Concepts underlying the first of the Essential Principles of the Climate Sciences are aligned with topics typically taught in the elementary grades. This article identifies lessons that will help elementary students develop an understanding of how Sun's light warms Earth and how variations in daylight hours are associated with seasonal change. This article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle.

This article includes lessons that elementary teachers can use to build the foundations of climate literacy while meeting elementary science standards. Lessons are paired with literacy activities as well.

With the assistance of a few teacher demonstrations (online animation, using a radiometer and rubbing hands), students review the concept of heat transfer through convection, conduction and radiation. Then they apply an understanding of these ideas as they use wireless temperature probes to investigate the heating capacity of different materials sand and water under heat lamps (or outside in full sunshine). The experiment models how radiant energy drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, thus producing winds and weather conditions, while giving students the hands-on opportunity to understand the value of remote-sensing capabilities designed by engineers. Students collect and record temperature data on how fast sand and water heat and cool. Then they create multi-line graphs to display and compare their data, and discuss the need for efficient and reliable engineer-designed tools like wireless sensors in real-world applications.

This book making activity is a way to assess students knowledge of cloud types, their description, and the weather they bring.

Site provides information on what the current weather conditions are around the world. Discover where it might be snowing or raining or where it is sunny.

Students learn about the remote sensing radio occultation technique and how engineers use it with GPS satellites to monitor and study the Earth's atmospheric activity. Students may be familiar with some everyday uses of GPS, but not as familiar with how GPS technology contributes to our ongoing need for great amounts of ever-changing global atmospheric data for accurate weather forecasting, storm tracking and climate change monitoring. GPS occultations are when GPS signals sent from one satellite to another are altered (delayed, refracted) by the atmosphere passed though, such that they can be analyzed to remotely learn about the planet's atmospheric conditions.

Teachers and/or students are given four scientific experiments related to severe weather. Included are making clouds, homemade lightening, tornado in a bottle, and dissecting hailstones. Dramatic photos of severe weather conditions are included.

In this video segment adapted from Haskell Indian Nations University, student filmmakers explain why it is important to them to make a video about climate change.

In this video segment adapted from Navajo Technical College, meet two members of the Navajo Nation, one Elder and one scientist, as they share their observations about how precipitation has changed since they were children.

Find out the basics of newsroom operation and the expectations of the various parts of a news broadcast.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, MIT engineer Dava Newman is working to replace today's bulky, inflated space suits with a radical, sleek design that may one day allow astronauts to walk easily on Mars.

Observe the Nisqually Glacier at Mount Rainier in this video segment from NatureScene.

Observe the Nisqually Glacier at Mount Rainier in this video segment from NatureScene. [4:07]

This video segment produced for Teachers' Domain features a time-lapse video of clouds forming, changing, and moving across the sky.

In this video segment produced for Teachers' Domain, observe different types of precipitation, including rain, hail, and snow. [1:00]

Learn how snowfall happening later in the year than usual is impacting cultural practices in this video segment about climate change adapted from the College of Menominee Nation.

In this video segment adapted from the College of Menominee Nation, tribal members observe lower water levels in lakes and streams and call for global, collaborative solutions to address climate change.

This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the clean-up effort after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska. Also featured is a marsh where an oil spill occurred 20 years earlier; analysis suggests that environmental damage may last for decades.

Explore weather phenomena in this animated video [8:53] from PEEP and the Big Wide World, where three adventurous friends -- Peep, Chirp, and Quack -- encounter their first tumultuous rainstorm. Students can use this video to observe how weather conditions change throughout the day. Changing weather in the video gives students opportunities to identify, describe, and compare factors of different weather conditions. A Background Essay, Teaching Tips, and Non-Visual (NV) supports for this interactive are provided.

Explore key characteristics of weather in these four short, animated videos from PEEP and the Big Wide World. Each video models observations and descriptions for a common weather condition, including rain, snow, wind, and a sunny day. Students observe and compare different weather phenomena and identify key characteristics of weather in each video. A Background Essay, Student Activity, and Teaching Tips are provided.