Social Studies Lesson: Climate Change Claims
Lesson Plan
5 hoursGrades6, 7, 8Science, Social Studies
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Written by Effie Wolters
About this lesson
In this social studies lesson, students use compelling questions and credible sources to survey their community on climate change beliefs.
Inquire: Students generate compelling questions using the Question Formulation Technique and select one question to research.
Investigate: Students identify credible sources to answer their question, gather evidence using these sources, and write a claim and counterclaim to answer the question.
Inspire: Students create a survey to evaluate their community’s perspectives on some of the compelling questions.
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Suggestions
- This lesson can be used as an interdisciplinary project connecting Social Studies, Science, and English Language Arts.
- This lesson is well suited to be completed in five 60-minute class periods. One class period for the Inquire section, two classes for the Investigate section, and two classes for the Inspire section.
- Students will be motivated by their own curiosity because they generate their own questions and choose which to focus on.
- This lesson allows students to engage their community in climate change topics.
Prerequisites
- Part of the Inspire section requires students to survey community members outside of class. This should be completed as homework before the final class period.
- Individual devices are preferred for this lesson, but if devices are limited students can work in pairs or groups of three.
- If possible, teachers should work with school librarians to provide print resources on climate change. Librarians are also a great resource to help teach media literacy.
Differentiation
- Students who need additional instruction or support in citing their sources can include the author and title of their source for evidence.
- Students familiar with citations can be challenged to provide a formal works cited page.
- English language learners and students with learning disabilities may benefit from additional guidance when writing their statements. Teachers can provide sentence stems, work with these students in a small group, or pair these students with a partner for this activity.
- To make this lesson more challenging, teachers can have each student create their own survey, gather responses, and then present their findings to the class.
- If students are less familiar with research and identifying credible sources, teachers can provide a list of starting point websites for students to use such as:
From the scientist review
This lesson encourages students to learn more about climate change and teaches them how to create effective questions about it as well as where to find reliable information to start conversations about it. All of the materials were examined, and this lesson passed our science evaluation procedures.
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About the teacher writer
Effie Wolters
6-8 Chemistry and Earth Science Teacher
Effie Wolters is a science educator with nine years of teaching experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of San Diego and a master’s degree in Teaching Instruction from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. She is licensed to teach General Science in Grades 5–8 and holds a Cambridge CELTA certification.
