Let's create continuous conversations about climate change education: Spreading the Sediment of Science!
Sea Level Rise and Climate Change
Provided by: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative |Published on: April 27, 2021
Lesson Plans Grades 9-12
Synopsis
- This lesson discusses greenhouse gases, melting land ice, the thermal expansion of water, current infrastructure for storm surges, and how sea level rise is impacting coastal communities.
- It includes a student handout, podcast, educator guide, maps, activities, discussion questions, and a discussion of solutions.
- The lesson also references Hurricane Katrina.
Subjects: Physics, Earth and Space Sciences, Engineering
Authors: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Region: North America, Polar Regions, USA - Northeast, USA - South, United States, Global, New Jersey, New York, New York City, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Delaware, Virginia
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Students will investigate solutions for sea level rise and learn about "sunny day" flooding.
- The educator's guide contains multiple activities that could be spread out over a week.
Additional Prerequisites
- The podcast episode is the second in a two-part series on the topic of sea level rise.
- Teachers may wish to break the podcast episode up into the following sections:
- (0:00-5:45) The first section details the current effects of sea level rise on coastal regions.
- (5:46-7:09) The second section explains flooding mitigation efforts around the world.
- (7:10-11:31 ) The third section explains future prospects for coastal regions and islands.
Differentiation
- English and writing classes could write "choose your own adventure" short stories that show what will happen to coastal communities if people take action to stop greenhouse gas emissions and what will happen if they do not.
- History classes could discuss why, throughout history, humans have built settlements in coastal regions.
- Other resources on this topic include this article about solutions for protecting coastal communities, this PBS video on human displacement due to climate change, and this video from Grist on what New Orleans is doing to reduce the risk of flooding.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Founded in 2014, the Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) is MIT’s institute-wide effort to mobilize the substantial scientific, engineering, policy, and design capacity of the MIT community to contribute to addressing climate change and other environmental challenges of global import. ESI pursues multidisciplinary research, education, events, and partnerships to help move society toward an environmentally and socially sustainable future. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts on MIT’s main campus, ESI is powered by a lean staff working closely with students and faculty across the full spectrum of disciplines. Led by architecture professor John E. Fernandez, a leading scholar in the emerging field of urban metabolism, ESI is advised by students, faculty, alumni, and thought leaders from many sectors of society.
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