Students use real-world data to evaluate whether solar power is a viable energy alternative for several cities in different parts of the U.S. Working in small groups, they examine maps and make calculations using NREL/US DOE data from the online Renewable Energy Living Lab. In this exercise, students analyze cost and availability for solar power, and come to conclusions about whether solar power is a good solution for four different locations.

Students use real-world data to evaluate the feasibility of solar energy and other renewable energy sources in different U.S. locations. Working in small groups, students act as engineers evaluating the suitability of installing solar panels at four company locations. They access data from the online Renewable Energy Living Lab from which they make calculations and analyze how successful solar energy generation would be, as well as the potential for other power sources at those locations. Then they summarize their results, analysis and recommendations in the form of feasibility plans prepared for a CEO.

This video segment from Nature takes viewers to a road race in Death Valley.

This video segment from Nature takes viewers to a road race in Death Valley. [1:54]

Watch this video and see the difference water can make as it absorbs the heat from the flame before the balloon can pop. [3:48]

In this video segment adapted from the College of Menominee Nation, tribal members share examples of how seasons are changing, and how these changes are affecting local plants.

Learn more about the four seasons and the weather that goes along with them. For ages 3-5.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, examines how elementary teachers can introduce the Arctic and Antarctica and use science, geography, literacy, and technology to help students compare and contrast these two dramatically different areas as well as their own home.

Students read informational texts about the seven continents, and what makes each of them unique, while working to understand text features and develop skills in writing about informational texts.

This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at American energy consumption and the resulting production of greenhouse gases.

Video clips of native Spanish speakers provide examples for students who are taking Spanish. The videos feature Spanish speakers who are describing the climate in different geographical regions.. Provides a transcript as well so you can read along. Great way to bring native speakers into the classroom and increase vocabulary!

Various listening examples of native speakers in different dialects describing the coldest they have ever been. Uses weather vocabulary and the past tenses. Provides a transcript as well so you can read along. Great way to bring native speakers into the classroom and increase vocabulary!

In this video profile produced for Teachers' Domain, meet conservationist Steve MacLean, an Inupiaq from Barrow, Alaska, who works to preserve the health of the Bering Sea ecosystem.

This article provides elementary school teachers with background knowledge about science concepts needed to understand the first of seven essential principles of climate literacy--the sun is the primary source of energy for our climate system. Graphs, diagrams, and oneline resources provide more background for the teacher. The article appears in a free online magazine that focuses on the seven essential princples of the climate sciences.

This book list contains children's books that have been screened for accuracy in depicting scientific concepts. Each book's content is briefly described and its cover pictured. The topics of the books support learning in Grades K-5 about the issue's theme. The list appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which focuses on the essential principles of climate literacy.

Beginning with examples from the polar regions, this article examines the question ������Why do we have seasons?������ Included are links to lesson plans, a list of children������s books, and suggested alignments with science, literacy, geography, and climate instruction in K-5 classrooms. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.

The resources provided by this course outline focus on the processes involved in the shaping of Earth's surface.

This regular column, called Take Action, in the magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle suggests actions K-5 teachers can take to incorporate the guiding principle for informed climate decisions in the classroom. The principle, which appears in the document Climate Literacy, states that humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts.

The Take Action column in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle suggests actions young people (K-grade 5) can take to reduce the impacts of climate change. The magazine examines the recognized essential principles of climate literacy and the climate sciences as well as the guiding principle for informed climate decisions.

A lesson unit for Grades 4-9 on how the ocean affects climate and weather. Includes worksheets (also in Spanish) and maps.