Mike+McGarry's+Resource+File

My class is built for a 10th to 11th grade environmental science class. The hope is these students will be very interested in the topics that relate to the environment because it is an elective course. For this particular unit we will be discussing climate change. Since you are taught the basics of climate change in your freshman year of high school we will quickly review the basics and move into deeper topics that relate to climate change. Students will be looking at climate change through many different lenses and media outlets. I will be giving students various articles, clips, political cartoons in order for students to search for the “truth” about climate change. I will teach my students the science behind climate change, then it’s the student’s to determine what they find truthful within these different media sources. This unit will culminate with a multi-media project. Students, in groups, will decide which side of the debate they would like to be on for the topic of climate change. They will then make a commercial, PowerPoint, anything they want to convince the class of their side. During this unit students will be learning the science behind climate change but also media literacy. They will learn how to look at media different depending on the bias that source may have. It’s important that my students learn about climate change through real world #|applications.

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 * Text Based**

Cruz to CNN: Global warming not supported by data- Article used for annotating oil company side to the climate debate. Students will work in groups that I provide so they reading will be manageable for lower level readers.
 * Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: ** 13.5

A blanket around the Earth- Article used for annotating environmental science side of the climate debate. High level, but will work in groups to annotate together.
 * Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: ** 12.8

PRO/CON: Should Congress consider comprehensive climate change laws- Great article on whether #|USA should cut greenhouse gas emissions or not. This particular website is also great because it allows students to make their reading easier or harder by choosing on the side which level they want to read at. Also a quiz is available for the teacher to determine if the #|student is reading at an appropriate level (if they are getting 100 percent’s every time you can increase the lexile level).
 * Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: ** 8.9

What is the Difference Between Weather and Climate?- A short reading to get students to understand the concept of climate vs. #|weather. Students tend to use these words interchangeable and I would like them to see the difference between the two.
 * Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: ****7.7 **

Global Warming and Land Ice- Another tough read but I will go over this article with my students. The main point I want my students to get out of this article is the difference between land ice and sea ice. I wouldn't make them read the whole thing just a small section.
 * Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: ****12.8 **


 * Web Based**

Greenhouse Effect Review- This is meant for a review on how the greenhouse effect works. This website is interactive for the students so they can “play” around with it while learning about climate change.

Snowfall Data- This is data of years past snowfall. The purpose of this is for students to construct their own graphs for an assignment in class. Students will then use this to draw conclusions about what they notice.

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A short YouTube video for students to see what truth they can gather from this video. Students will be able to see people giving their reasons for why climate change is a lie.

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Another YouTube video for students to #|view. Once again this will give us a discussion on the topic of climate change and keep my students engaged in the topic.

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A funny YouTube clip to engage my students on the topic of climate change. Get them to think about climate change and possible mitigation for climate change.


 * Unique**

This is just a cartoon to see what my students think of it. They can read into the cartoon and try and figure out what side this cartoon falls on. Why? It will spark discussion and get my students more involved. Once again a cartoon to encourage students to see the different issues that each side of the debate says about one another. Students can discuss what they agree with about this cartoon and what they disagree with.

My Carbon Footprint- Students to get an idea of what their carbon footprint is and relate it to what other human’s carbon footprint is around the world. See if there is more or less than their fellow classmates.

Greenhouse Gas Simulator- This is a greenhouse simulator that allows students to see how an increase in greenhouse gasses increase the temperature of the area. It’s more of a supplemental game for anyone who wants to play it or finishes something in class a little early.

Future of USA- This allows students to look at each region of the United States and see the possible future of climate change. I used this because it allows students to see for themselves areas they care about and the possible effects of climate change.