * ** ** ** *

Designing Solutions
Engaging in Argument From Evidence * **
Obtaining, Evaluating, and * ** * * *
Communicating Information

** = addresses all elements of standard (**) = standard is addressed in optional investigations
* = addresses most of standard but will require some additional teaching
13
References
Atkin, J. M., and R. Karplus. 1962. Discovery or invention? The Science Teacher 29
(5): 45–51.
Broecker, W. 1975. Climatic change: Are we on the brink of a pronounced global
warming? Science 189 (4201): 460–463.
Do the Math. FAQs. http://math.350.org/questions (accessed November 3, 2018).
International Panel on Climate Change. History. IPCC. www.ipcc.ch/
organization/organization_history.shtml (accessed November 3, 2018).
Leaton, J. 2011. Unburnable carbon: Are the world’s financial markets carrying a carbon
bubble? Carbon Tracker Initiative. www.carbontracker.org/reports/carbon-bubble.
Mason, J. 2013. The history of climate science. Skeptical Science. https://
skepticalscience.com/history-climate-science.html (accessed November 3, 2018).
Muller, R. New York Times. 2012. The conversion of a climate-change skeptic. July
28. www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/opinion/the-conversion-of-a-climate-change-skeptic.
html (accessed November 3, 2018).
NASA. Global mean CO2 mixing ratios (ppm): Observations. https://data.giss.nasa.
gov/modelforce/ghgases/Fig1A.ext.txt (accessed November 3, 2018).
NASA. 2008. What’s in a name? Global warming vs. climate change. www.nasa.gov/
topics/earth/features/climate_by_any_other_name.html (accessed February 4, 2019).
NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states.
Washington, DC: National Academies Press. www.nextgenscience.org/next-
generation-science-standards.
NOAA. CO2 at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory reaches new milestone: Tops
400 ppm. www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/news/7074.html (accessed November 3, 2018).
Norweigan Nobel Committee. 2007. Prize announcement. Nobel Media AB.
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2007/summary.
Oxford Dictionaries. 2019. Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press.
Continually updated at https://en.oxforddictionaries.com.
Supran, G., and N. Oreskes. 2017. Assessing ExxonMobil’s climate change com-
munications (1977–2014). Environmental Research Letters 12 (8): 084019.
Sustainable Innovation Forum. Find out more about COP21. www.cop21paris.org
(accessed November 3, 2018).
SESSION 1
What Have You Heard

About Climate Change?
Introduction
The goal of this session is to set the stage for student investigations into the
complex topics of global warming and climate change. Students first partici-
pate in a networking activity to introduce them to the Climate Change Agents
whose interviews are found throughout the guide. They then activate their prior
knowledge through a brainstorm of what they have heard about climate change.
In order to reveal student understanding and misconceptions about climate
change, the term heard is used rather than the term know. This allows students
to feel free to share anything they have heard without fear of being wrong while
the teacher is able to uncover their misconceptions prior to further instruction.
This process sets up thinking and communication practices that prepare the
students for Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations
that are developed in the subsequent sessions. After listing ideas they’ve heard
about climate change, students review one another’s lists and formulate ques-
tions that they have about climate change.
A formative assessment probe from Uncovering Student Ideas in Earth and Envi-
ronmental Science by Page Keeley and Laura Tucker is included to assist teachers
in assessing whether their students have a firm understanding of the difference
between climate and weather.
Session 1
Objectives
1. To encourage students to share their own information about what they
have heard regarding climate change, which serves as a preassessment
of their prior knowledge
2. To establish a base of common information that will be useful both for
teaching and for evaluating the information covered in the unit
3. To assess what knowledge and misconceptions students hold about
climate change
What You Need

Gather the following materials.
For the class:

Package of sentence strips (usually 100 in a package)
Roll of masking tape
For each group of four students:

Marking pens
5 or more sentence strips from the class package
Note: You can make your own sentence strips rather than buying them. Use
butcher paper cut into 3 × 36 in. long strips, or if the sentence strips are too
cumbersome, choose a shared document platform that students can access from
digital devices.
For each student:

Science notebook
Networking card from Handout 1.1: Networking
Copy of Handout 1.2: Climate Change Agent Interview
Copy of assessment probe Are They Talking About Climate or
Weather?
Note: The handouts and probe are located on the Extras page: www.nsta.org/
climatechange.
What Have You Heard About Climate Change?
Preparation
A Few Days Before the Class

1. Find a space on the wall for four columns of sentence strips.
2. Write the following column headings on four different-colored
sentence strips:
•• Questions We Have About Climate Change
•• Accepted as Accurate—Supported by Evidence
•• Accepted as Inaccurate—Supported by Evidence
•• Needs More Information/Evidence/Research
Table 1.1 provides an example of how the columns should look
once you set them up on the wall during class.
Table 1.1: Example of Wall Columns
Questions We Accepted as Accepted as Need More

Have About Accurate— Inaccurate— Information/
Climate Supported by Supported by Evidence/
Change Evidence Evidence Research
• question • statement • statement • statement

• question • statement • statement • statement
3. Decide how you will attach the sentence strips to the wall. A
recommended method is to attach two long strips of masking tape to
the wall for each column of sentence strips, sticky side out. Place the
strips about two feet apart from each other. You may also use poster
putty instead of tape.
4. Decide how you will manage the sentence strips for each class. You can
roll them up after each period or compile them as a group, depending
on how many classes you have.
Note: It is important that the statements in each category can be moved back and
forth as new information is discovered. For example, a statement in the Accepted
as Inaccurate column might be moved to the Needs More Information/Evidence/
Research section when additional information is revealed. Questions can be
removed when they are answered.
Session 1
The Day Before the Class

1. Prepare Handout 1.1: Networking for the class. The five-page-long
handout includes 10 different networking cards, with 2 cards per page.
Each card features a quote from a different Climate Change Agent.
Make enough copies so that each student in your class receives a card.
So, for example, if you have 30 students in your class, make three
copies of the handout. Cut each page in half after printing the copies
to separate the cards. (Given that there are only 10 separate cards, some
students will likely have the same interview.)
2. Make copies of Handout 1.2: Climate Change Agent Interview.
Begin!
Networking
1. Distribute one networking card to each student. Tell students that
they will take on the identity of the person on their card and attend
a “networking event” with many other very important people. Let
students know that name-dropping is important at networking events.
2. Ask students to walk around the room and gather information from
as many different people as possible. As they meet each person, they
should exchange names and read the quotes on their cards to each
other. Students then record the names and key ideas from each person
they meet. If your school policy allows it, students may take pictures of
each other’s cards with their cell phones.
3. After about five minutes, have students return to their tables. Ask
them to work with their table partners to compare their impressions
of the people they met at the networking event. Once students have
finished discussing their impressions, tell them that they will have an
opportunity to read more about each of these people in the upcoming
unit.
4. Ask students to discuss the following questions in groups and record
their thinking in their notebooks:
•• What is the common thread between all of the people at the
networking event?
•• Which person are you most interested in learning more about? Why?
•• What do you think you will be learning in the upcoming unit?
5. Give students an opportunity to share their answers with the class.
Drain Your Brain About Climate Change

1. Tell the class that you want to find out what they have heard about
climate change.
Note: Use the term heard rather than know as it takes pressure off of students to
have correct answers and prompts them to share more freely. This will allow you
to be more effective in assessing your students’ prior knowledge.
2. Invite students to think about everything they have heard about climate
change from television, the internet, social media, books, newspapers,
or word of mouth. Anything they have heard is acceptable.
3. Tell students they each have a few minutes to make a list in their
notebooks of everything that comes to mind. Each student should
have at least four items in their list. Tell them not to worry about using
whole sentences or whether or not they are certain of the information.
They don’t need to personally agree with what they have heard
from a particular source, either. It is good to get all information and
misinformation out where the students can discuss it.
4. Ask them if they have questions about what they are going to do, and
then begin.
5. If some students run out of things to write, have them write questions
they have about climate change.
Thought Swap
1. After a few minutes, or once most students are finished, have them
stop writing.
2. Explain that it is time for a Thought Swap. Students will work in
groups of three to four. The directions are as follows:
a. Each student will read their list to the group. No one is allowed to
interrupt the speaker or comment on the information that is shared
at this time.
b. After one person finishes sharing, the next person has a turn, stating
only those things not covered by the first speaker. This continues
until everyone has shared the content of their lists. Students may
add information shared by their classmates to their own lists.
c. After all group members have shared their information, they can
ask one another questions and discuss what each person had to say.
Any disagreements can be discussed at a later time.
Session 1
3. While the group discussion is going on, post the following four
sentence-strip headings to your wall columns or use a computer to
project the categories:
•• Questions We Have About Climate Change
•• Accepted as Accurate—Supported by Evidence
•• Accepted as Inaccurate—Supported by Evidence
•• Needs More Information/Evidence/Research
If sentence strips are being used, leave room under each heading for
15–20 statements to be posted.
4. Ask if there are any questions before moving on.
Sharing What We’ve Heard About Climate Change

1. After about 10 minutes (or when most groups are finished), stop
the small-group discussions. Ask each group to choose two of the
things that they have heard about climate change to share with the
whole class. Tell groups that if what they decide to share is presented
by another group first, then they will have to pick something else to
share. Do not make any comments at this time about the accuracy or
inaccuracy of the information.
2. After each group shares, ask if anything that they had heard about
climate change seems to be contradictory. Mention that climate
change is a complex topic, and misconceptions are very common.
Students may find conflicting information as they study the topic
further. However, the job of conscientious scientists is to back up any
statement with solid evidence, and the students will all be acting like
conscientious scientists throughout the unit. You may want to point
out that what is accepted in science can change as new information is
discovered or revealed, and what we thought to be accurate in the past
may no longer be accurate today.
3. Point out the column headings you placed on the wall. Mention that
at this point in the unit, students most likely will not have enough
information to decide whether the ideas they have heard about climate
change can be accepted as accurate or inaccurate, so you will leave
those categories empty for the time being. As they go through the
unit, students will be conducting investigations, comparing data, and
performing their own research to determine the accuracy or inaccuracy
of what they have heard about climate change. For now, they will keep
all of their ideas written in their notebooks for future reference.
Note: Students may bring up the ozone hole, acid rain, or other environmental
issues that they confuse with climate change. You may choose to ask them to
eliminate those statements from their list or leave them in as part of the discussion.
Examples of What Students May Have Heard About Climate
Change
“What I have heard about climate change …”
•• If the climate changes, it will cause glaciers to melt, which will
eventually raise the sea level.
•• It’s caused by ozone-layer thickening.
•• CO2 levels are increasing.
•• Ocean temperatures are increasing.
•• Climate change causes storms to grow larger.
•• Climate change makes the world warmer.
•• A portion of the United States does not recognize it as a problem.
•• The polar ice caps are melting, raising ocean levels.
•• Global warming is bad.
•• Climate change is caused by greenhouse gases.
•• Pollution is depleting the ozone layer.
•• It is making our atmosphere thinner.
•• It is making the world unstable.
•• Burning fossil fuels causes greenhouse gases.
•• Natural disasters are getting worse.
•• It is thought to be more extreme now than in the past.
•• Arctic species are going to be extinct in 20 years.
The Difference Between Weather and Climate

1. It is important that students have a clear understanding of the
difference between the terms weather and climate before continuing with
this unit. Weather refers to the conditions at one particular time and
place. These conditions can change from hour to hour, day to day, and
season to season. Climate, on the other hand, refers to the long-term
average pattern of weather in a location. For example, we might say that
the climate of South Florida is warm, moist, and sunny, although the
weather on a particular day in this region could be quite different than
that. Long-term data are needed to determine changes in climate.
Session 1
2. To be sure students have a firm grasp of this foundational component

of the study of climate change, administer the formative assessment
probe Are They Talking About Climate or Weather? The probe can
be found on the Extras page (www.nsta.org/climatechange). Answers
and sample student responses to the open-ended question in the
probe can be found in the Resources section (pp. 25–27) at the end of
this session.
3. If students do not demonstrate a clear understanding of this
fundamental concept, review reteaching suggestions in the Pedagogy
section (pp. 24–25) of this session.
What We Don’t Know About Climate Change

1. Ask students in each group to review their notes on what they have
heard about climate change. From those notes, they will brainstorm
questions they have about climate change. They should have at least
one question per person in the group.
2. Students will post their questions in one of two ways:
•• Have students in each group write their questions on sentence
strips. Then they can bring the strips up to the wall and post them
in the Questions We Have About Climate Change column. As the
questions are being posted, have students monitor the board so
there are no duplicate questions.
•• If using Google Docs or another electronic posting medium, have
students in each group post their questions in the document you
have created. Be sure to monitor what the students are posting to
avoid duplicates and/or inappropriate comments.
3. Once all of the questions are posted, have students take turns reading
them aloud to the class.
Examples of Student Questions
“Questions that I have about climate change …”
•• Why is it a big deal?
•• Is there a scientific experiment on solving climate change?
•• Will it cause any land to disappear?
•• How can we stop it?
•• How long will it take to get too hot to live?
•• How long has it been going on?
•• Will it cause the world to end?
•• How does the release of animal methane affect the ozone?
•• Why have we not fixed it when we have known about this for so long?
•• Are our advances in science and technology helping or hurting
climate change?
•• What are the contributors?
•• How do automobiles compare with factories in contributing to
climate change?
•• Is climate change speeding up or at a steady pace?
4. Ask students to raise their hands if they know the answers to any of
the questions currently posted. Have them silently write their answers
to these questions in their notebooks without discussion with other
students. Explain that they will have a chance to review these questions
and answers as the unit progresses.
Climate Change Agent Interview

1. Distribute Handout 1.2 to the class. It features the story of Eliza
Dawson, who planned to row from California to Hawaii to draw
attention to the issue of climate change. Ask students for their initial
impressions of the interview. Take a few responses. Refrain from
getting into long discussions at this time. This interview is designed to
get students engaged in the topic of climate change and to introduce a
young scientist who is so passionate that she and three friends planned
to row more than 2,400 miles across the Pacific Ocean to study climate
change.
2. Ask students for their impressions of Eliza’s major setback in her quest
to row to Hawaii and how she handled the setback. Do they agree or
disagree with her choices? Again, this first interview is meant to give
them a brief introduction to the issue of climate change and whet their
appetite for future interviews.
Background for Teachers
Definitions
As you go through the session, you may find the following definitions from the
Environmental Protection Agency helpful.
Climate: The average weather conditions in a particular location or region at a
particular time of the year. Climate is usually measured over a period of 30 years
or more.
Session 1
Climate Change: A significant change in the Earth’s climate. The Earth is

currently getting warmer because people are adding heat-trapping greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere. The term global warming refers to warmer tempera-
tures, whereas climate change refers to the broader set of changes that go along
with warmer temperatures, including changes in weather patterns, the oceans,
ice and snow, and ecosystems around the world.
Global Warming: An increase in temperature near the surface of the Earth.
Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural causes.
However, the term is most often used to refer to recent and ongoing warming
caused by people’s activities. Global warming leads to a bigger set of changes
referred to as global climate change.
Weather: The condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time. Some
familiar characteristics of the weather include wind, temperature, humidity,
atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation. Weather can change from
hour to hour, day to day, and season to season.
Pedagogy
What Students Have Heard Versus What They Know
Teachers have often observed that students will remember inaccurate state-
ments as true when they see them posted for the whole class to see. This is why
students are instructed to put what they have heard in their notebooks and not
where the whole class can read the statements. This helps individual students
reflect on their own ideas and misconceptions and correct them as the unit goes
on. Once a statement has been determined as accurate or inaccurate by the class
based on evidence they have discovered, then the statement can be placed where
it can be seen by the class. Teachers can monitor a specific student’s conceptual
path by reading their science notebook.
Addressing Misconceptions in Climate Versus Weather

The upcoming sessions will direct students to dig deeply into the data associated
with climate change, research the lines of evidence supporting climate change,
and engage in scholarly discourse. For this to have meaning, students need to
have a sound understanding of the difference between climate and weather.
Many students can recite the catchphrase that climate determines the clothes in
your closet, and weather determines the clothes that you select to wear today.
However, when asked to apply their understanding to real-world situations,
students (and adults, too!) often lack deep understanding. To evaluate this, ask
students to complete the formative assessment probe Are They Talking About
Climate or Weather? Answers and sample student responses to the open-ended
question in the probe appear at the end of the Resources section (pp. 26–27). As
you review students’ results, you may find that you need to do some reteaching.
Select the resources that you want to use for reteaching. You may select
readings from the students’ textbook or appropriate video shorts to share with
your class. (Two short videos are included in the Resources section.) Alterna-
tively you may give students an opportunity to research weather and climate
online.
After showing a video or giving students time for personal research, ask
them to record their own definitions of weather and climate in their notebooks.
Once they have recorded their own thinking, ask students to share their
definitions with others in their group. When everyone has shared, each group
will create one definition for the term weather and one definition for the term
climate.
Have students share their group definitions with the class. Ask students to
make any additions or corrections to their group definition, then create a class
definition for the terms climate and weather. You may use the definitions provided
in the Background for Teachers section (pp. 23–24) to guide student thinking.
Hand back students’ formative assessment and allow them to make correc-
tions to their original responses. Review responses with the class quickly. If you
come to a response where there is disagreement, allow students to make the
case for their selections. Using the class definitions, come to consensus for each
item. This is a great place to give students an opportunity to engage in argu-
mentation, which is both a science and engineering practice in the NGSS and a
Common Core State Standard for both English language arts and math.
Resources
1. These videos help students understand the difference between weather
and climate.
•• This video may be more appropriate for middle school students:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbAWny7FV3w.
•• This video may be more appropriate for high school students:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHgyOa70Q7Y.
2. The following skit by Deep Rogue Ram shows a weather reporter gone
rogue when she is confronted by her coanchor, who is rather clueless
on the issue of climate change: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmfcJP_
0eMc&t=6s.
3. Skeptical Science (www.skepticalscience.com) is an excellent resource
with commonly accepted misconceptions about global warming and
climate change along with corresponding scientific explanations. You
can choose different levels of scientific explanations, from basic to
Session 1
intermediate to advanced. DO NOT SHARE this information with

students at this time. Students will explore common misconceptions
in Session 4. This resource is listed to help you understand some of the
common misconceptions your students will have heard.
4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
offers a climate literacy guide called Climate Literacy: The Essential
Principles of Climate Sciences. The guide presents a vision of a climate-
literate society. Many scientists and educators collaborated to
produce this guide, building on efforts to define climate literacy
and identify the principles and concepts of climate science that
should be included in K–12 curricula. You can find the guide here:
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/literacy.html.
5. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has been
conducting some of the most comprehensive research on public
opinion and behavior concerning climate change. In their studies,
they found that 63% of Americans believe that global warming is
happening, but many do not understand why. Only 8% of Americans
would receive a letter grade of an A or B for their knowledge of global
warming, 40% would receive a C or D, and 52% would get an F.
The studies also found important gaps in knowledge and common
misconceptions about climate change and the Earth system. These
misconceptions lead some people to doubt that global warming
is happening or that human activities are a major contributor, to
misunderstand the causes and the solutions, and to be unaware of the
risks. For more information, go here: http://climatecommunication.yale.
edu/publications/americans-knowledge-of-climate-change.
6. For the Are They Talking About Climate or Weather? assessment
probe, the best answer is that B, E, and H are statements related to
climate. Answer choices A, C, D, and G are statements related to
weather. Students have effectively argued that answer choice F can
relate to both climate and weather. Sample responses to the open-
ended question in the probe are listed here:
•• What had to do with clothing was W and the rest was C, but that
did not work for some.
•• I chose climate for the time of year and weather for anything that
had to do with weather.
•• If the weather was not usual, then I put C, and if it was, I put W.
•• I think climate hasn’t happened; it might happen. Weather already
happened, like it is raining.
•• I put weather for the ones that state rain, drought. Climate is what
makes the weather happen.
•• It’s climate if it’s a change, and it’s a W if it’s something to do with
how the outdoors affects your day.
•• Rain is something that happens outside. That is climate. Weather is
something you might have to change your clothes for.
•• I think climate when I hear rain, because global warming melts
icebergs, which means more water, and water evaporates quicker
with more rain.
•• My reasoning is that weather is what happens every day and is
mostly unpredictable, and climate is more predictable and is what
happens over a number of years.
•• Weather is rain, snow, hail, sunshine, and wind, and climate is
density. Density is like humidity or moisture in the air.
•• Weather is random. Climate change is big news and at a certain
place.
•• Weather is the conditions such as raining, snowing, sunny, etc.
Climate is conditions of the air, such as humid, muggy, dry, and
others.
•• If the sentence referred to a specific weather condition such as
snow, rain, or temperature, I counted it as weather. If the sentence
referred to natural disasters or did not mention a specific weather
condition, I counted it as climate.
References
Bybee, R. et al. 2006. The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins and effective-
ness. Paper prepared for the Office of Science Education at NIH.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2017. A student’s guide to global climate
change: Glossary. https://archive.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/glossary.html#w.
Keeley, P., and L. Tucker. 2016. Are they talking about climate or weather? In
Uncovering student ideas in Earth and environmental science, 74–76. Arlington, VA:
NSTA Press.
SESSION 2
Sources of CO2
in the Atmosphere
Introduction
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary gas that creates our “Goldilocks” planet—
not too hot, not too cold, just right. It serves as a heat-trapping blanket in our
atmosphere, providing a natural greenhouse effect that allows Earth to maintain
an average temperature of 15°C (59°F). Without CO2 in the atmosphere, heat
would radiate back into space causing Earth to be a mostly frozen ball with an
average temperature of –18°C (0°F).
Students may have heard that climate change is primarily a problem of too
much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It has caused most of the warming we
have measured since the mid-1700s and is caused primarily by the burning of
fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, or the cutting down and burning of forests.
Currently, there is 30% more CO2 in our atmosphere than at any time in the
past 800,000 years.
Before students dive into the causes and effects of the increase in this critical
greenhouse gas, they are provided with an opportunity to discover some of the
sources of CO2 in our atmosphere. Students conduct an investigation where
they collect gas samples from the air, from their breath, from a gasoline-powered
automobile, and from a pure source of CO2. They compare the relative concen-
trations of CO2 by bubbling their gas samples through bromothymol blue, an
easy-to-obtain acid/base indicator. Their results show that humans produce a
small amount of CO2 through respiration as compared to the significant amount
of CO2 produced by a gasoline-powered automobile. This experiment provides
some foundation for understanding the role that the burning of fossil fuels plays
in our warming planet.
Session 2
Objectives
1. To give students a concrete understanding of some sources of CO2 and
their relative concentrations in our atmosphere
2. To practice sampling and testing techniques like those used in scientific
studies of the atmosphere
3. To draw out the distinction between “natural” and “industrial” sources
of CO2
What You Need

Gather the following materials.
For each class:

1 lb. boxes of baking soda (2 per class)
750 ml of diluted bromothymol blue (BTB) in a clear 1 L bottle or in
a 1 gal. jug (You may need distilled or deionized water if making BTB
from powder. See information on preparation and safety in Preparation
section.)
1 gal. (3.8 L) jug of distilled white vinegar
Extra balloons beyond what is needed per group, in case they pop
Technology to project a web page for the class to view
The current list of questions and statements on the wall OR access to
the electronic documents with questions and statements
Sentence strips for additional statements (if you’re using the wall
columns)
Marking pens (if you’re using the wall columns)
Shared with all classes:

Air pump (either bicycle pump or balloon inflator)
Car and driver, plus 1–2 adult supervisors
Manila folder
Whiteboard or chart paper and marker
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
„Ik heb met je smoessies niks niet te make,” zegt Kees woedend.
„Jullie zalle d’r wel meer van hoore.”
„Een sigaar, Kees, vóór je weggaat,” zegt Ambro en hij steekt een
takje van een boom in de hoogte.
„Dekselsche aap,” vaart Kees uit. „Wat let me, of ik geef je daar ’n
pak op je broek.”
„Niet doen, Kees, niet doen,” sart Ambro. „Dan [218]snoepen de

anderen alle vla uit je bootje en die gun ik jou liever.”
Na deze woorden vinden ze ’t geraden het hazenpad te kiezen en de

bengels rennen dan ook in vollen vaart den Dierentuin uit.
In de Diergaardelaan blijven ze hijgend en blazend staan.
„Stom,” zegt Puckie. „Eeuwig stom om dien vent nou nog te gaan
sarren. Hij had toch al zoo de mier aan ons gezien.”
„Reken maar op een brief van den Directeur,” zegt Paul. „En we
zullen er nu heusch niet zoo genadig afkomen.”
„Ze gaan nou vast verband zoeken en zoo stom zijn ze niet, of ze
begrijpen, dat wij ook die jongens van het rhododendron-boschje
waren,” zegt Karel.
„Nou zijn we ’t Hol èn de Hooge Brug kwijt,” zegt Wim spijtig.
Ambro en Chris voelen zich heel schuldig.—„Inderdaad, was ’t dom

geweest, dien vent nog te sarren. Ze hadden ’m met een zoet lijntje
moeten paaien,” vond Chris.
„Ja jongens, we zijn er gloeiend bij,” zegt Ambro. „En ik ben ’t met
Paul eens, we zullen er dezen keer niet malsch afkomen.”
„Nou, als jij d’r geen gat inziet,” zegt Puckie. „Dan zijn we reddeloos
verloren.”
„Och, weet je wat ’t is,” zegt Ambro. „Ik trek ’t me niet zoo bar aan.
We zouden toch niet meer zooveel aan ’t Hol hebben.” [219]
„Waarom niet?”
„Nogal wiedes! Met September gaan we allemaal naar een H.B.S. of

Gym. Nou, daar krijg je een schep huiswerk, enne … nou, als je
H.B.S.er bent, dan ga je toch niet meer naar ’t Hol en dergelijke
flauwe kul.”
„Tsja,” zegt Chris bedenkelijk. „Daar is wel wat van aan.”
„Nou, ’t was maar niet emmes in ’t Hol! Ik zou d’r nog niks te groote-
meneerig voor zijn,” zegt Puckie.
„Dat is ’t woord niet. Maar je zult zien, als we op de H.B.S. zijn,

hebben we weer heel andere liefhebberijen. We gaan daarom nog
wel naar den Dierentuin, nog al glad, maar roovertje spelen en zoo,
dat doen we dan vast niet meer.”
’t Was wel moeilijk voor de jongens om zich dit in te denken.
Het was, of er door Ambro’s woorden plotseling iets ernstigs in hun

leven kwam, of er iets weg ging van hun onbezorgde bestaan, dat ze
niet gaarne wilde prijs geven.
„’t Zal wel zoo zijn, als Ambro denkt,” zegt Paul in ’t volste
vertrouwen. Het is niet weer te geven, wat er in Ambro’s oogen
lichtte bij die woorden van Paul.
Die kleine, zachte jongen, zoo geheel den tegenhanger van den
robusten wilden Ambro, had een heel warm plekje in zijn hart en
toen hij hem daar zag staan, zoo’n tenger ventje nog, dat nu ook
H.B.S.er zou worden en mee moest blokken [220]met ze, kreeg hij ’n
raar gevoel in z’n hart, hetgeen hij niet anders wist te uiten, dan met
de woorden: „En tòch zullen we nog fijn spelen, hoor Paul! En onze
bende blijft bestaan, mèt of zonder het Hol.” Daarmede is voor hen
allen het beklemmende gevoel weg en ze voelen zich weer de oude
roovers.
„Hiep hôj, knullen,” schreeuwt Puckie. „De bende van Kaan gaat
nooit verloren!”
„Nooit!” galmde ze allen mee.
„En Ambro blijft onze opper-rooverhoofdman,” zegt Wim.
En midden in de Diergaardelaan maken ze een kring om Ambro en

onder het gejuich van „lang zal ie leven” dansen ze hand aan hand
om hem heen.
Daarop brengen ze ’m naar huis en voor de deur vinden ze ’t nog

eens noodig een hoera’tje aan te heffen.
„Waarom maken jullie vandaag eigenlijk zoo’n keet?” vraagt Ambro.
Ja, dat wisten ze niet te zeggen.

[Inhoud]
DE KERMIS.
De groote vacantie is begonnen. Drie van de bende zijn naar buiten, de

rest heeft nu een trouw kwartet gevormd en heeft zich voorgenomen de
heele vacantie zoo genoegelijk samen door te brengen.
Op een dag, toen ze afgesproken hadden bij de Delftsche Poort samen te

komen, om vandaar uit [221]een wandeling naar Hillegersberg te
ondernemen, zagen ze een zwaar geladen wagen aankomen, die midden
op de helling bleef stilstaan.
De oververmoeide paarden kunnen de wagen met geen mogelijkheid

verder krijgen, die daardoor dreigt met een vaartje achteruit te rijden.
Als echte Rotterdammers helpen echter alle omstanders meê den wagen
de helling op te krijgen.
De vier jongens duwen uit alle macht mee. Zelfs een oud heertje met wit
vest en een lorgnet op, komt naderbij en meent, dat het voldoende is met
een keurig geganteerde hand den wagen lichtelijk aan te raken.
Er zijn nu zooveel helpers, dat er geen plekje aan den wagen meer vrij is
om aan te pakken.
Met die vereende krachten is de wagen eindelijk de helling op en ieder

denkt voor zich, dat ’t door zijn toedoen is.
Ambro kan niet nalaten tegen Chris te zeggen, wijzende op het oude
heertje:
„Nou … als we mijnheer niet hadden …”
Waarop het oude heertje vriendelijk lacht en het compliment als zeer
verdiend beschouwt.
De vier schelmen lachen in hun vuistje.
Maar nu gaan ze vol belangstelling den wagen bekijken. Deze is zwaar

beladen met de kleurrijke onderdeelen van een kermistent. Overal steken
schotten uit van lichtblauw gelakt houtwerk met gouden en zilveren
guirlanden.
Uitbundige vreugde bij de jongens; vergeten is de wandeling naar

Hillegersberg. [222]
„’t Is een draaimolen in stukkie’s,” zegt Ambro. „Die moet vast opgezet
worden op de Veemarkt. Daar gaan we heen, knullen!”
Boven op den wagen zit een kerel in een zwart en rood gestreepten trui,
die als een Romeinsch wagenmenner op al het kleurrijke houtwerk troont.
„Hort, hort,” vuurt hij de paarden aan, terwijl hij de zweep laat knallen.
Eindelijk gaat de wagen in een flinken gang voort.
De kluit helpers laat los en de jongens hollen den wagen achterna, want
ze voorvoelen, dat het opzetten van den draaimolen een bron van groot
genot voor hen zal opleveren.
Nu zijn ze de Hugo de Grootstraat genaderd. In de verte zien ze al heel

wat toebereidselen voor de kermis.
Op de veemarkt ontdekken ze echter iets wat hun harten met vreugde

vervult en ze het opzetten van den draaimolen weer geheel doet vergeten.
Daar staan aan de ijzeren hekken, waar anders op marktdagen de koeien

tusschen staan, de dieren vastgebonden die een deel van het hippodrôme
zullen uitmaken.
Er zijn groote en kleine paarden, poney’s en ezels. Maar … er is ook, en

dit is voor de jongens een voorwerp van groote bewondering, een kameel!
„Wat een beest toch,” zegt Chris.

„Nou, ik vind, dat ie er sufferig uitziet,” zegt Ambro. „Een groot verschil
met zijn collega uit den Dierentuin.” [223]
„Zou jij d’r op durven?” vraagt Piet.
„Durven wel,” zegt Ambro. „Maar hoe moet ik er op komen, ik kan toch
niet langs z’n pooten omhoog klimmen.”
„Vraag es aan dien vent, die daar met het opzetten van de tent bezig is, of
je er even op mag,” raadt Puckie aan.
„Zeg baas,” roept Ambro. „Mag ik even op den kameel.”
De man hoort hem niet, hij heeft het veel te druk.
Ambro geeft echter geen kamp.
„Toe, baas, laat me d’r nou effie’s op, ik kom vóór donker thuis met ’m.”
De man lacht eens even, maar gaat door met z’n werk.
„Valt je niet mee,” plaagt Chris.
„Hij zag zichzelf al zitten tusschen die twee bulten.”
Ambro gaat niet in op de plagerij, hij is stil, wat bij hem meestal wijst op
het uitdenken van een nieuwen schelmenstreek.
„Ga je mee verderop?” vraagt Puckie, die genoeg heeft van ’t bewonderen
en streelen der beesten.
„Neen,” zegt Ambro. „Ik moet eerst een rijtoertje maken, gaat ’t niet op
den kameel, dan op den ezel.”
„Durf je?” vraagt Piet. „Ze hebben je zóó in de gaten.”
„Och klets, ze zijn druk bezig.”

Terwijl de anderen kijken of de mannen niets opletten, maakt Ambro
behendig den ezel los en trekt hem een eind mee voort. [224]
Plotseling springt hij op den rug van het ongezadelde beest en houdt zich
stevig bij diens ooren vast.
Grauwtje, niet verdacht op zoo’n onverhoedschen aanval, begint hevig

capriolen te maken.
Ambro heeft de grootste moeite om er op te blijven.
De ezel slaat naar alle kanten en op een gegeven moment slaat hij z’n
achterpooten in de lucht en gooit Ambro met een vaartje over z’n kop
heen, op straat.
De jongens gieren van pret en Ambro, die alweer opgekrabbeld is, wil juist
zijn edel „ros” gaan bestijgen, als de mannen het gevalletje in de gaten
krijgen en op hem af hollen.
Een weet den ezel te pakken, dien hij mee [225]terugvoert naar z’n plaats
en de ander holt de jongens achterna.
Maar deze zijn hem te vlug af en zijn spoorloos verdwenen in een steegje.
Als ze een goed eind doorgerend zijn, durven ze eindelijk blijven stilstaan.
„Hè, hè,” hijgt Ambro. „Dat was tenminste een gratis ritje, jammer, dat ie
geen tuig aan had, dan was ik zoo met hem naar huis gereden.”
„Dan had je langoor zeker op zolder gestald,” lacht Puckie.
„Vooruit, knullen, we gaan aan den anderen kant kijken,” zegt Chris.
Nu staan ze voor een in aanbouw zijnde tent. Het is een armoedig zoodje,
alle schotten en lappen zien er haveloos en vervallen uit.
Een magere, groezelige vent is bezig de schotten in elkaar te timmeren,

terwijl twee bleek-neuzige, smerig-uitziende kindertjes hem daarbij telkens
in den weg loopen. Met een vloek en een trap worden ze weggejaagd.
Op een van de schotten staat in bontgekleurde letters het opschrift: „Het

Kristallen Paleis”.
„Zie je dat?” zegt Chris. „Moet je dat armoedige zoodje zien!”
„Het kristal moet zeker nog met den trein meekomen,” spot Ambro.
„Zou die arme sjap nou nog wat verdienen op de kermis?” peinst Piet.
„Nou, als ik nog wat over heb, ga ik er vast heen,” zegt Puckie in een
edelmoedige opwelling. [226]
„Kijk es, jongens,” roept Ambro eensklaps. „Daar heb je waaratje de dikke
dame ook al!”
De jongens kijken allen om. Heel rustig komt een bizonder welgedane
juffrouw aangewandeld. Ze is ook eens een kijkje gaan nemen naar het
opbouwen van de kermistenten.
Een tevreden lach ligt op haar vollemaansgezicht en er rusten wel drie
onderkinnen op haar halsboordje.
De jongens gaan plotseling om haar heen staan en kijken haar vol

belangstelling aan.
De juffrouw begrijpt al niet, wat die jongetjes van haar willen, als plotseling
Ambro met een volkomen onschuldig baby-snuitje vraagt: [227]
„In welke tent hoort u nu thuis?”
„Wa’s-tu?” zegt de juffrouw verschrikt.
„Ik vraag in welke tent u thuis hoort?” herhaalt Ambro beleefd z’n vraag.
„Ik?” zegt de juffrouw gekrenkt. „Ik, in een tent? Jonge, je bent van Lotje
getikt.”
„U is toch de dikke dame,” zegt Ambro, terwijl z’n ondeugend gezicht

straalt van pret.
„Astrante jongen!” valt de juffrouw woedend uit. „Dat benne nou

jongeheere! De teugeswoordige kindere hebbe geen ontzag meer voor de
ouderdom.”
De juffrouw loopt boos door, terwijl de jongens nog eens hartelijk

nalachen.
Het wordt nu hoe langer hoe voller in den omtrek van de Veemarkt.
Joelende straatjongens trekken voorbij de houten geraamten, maken op
en aanmerkingen. Oude renteniertjes blijven vol belangstelling het werk
gadeslaan, voelen nog een glimpje van de vroeger genoten
kermisvreugde. Alles joelt en warrelt dooreen en de kermisstemming zit er
al in, vóór nog de kermis een aanvang heeft genomen.
De vier jongens hebben hun hart opgehaald; er is geen tent, die ze niet
hebben zien opslaan.
„Ik ga naar huis,” zegt Ambro, na een blik op de kerkklok.
„’n Fijne middag geweest,” zegt Puckie.
„Ik weet toch nog niet wat ik doe met me geld,” zegt Piet. „Als ik er aan
denk, dat ik nou heelemaal geen kermis kan houwen, heb ik maling aan
die heele fiets.” [228]
„Wel ja, jong,” zegt Chris. „Die fiets komt nog wel, ga maar liever met ons
mee.”
„Nou, ik zal nog es zien! Ajuus!”
„Salut!”
En ieder gaat zijns weegs.
—————————————
Eindelijk is dan de groote dag aangebroken.
De kermis is ingeluid.
De jongens hebben permissie er dien eersten avond al heen te gaan. Ze

zijn ook niet langer te houden.
Piet kwam den dag te voren, stralend van vreugde vertellen, dat een
goedhartige tante hem twee blanke „knaken” had gegeven, met het bevel,
die nu eens niet voor z’n fiets te bewaren, maar op de kermis te verteren.
Dàt was een vreugde!
Toen al het geld bij elkaar gelegd was, bleek het, dat ze een flink
gespekten kermispot hadden en met een beetje overleg konden ze van
alle kermisdagen profiteeren.
En zoo zien we het stel dan juist den winkel uitkomen van den beruchten
en beroemden „Hazelip”, waar de noodige voorraad zuurballen is
ingeslagen.
Gewapend met een reuzen-bal achter hun kiezen gaan ze de kermis op.
’t Is niet doenlijk een woord te spreken met zoo’n machine in je mond en

Ambro neemt ’m even tusschen twee vingers teneinde de besprekingen te
kunnen leiden. [229]
„Waar zullen we ’t eerst heen gaan?”
Chris maakt de vreeselijkste geluiden en Ambro verstaat er geen woord

van.
„Neem ’m dan even uit je mond, uil!”
Chris doet het, terwijl ie spijtig zegt: „Hè, hij is zoo fijn!”
„Nou, vooruit, dan maar, allemaal eerst even opkluiven,” zegt Ambro, die
ook spijt krijgt en dat kleverige ding tusschen z’n vingers toch niet zoo
aangenaam vindt.
Nu wordt er onder diepe stilte hevig gezogen en geknabbeld.
„We moesten maar ’t eerst een paar rondjes in den draaimolen,” stelt
Ambro voor.
Ze vinden het allen best. En al heel gauw heeft ieder z’n plaatsje in het
schitterende gevaarte bemachtigd.
Ambro, die ontdekt, dat de jongen die het orgel draait er slaperig en
verveeld bijstaat, gaat naar hem toe en zegt:
„Baas, mogen wij es draaien voor een paar rondjes vrij?”
„Ga je gang,” zegt de vent, terwijl hij op z’n gemak gaat zitten.
Het werkje valt niets mee, en de jongens moeten twee aan twee draaien.
Na het eerste „vrije rondje” geven ze ’t dan ook maar op.
„Nou naar ’t Hippodrôme,” zegt Ambro.
Er scheen veel liefhebberij te zijn voor de edele rijkunst, want de

menschen stonden in dichte rijen [230]voor de kassa om binnen gelaten te
worden.
„Zouden ze je nog herkennen na je rit op den ezel?” vraagt Piet aan

Ambro. „Pas dan maar op, je kon nog best een pak rammel oploopen.”
Ambro heeft zich handig naar voren weten te dringen en staat nu voor de
welgedane dame die achter de kassa zit.
’t Is een vrouw van omstreeks veertig jaar, beladen met juweelen,

waarvan de groote hoeveelheid eenigen twijfel overlaat omtrent de
echtheid daarvan.
Ze heeft ’t vreeselijk warm, niettegenstaande ze in de schaduw zit en haar
eenige taak maar bestaat in het afgeven van kaartjes en opstrijken van
geld. Ambro wilde juist z’n entréegeld neerleggen, als de juffrouw hem
vriendelijk vraagt:
„Och, jongetje, haal d’r es een dubbeltje peren, dan mag je straks gratis
naar binnen.”
Daar was Ambro wel voor te vinden en in een wip heeft hij zich uit het
menschenkluwen weten los te maken.
„Waar ga je naar toe,” vraagt Puckie.
„Gaan jullie maar vast,” antwoordt Ambro hem. „Even peren halen voor de
juffrouw, dan mag ik voor noppes binnen.”
„Wat ’n boffert,” zegt Chris. „Misschien heeft ze voor mij ook wel een
boodschap.”
De jongens werken zich nu naar binnen, spoedig gevolgd door Ambro, die
met twee handen vol peren aankomt en als belooning een gratis kaartje
heeft gekregen. [231]
Binnen is het tjokvol en alle rijdieren zijn bezet. In een hoek, op een
podium zitten een vijftal muzikanten te blazen en op de maat van de
schorre muziek loopen de beesten in een gematigd gangetje het cirkeltje
rond.
„Kijk, Puck, de kameel, daar moet en zal ik straks op. We moesten er met
z’n vieren op gaan, dat kan best, d’r is plaats zat.”
Elke rit duurt een minuut of vijf, zoodat de jongens niet al te lang
behoeven te wachten.
Als de beesten stil staan hebben de jongens hun plaats bij den kameel al
veroverd en worden door twee gespierde armen er boven op gezet.
’t Is om een kiek van te nemen, zóó triomphantelijk als ’t stel daar zit.
„Nou een paar witte lakens, jongens en dan als Arabieren den Dierentuin
rond rijden!”
De kameel sjokt in een sukkelgangetje door, veel te langzaam naar den

zin van de jongens, het is echter maar goed, dat hij niet vlugger gaat,
want de ongewone schommelende beweging van z’n lichaam, geeft den
jongens een raar gevoel in de maagstreek.
„’t Is een telganger,” zegt Chris.
„Je bent gek,” zegt Ambro. „Hij telt heelemaal niet als ie gaat.”
„’t Is net of ik met stormweêr op de plas zeil,” zegt Piet.
Vóór hen, rijdt, haar leeftijd in aanmerking genomen, heel parmantig een
juffrouw van om en nabij de vijftig, getooid met een kapothoedje met malle
zwarte veertjes, op een paard. [232]
Een deugniet, die aan den kant staat, heeft blijkbaar met een scherp
voorwerp het beest een prik gegeven, want plotseling heft het de
voorbeenen op, onmiddellijk gevolgd door een vervaarlijk gegil van zijn
berijdster.
In radeloozen angst heeft de juffrouw haar beide armen om den hals van
het paard geslagen, dat nog niet tot bedaren gebracht, voortgaat met
steigeren.
Het is een potsierlijk gezicht, nu de juffrouw in een teedere omhelzing,
meer aan het paard hangt, dan er op zit.
Haar hoedje met de wuivende veertjes bengelt [233]op haar rug en de

groote zijden keelband-strik is voor haar gezicht geschoven.
Door de schokkende beweging zijn ook de haarspelden haar ontrouw

geworden en glijden een voor een in ’t zand.
Hierdoor komt een ongelukkig dun vlechtje vrij, dat in dartele sprongen op
haar rug danst.
De jongens op den kameel schateren het uit van lachen.
Door het voorval is de cirkel verbroken en loopen de dieren verward door

elkaar, hetgeen de jongens wel zoo aangenaam is.
Maar nu komt er hulp opdagen voor de juffrouw en dezelfde man, die

Ambro achterna rende bij den bewusten ezelrit, brengt nu het paard tot
kalmte en helpt de juffrouw afstijgen.
Het goede mensch is bleek van schrik en het is een wonder, dat ze bij
deze vreeselijke beproeving in haar regelmatig leventje haar
tegenwoordigheid van geest heeft weten te behouden.
Als ze eindelijk behouden op den grond staat, zucht ze:
„Heeremetijd, nooit meer van me lefe op een paard, is dàt schrikke! ik

doch nog wel asdat er geen gevaar was. Heeremense, wat had dat leelijk
kunne afloope!”
Ze komt nu tot de ontdekking, dat haar kapsel zich heeft begeven en

schaamt zich voor de omstanders, nu haar armzalig vlechtje en het
afgezakte kapothoedje haar zoo belachelijk maken.
Een heer, die brullend van ’t lachen de heele [234]voorstelling heeft

bijgewoond, zegt voldaan: „De rit van die ouwe juffrouw was de entrée wel
waard. Als ik de directie was, zou ik zoo’n nummertje iederen dag laten
opvoeren.”
Na dit vermakelijke voorval hebben de jongens genoeg van het

Hippodrôme.
„Waar nu naar toe,” zegt Piet als ze buiten staan. „Naar het vlooien-
theater?”
„Neen,” zegt Ambro. „Kom mee, eerst ballen gooien,” en hij wijst op een
kraampje, dat op het oogenblik weinig te doen schijnt te hebben; er staat
tenminste geen publiek voor.
„Wat is dàt nou voor een beweging?” vraagt Puckie als ze ervoor staan.
Hij ziet niet anders in het kraampje, dan een man en een vrouw, die voor
drie gesloten deuren staan.
Als zij de jongens in de gaten krijgen, staat de man onmiddellijk van zijn
stoel op en zegt in gebroken Duitsch:
„Sollen die joengeheere niet een maal mit die balle werpen? Dreimaal
werpen foor ein doebbieltje! Nur foor zehn cent! Pofen op die teurknop.
Kolosale overrassunk! Noch nie mal nooit da geweest! Paul Kruger!
Königin Wilhelmina! Papus der gewaltige hungerleider! Alles foor ein
doebbieltje!”
„Ja, ja,” roept Chris. „Dat moeten we hebben! Geef op drie ballen!”
Ambro heeft er al drie te pakken. Voor de jongens, die gewend zijn, met
alle soorten voorwerpen naar alle soorten doelwitten te gooien, is deze
sport een peulschilletje, want „de teurknoppen” [235]bestaan uit groote
koperen platen en de afstand bedraagt slechts drie meter.
De eerste bal heeft getroffen. De middendeur vliegt open en op een paar

hellende rails komt met horten en stooten een pop aanrijden, die volgens
het naamkaartje op de deur „Königin Wilhelmina” moet voorstellen.
Het vorstelijk hoofd, dat met een verguld bordpapieren kroon getooid is,
die door den schok scheef is komen te staan, lijkt meer op een
mannenhoofd, dan op een teêr vrouwengelaat. Om haar schouders is een
wit laken gedrapeerd, dat met hier en daar een bosje paardenhaar, het
effect moet geven van een hermelijnen mantel, terwijl om haar lendenen
een oranje sjerp hangt, die nog behangen is met een ontelbare menigte
kruisen en ordeteekenen van verguld bordpapier.
„’t Is gewoon-weg majesteitschennis,” lacht Chris.
„Wat zekt oe? Majestätschennies?” vraagt de man op angstigen toon,

daar dit woord hem kippevel doet krijgen en met een flinken duw wordt de
pop weer achter de deur gereden.
„Nou Paul Kruger,” roept Ambro, maar Chris is hem voor en door een
flinken worp vliegt wederom een deur open, onmiddellijk gevolgd door een
worp van Piet, die Papus als doel heeft gekozen.
En weer waggelen twee poppen de kraam binnen.
Het zijn wel de twee grootste contrasten die men zich denken kan. [236]
Een kolossale figuur in zwartgekleede jas met hoogen hoed en de ander,

een mager mannetje, in lang wit hemd, met starre uitpuilende oogen.
„De dood van Pierlala!” roept Puckie. „En Oome Paul lijkt wel een
voorwereldlijk monster.”
„Hij staat heelemaal scheef,” zegt Piet.
„Nou, alles zal recht koom, heeft ie immers gezegd,” lacht Ambro.
„Wie wil d’r nog gooien?” vraagt Ambro. „We hebben nog ballen.”
„La’ mij nog maar es,” zegt Chris.
Een stevige gooi doet Paul Kruger’s hooge zijden naar den grond
tuimelen.
„Héé! hée,” zegt de man nijdig. „Nur auf die thürknop werpen!” [237]
„Ja, hij gooit zoo beroerd,” zegt Ambro. „Trouwens, ik ben ook niet altijd
zeker.”
En meteen raakt een worp van Ambro den man pardoes op z’n neus.
Onnoodig te zeggen, dat na dit offensief de jongens beenen maakten.
In een regen van Duitsch-Hollandsche vloeken verlieten de jongens in

vollen draf de kraam, nagestaard door de wezenlooze oogen van Papus
en het nog na-trillende hoofd van Paul Kruger.
„Hoe was-ie?” vraagt Ambro, als ze veilig in een poffertjeskraam

aangeland zijn.
„Als altijd—vàn de bakker!”
„Vier pof, vier van de pan!” gilt Piet hun bestelling naar den kellner. De
kraam is overvol en de jongens konden maar net per toeval nog een leeg
hokje vinden.
„We zullen nog wel even moeten wachten op ons voer,” zegt Chris.
Ambro is op de bank geklommen en kijkt over het schotje om te zien wie

hun buren zijn.
’t Is een groot gezelschap van mannen en vrouwen, die de grootste pret

hebben, op één na, een man, die blijkbaar te diep in het glaasje gekeken
heeft en nu in een hoekje zit te dommelen.

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Understanding Climate Change 1st

Edition Laura Tucker

Understanding Global Climate Change 2nd Edition Arthur

Understanding Climate Change Science Policy and

Adapting Cities to Climate Change Understanding and

Climate Change DK Eyewitness Dk

Climate Change and Non infectious Fish Disorders CABI

Climate Change For Dummies Elizabeth May

Understanding Your Inner Genius 1st Edition Laura

Canada and Climate Change 1st Edition William Leiss

Printing and Production

1840 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201

Copyright © 2019 by the National Science Teachers Association.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Information for Teaching This Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Session 1: What Have You Heard About Climate Change? . . 15

Session 2: Sources of CO2 in the Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Session 3: The Greenhouse Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Session 4: Fact or Phony? Scientifically Evaluating Data . . . . 65

Session 5: Conducting Research on Current

Session 6: Climate Change Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Session 7: Climate Change Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Session 8: Climate Change Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Session 9: Connecting to Your Community . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

In the autumn of 2018, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE vii

—David L. Evans, PhD

viii NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE ix

of the Climate Change Environmental Education Project-Based Online Learn-

Lois Sherwood originally trained in zoology at Washington State University

x NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE xi

My endless appreciation goes out to Lois Sherwood, my exceptional coauthor,

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE xiii

xiv NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

Teaching With Fidelity

Conceptual Flow of the Unit

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE 1

In Session 2, students discover some sources of CO2 in the atmosphere

Structure of the Unit

2 NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE 3

it is designed to support teachers who may not have a background in

4 NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

Unit Design With Standards in Mind

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE 5

History of the Study of the Greenhouse Effect

6 NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE 7

The Difference Between Global Warming and Climate Change

8 NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

“Believing” in Climate Change

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE 9

Controversy Over Climate Change

10 NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

In August 2017, for example, two Harvard researchers published a paper

The “Debate” Over Climate Change

Cause and Effect * **

Systems and System Models * *

Asking Questions and Defining Problems ** * (**) * *

Developing and Using Models () **

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Constructing Explanations and * ** *