Category Archives: climate science

WA STATE: Climate Justice League Workshop Series

Here in Washington the state K-12 teachers have a cool opportunity to join an ongoing workshop series on Climate Justice. Plus you get to join a group that sounds like a combination of the Justice League and Captain Planet and the Planeteers... The Climate Justice League!

Who: This is designed for any K-12 teacher in WA and is lead by Puget Sound ESD, Northwest ESD 189 and ESD 112 in partnership with Washington Green Schools.

What: members will receive support to develop learning opportunities to share with students around issues of social justice through the lens of climate change. Participants will be expected to work on lessons, deliver learning to students and bring student work samples to the final meeting.

Where: It’s all online via Zoom!

When: four 2-hour Zoom meetings:

January 12, 2021

February 2nd, 2021

March 10, 2021

April 27, 2021

Why: Learn about social justice related to climate, get resources (A People’s Curriculum for the Earth), collaboration, $480, and clock hours

How: Check out the registration information below!

Check out the Climate Justice League flier HERE.

If you are interested you can register FREE HERE.

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Climate Science Assessment Tasks

The Phenomenal Assessment site features three assessment tasks created for the Climate Science Proviso which has provided climate science education funding in Washington state. You will find an elementary task, a middle school task and a high school task.

Elementary: Comparing & Critiquing Energy Sources grade 4

Middle School: Analyzing Patterns in Wildfire Data

High School: Climate Impacts after 1492

These assessment tasks are not intended to be solely used as summative assessments. Think about how you might use these as objects of study for your own professional learning and how these might be used as assessments WHILE learning. This site provides examples of ways that these tasks might be used in equitable and rigorous ways. See below:

Do-Talk-Revise

Reflect on Argumentation

Analyze Data

 

 

Climate Clock

Screen Shot 2020-05-05 at 1.56.43 PMI’m assuming you are coming to grips with a global pandemic and the introduction of murder hornets. So there is no better time to add on by sharing the Climate Clock. This site features a real-time clock that displays the total global warming to date, the time left to a 1.5 degree celsius increase, and the tons of CO2 emitted.

This is a powerful image to have projected while presenting information on climate science to students, adult learners and/or the community. Could be interesting to have learners discuss why these metrics were selected to be a part of the clock. Enjoy!

Puget Sound Region Only: High School Climate Science Workshop Series

My colleague, Tom Hathorn, and I are facilitating a workshop series on Climate Science for High School Science Teachers in the Puget Sound Region of Washington State. The series starts October 23rd and we still have a few seats left- so register soon at the link below if you’re interested in joining us.

Who: HS Science teachers in King & Pierce Counties

Where: Sumner School District Office (1202 Wood Ave, Sumner, WA 98390)

When: Face to Face- Oct. 23, Jan. 15, Mar. 24 (8am-3pm)

When: Online- Nov. 20, Dec. 11, Feb. 12, Mar. 4 (4-5:30pm)

What you get: Learning, collaboration, sub coverage, STEM clock hours, Stipend pay for after-school online meetings

Overview:

  • Inspire all students to participate in understanding and challenging climate science problems, especially mitigating environmental injustice where they live.
  • Use student voice tools as inputs for shaping climate science learning and developing student leadership.
  • Join a regional group of high school teachers who are knowledgeable about using the NGSS innovations to integrate Climate Science (ESS2 & ESS3) with other sciences.
  • Develop Climate Science curriculum objects (learning/assessment tasks, lesson activities, activity sequences) to use in HS science courses.
  • Participate in a public Climate Forum, sharing student and teacher projects.

Registration: pdenroller.org/psesd/Catalog/Event/97616

Click HERE for the flyer with more information

 

 

 

 

Drawdown

Screen Shot 2018-08-05 at 6.21.26 PMOVERVIEW: In the state of Washington we are committed to engaging K-12 students in learning about climate science and climate change. For the 2018-19 school year our state has funded an initiative that will provide tools and professional development to support thoughtful implementation of climate science learning opportunities. I’m hoping that this space will be able to promote many of the resources that are developed and used during this process.

One resource that has bubbled to the top for me is Drawdown.org. Drawdown provides 100 everyday solutions that humans can implement to reverse global climate change. I know several teachers who worry that the teaching of climate change- especially with younger students- can be scary for the children. Draw Down (while not sugar-coating anything) is very solution-oriented and can put students in a positive space rather than doom and gloom.

PURPOSE: The proposed solutions on Drawdown are completely research-based and include some intuitive solutions that you might have predicted (rooftop solar) and others that might seem less intuitive (educating girls & telepresence). The book Drawdown is also a “must-have” climate resource to add to your collection.

AUDIENCE: all the humans

LINK: https://www.drawdown.org/

@projectdrawdown