https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5 en-us 2018-11-11 23:39:22 UTC 2018-11-12 20:05:32 UTC hello@padlet.com roccof1 https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303065958 Summary: This is a youtube video from National Geographic. It provides a quick primer to global warming/climate change, and also offers some simple solutions at the end.

Usage: This video could be viewed by students as an easy-to-understand introduction to the unit topic of climate change. It uses simple language in the narration to explain what global warming is, and also includes accompanying animated graphics and real-world footage to help viewers understand the information. This video is useful because climate change can be a complicated topic, even for fifth graders, and this is a great tool to provide a clear and simple intro to the topic. Also great for those who learn well with audio and/or visual content. May be a good idea to suggest students stop before the offered solutions, so they can consider their own. ]]> 2018-11-11 23:43:57 UTC https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303065958 roccof1 https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303067505 Summary: A news article from the Guardian about recent flooding in Venice. Article includes first-hand video footage of flooding.

Usage: Provides a look at a very real current impact of climate change. Venice provides students with a great example of how many low-lying places are vulnerable to rising sea levels. The recent flooding was due simply to an unusually high tide, not strong storms, but was made worse by Venice's rising base waterline. Additionally, flooding is an increasingly recurring problem there (and elsewhere). This article can be read individually in class or at home, and can serve as a great jumping-off point for students  to consider (or the whole class in a collective discussion) how climate change is affecting people's lives presently, as well as what will happen (and how much worse it could get) if we do not act. May be a good way to transition to introducing the term "climate refugee." The embedded video footage is more impactful than imagining the situation through the words alone, so students should watch it after the article is read.]]> 2018-11-11 23:58:47 UTC https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303067505 roccof1 https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303071025 Summary: Children's book that teaches about climate change.

Usage: Global warming can be a depressing topic if not handled properly. The Magic School Bus is a popular book and TV franchise that might make the topic more approachable for some students. This particular book takes a deliberately more upbeat tone, while still educating kids about climate change. This text may not be advanced enough for many fifth graders (publisher says up to fifth grade, but can be used for as low as first grade), so it may be a better option to be read by students who are struggling readers, or just those who need a more simplified explanation of the unit topic (versus the National Geographic video, for example).  ]]> 2018-11-12 00:31:14 UTC https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303071025 roccof1 https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303075698 Summary: A narrated youtube video from NASA showing the emission and transit of carbon dioxide around the earth, throughout a year; the coloration is based on concentration.

Usage: One of the biggest issues when it comes to getting people to appreciate the scope of humanity's impact on the climate system is that we cannot see the problem. Carbon dioxide, for instance, is invisible, so we cannot see it being emitted and moving around in the atmosphere. For students to really understand, and mentally conceptualize, just what we are doing to the earth, they can watch this video. In it, they can see carbon dioxide being emitted, and transiting the planet, with the highest concentrations color-coded in red. Moreover, students will be able to see where it is coming from, like the United States, hopefully giving them a better sense of our personal responsibility for this problem. Also, the explanation from the NASA narrator helps reinforce facts about climate change, as well as helping students understand what they are seeing in the video map. The content is perhaps a bit more on the advanced side (e.g. discussions of global atmospheric circulation, ocean absorption of CO2, seasonal changes in levels of photosynthesis, and the gas carbon monoxide), so it may not be equally as helpful for all students, and some teacher elaboration may be needed for some, as well. For more advanced students, it may be a great challenge idea to have them watch the video muted, to see if they can explain (written or verbal) what is going on themselves, to assess just how advanced their understanding is.
 ]]> 2018-11-12 01:02:25 UTC https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303075698 roccof1 https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303106408 Summary: Article about a recent hurricane (Hurricane Walaka) in the Pacific that, to researchers' surprise, destroyed an entire small island (East Island) in the Hawaiian chain, and an important wildlife breeding ground for vulnerable species in the process.

Usage: By reading this article, students will see that not all effects of climate change will be direct and obvious (especially today). So in the example of this event, while hurricanes happen, with warming waters due to climate change, they are likely to be far stronger in intensity than they would otherwise have been. Additionally, this article will give students the opportunity to understand that global warming has (and will have) many effects, and they can also combine to create devastating consequences. In this case, rising sea levels, in concert with a more intense storm, resulted in a one-two punch of devastation, plunging a whole island into the sea. With this information, students can then consider what this may mean for some countries, like Pacific island nations and their inhabitants (again, good place to introduce or return to the idea of "climate refugees"). Also, as with this particular article, what will happen to wildlife, especially endangered species, who lose their habitats and breeding grounds when they are washed away? Finally, another important takeaway for students to have from this piece (which may require some teacher-led discussion) is that the effects we have on our planet through global warming are not always direct or even predictable, which makes leaving climate change unchecked all the more dangerous and reckless.]]> 2018-11-12 04:29:03 UTC https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303106408 roccof1 https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303109158 Older video that discusses the Paris-precursor Kyoto Protocol on carbon dioxide emissions, and how previous predictions of what climate change may do seem to match up with what we’re seeing now. Great segue into a discussion on human inaction on climate change, and what the reasons are behind it.]]> 2018-11-12 04:55:37 UTC https://padlet.com/roccof1/byykbow3tmb5/wish/303109158