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Workshop Resources: Can a Good Climate Go Bad? Past, Present, and Future Climate
Welcome to the online resources for the 2006 educators workshop, Can a Good Climate Go Bad? Past, Present, and Future Climate. This workshop, presented at the University of Texas by Teri Eastburn of UCAR Education and Outreach, is intended to expose educators to scientific information about climate and share a collection of favorite classroom activities. This web portal is intended to provide the web links and additional information to those who attended the workshop and share resources to others who could not attend.
The workshop is divided into four parts, each with classroom activities and a corresponding Powerpoint presentation that is provided here. Topics covered include:
- Part 1 (PDF): Introductory Activities, Earth as a System, the Sun-Earth Connection, and Energy
- Part 2 (PDF): Climate vs. Weather, Earth's Past Climate, Climate Models
- Part 3 (PDF): Can a Good Climate Go Bad? Our Changing Climate
- Part 4: Climate Care: What We Need to Do and What's Being Done Locally, Nationally, Globally
Workshop Resources
Activities Corresponding to Part 1:
- Climate Change Survey
- Climate Lingo Bingo
- The Dynamic Systems Game
- Albedo: Some Like It Hot
- Taking Light Apart; Putting Light Back Together
- Electromagnetic Standing Wave Demonstration
Activities Corresponding to Part 2:
- Paleoclimates and Pollen
- Adaptation Investigation
- Climate and Weather: Different, but Together
- Article by M. Glantz: What Makes Good Climates Go Bad?
Activities Corresponding to Part 3:
- The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report The ACIA is the first comprehensive, integrated assessment of climate change and ultraviolet radiation across the entire Arctic region.
- Listening Critically to a Politicized Topic: The Voices of Climate
- The Nitrogen Cycle Game
- Carbon Cycle Pursuit Game
- Carbon Dioxide Sources and Sinks
- Energy: Drains, Gains, and Budget Strains
- Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise
- Mosquito Vectors and Disease Transport
Activities Corresponding to Part 4:
- CO2: How Much Do You Spew?"
- Global Connections Activity from Facing the Future.org
- One Planet, Many People Powerpoint Presentation -- Developed by the UNEP to illustrate how humans have altered their environment and continue to make observable and measureable changes to the natural world.
Additional Resources
National Center for Atmospheric Research
The Climate Discovery Teacher’s Guide
Education resources from the APOL Biocomplexity Project
Climate and Global Change Classroom Activities from Windows to the Universe
Climate and Global Change Section of Windows to the Universe
Webcast: The Science of Global Climate Change and Human Influence by Dr. Kevin Trenberth
LEARN: Atmospheric Science Explorers
Facing the Future Website and Curriculum Materials
