Extreme Weather: Climate Change Connections & Water

• In this activity, students will examine information about the connection between climate change and extreme weather from three sources: Climate Communication, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and The Guardian. 
• The resource includes a lesson plan, a student handout, a student worksheet, and a PowerPoint presentation. 

Positives

• The lesson plan provides discussion questions for several academic subjects.
• Students will hone their media literacy skills as they decipher the subtle difference in the messages from each source.

Additional Prerequisites

• Teachers must create a free account to access materials.
• The lesson plan refers to a "constructivist media decoding process;" these materials will help teachers to understand the goals and design of the lesson.
• Teachers may want to go over this handout on analyzing media messages before students complete the worksheet.
  

• Teachers should research the sources ahead of time to understand the viewpoints and biases.
  

Differentiation

• Students could respond to questions individually or in small groups before discussing the answers as a class.
• The reading for this activity is a bit dense, so a structured reading process may help some students.
• Other resources on this topic include this video on why climate change makes extreme weather worse, this video on how climate change has intensified hurricane season, and this TED-Ed video on the increasing number of extreme weather events.
  

This resource scales weather events relative to the magnitude and frequency of occurrence. The activity is suitable and recommended for teaching.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.