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New Jersey Climate Change
Education Hub

The resources you and your school need to effectively teach climate change.

These comprehensive resources are built around the official NJ Student Learning Standards and expand on the work of the New Jersey Department of Education.

Teaching Resources

Search our database by keywords, resource type, grade level, subject, NJ Student Learning Standards, and more. All resources have been reviewed by a scientist and teacher team.

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  • This comprehensive guide walks teachers through the process of supporting students as they experience the strong emotions that come from learning about climate change.
  • The guide includes descriptions and explanations for some of the climate-related emotions, activities for teachers to use in the classroom, ideas for teachers and other staff to support students, and appendices with additional resources.
Grade k-2 | 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12
Subject Science,Health
Resource Type Scientific Reports

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  • This interactive map provides students with a plethora of information about the locations of human health hazards, the public's access to various resources, and many other parameters in the New York City area.
  • Students will be able to see data for air and water pollution, the locations of hazardous waste sites, climate change effects, access to transportation, and housing statistics as they relate to demographics areas.
Grade 9-12
Subject Science,Civics,Geography
Resource Type Interactive Media

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  • This section of the EJNYC report from 2024 highlights that air pollution in New York City has decreased and provides details specifically about the NYC Clean Trucks program.
  • Students will read about the sources of air pollutants, the increasing air-pollution-related health impacts in low-income communities and communities of color, and movements, policies, and actions to reduce air pollution.
Grade 9-12
Subject Civics,Geography,Health
Resource Type Scientific Reports

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  • This interactive map allows students to explore different trees in New York City.
  • By clicking on the circular icons representing the trees in the city, students can see individual tree details like their species, diameter, latest inspection dates, and ecological benefits.
Grade 6-8 | 9-12
Subject Science,Social Studies,Geography
Resource Type Interactive Media

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  • This resource is an interactive map where students can see current and inactive testing sites where the Community Water Quality Testing program has tested the water in New York and New Jersey estuaries.
  • Students can click on sites on the map to find spreadsheets showing the results of weekly tests for the location.
Grade 9-12
Subject Science,Social Studies
Resource Type Graphs/Tables

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  • In this resource, students will learn about environmental injustice and major events that shaped the environmental justice movement through case studies showing the efforts of different individuals in fighting for environmental justice.
  • Students will also perform an assessment by reflecting on this movement, determining its relevance to their communities, and identifying their roles in addressing these issues if present.
  • Students will be introduced to examples of environmental injustice and environmental activism, such as those in Warren County, NC; Houston, TX; Welcome, LA; Navajo Nation; and New Orleans, LA.

Grade 9-12 | ap-college
Subject Civics,Geography,Health
Resource Type Lesson Plans

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  • This 6-part video series features people working in careers that produce innovative solutions to global problems concerning the environment, health, and inequality.
  • The resource also includes discussion questions for each video, a vocabulary list, teaching tips, and a worksheet for students to complete as they watch the videos.
  • Students will hear from an entrepreneur cleaning up the Pacific Garbage Patch, a former fisherman in New Haven working to grow kelp, an inventor in Albany working to replace things like plastic, leather, and bacon with mushrooms, an NYC architect reimagining the future of cities, game designers in Chicago using VR to reinvent physical therapy, and housing designers in Austin using 3D printing to solve the global housing crisis.
Grade 9-12
Subject Science,Engineering,Career Skills
Resource Type Videos

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  • In this 17-minute video, students will learn about a simple ID badge with a QR code that medical health professionals can wear to provide information and guidance to their patients about climate change and how it affects their health.
  • Anyone can scan the QR code to gain valuable information about the connections between climate change and health, but it provides a simple way for doctors and healthcare practitioners to approach the subject.
Grade 9-12
Subject Science,Health
Resource Type Videos

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  • This video explains how the food choices we make affect our personal health and play a big part in climate change.
  • Students will learn how bad food choices are the leading cause of chronic diseases and how transitioning from animal-based foods to plant-based foods will lead to less greenhouse gas emissions, better health, and community development.
Grade 6-8 | 9-12
Subject Science,Biology,Health
Resource Type Videos

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  • In this video, Pedro, the penguin, has been evacuated from his home and must stay in an emergency shelter.
  • Students will see how a shelter is set up, learn about volunteers, and gain strategies for dealing with their fear in stressful situations like this.
  • This video is in Spanish and there is another version of the video in English HERE.

Grade 3-5 | k-2
Subject Social Studies,Health
Resource Type Videos

Professional Learning

Find the right professional learning opportunity for you or your school, whether it is support for curriculum development or foundational knowledge about climate change.

UCI School of Education

Teaching Climate Change: Book Club

This book club will read and discuss Professor Mark Windschitl's latest book, Teaching Climate Change: F...

Format: Online: Synchronous
Date(s) Offered: September 12 & 26, October 17, November 21
Sustainable Jersey

EmPowered Schools 2024-2025

Apply to be an EmPowered School!  The Empowered Schools program provides free support and resources to edu...

Format: Online: Asynchronous
Date(s) Offered: September 2024- June 2025
CLEAN

Teaching Energy (Spanish)

This Teaching Energy (Spanish Translation) guide is designed to help middle and high school teachers incorporate...

Format: Online: Asynchronous
National Center for Science Education

1.5°C May Not Seem Like Much, But It's a Really Big Deal. Here's Why.

This article explains the importance of limiting global heating to th...

Format: Online: Asynchronous
NOAA

New Jersey State Climate Summary

This guide provides a climate summary for the state of New Jersey, allowing teachers, curriculum specialis...

Format: Online: Asynchronous
Paleontological Research Institution

The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change

This thorough 294-page guide provides teachers with the information needed to educate their st...

Format: Online: Asynchronous
CLEAN

Teaching Climate (Spanish)

This Teaching Climate (Spanish Translation) guide is designed to help middle and high school science teachers in...

Format: Online: Asynchronous
Project Drawdown

Climate Solutions 101

This six-part video series on climate solutions is hosted by Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown....

Format: Online: Asynchronous
SubjectToClimate

New Jersey Mentorship Program

Gain confidence in teaching climate change by building a relationship with an educator who can help you integ...

Format: Online: Asynchronous, Online: Synchronous
SubjectToClimate

Teaching About Climate Change

This series of courses, developed by SubjectToClimate, helps teachers teach about climate change.Climate Chan...

Format: Online: Asynchronous

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.