Planning to teach the greenhouse effect

1. Identify the goals: Using the Earth system models on the greenhouse effect page as a guide, make an explanatory model using arrows, words, and the UGC icons that represents what you want students to be able to understand at the end of the lesson or unit of instruction. You can construct your model using pen and paper copies found on the UGC Graphics page, or using the UGC Interactive. Get started by copying the concepts and connections in the Earth system models on that page that you plan to teach. The NGSS standards related to the greenhouse effect listed below may also help guide the construction of your model.
2. Selecting activities and resources: Determine which connections in your Earth system model are addressed in the activities or resources you already have in your curriculum. If you are looking for additional resources, or are constructing a new instructional unit, please visit the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (cleanet.org) and (other websites we might want to add, especially for lower grade levels). Search the collection by entering key words (e.g. greenhouse effect), and filter the results by grade levels, NGSS standards, and resource types (e.g. activity, video, etc.).
3. Providing opportunities for students to create their own Earth system models: Determine how and when students will construct their own models during the learning experience. Students should also have opportunities to discuss and share their models with their peers. There are various strategies that can be used to support instruction about the greenhouse effect with the UGC Earth system models.
   • Students construct Earth system models individually or in small groups using materials from the UGC Graphics page or the UGC Interactive.
   • Students provide feedback to peers during gallery walks and write comments and questions about their Earth system on sticky notes.
   • Students share their models and construct a class consensus model.
   • Students use fill-in-the-blank models that can be made by the teaching in the Interactive.
   • Students use different colored pens as they make sequential revisions to their models. Alternatively, students can use the black, gray, and dashed arrows in the Interactive to indicate system connections that have been added or revised.
4. Connecting the greenhouse effect to other phenomena: Explore other content pages and expand your model to include other concepts you plan to teach. For example, maybe you want students to understand how the enhanced greenhouse effect increases global temperatures, and has reduced snow & ice cover or altered the species ranges of organisms in various environments. To learn more about identifying and using anchoring phenomena to drive student learning, please visit the Teaching Resources Page.
5. For more information about constructing units, please refer to the UGC Curricular Planning Guide and examples of instructional units on the Teaching Resources Page.

Example greenhouse effect activity: How Global Warming Works Video

Key UGC concepts: greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, re-radiation of heat, absorption of sunlight, solar radiation, temperature

Time required: Two 50 minute classes, or one 50 minute class and a homework assignment

Suggested Audience: Middle or high school

Prior Knowledge: Students might be familiar with the phrases “global warming” or “climate change,” but might not really know how the greenhouse effect works. This activity helps students understand the greenhouse effect and why global temperatures are increasing due to human activities.

Materials:

• Whiteboards or poster paper
• Colored pens
• How Global Warming Works in under 5 minutes video: http://www.howglobalwarmingworks.org/in-under-5-minutes-ab.html Video and teaching tips are also available on CLEAN: https://cleanet.org/resources/56031.html
• Copies of the How Global Warming Works in under 5 minutes transcript (optional, but maybe help students follow the video): http://www.howglobalwarmingworks.org/transcripts.html
• Copies of UGC icons (color or black and white) and Earth scene (available to download on the Teaching Resources Page)
• Computers with access to the Understanding Global Change Interactive and PowerPoint

Suggested Activity Procedure:

1. Ask students to construct a model of their understanding of how and why global warming is happening on a whiteboard or sheet of poster paper. Students can work individually or in pairs. (10 minutes)
2. Have students share their models with other students. Give students the opportunity to make revisions to their models based on what they learned from their peers. (10 minutes)
3. Provide students with a list of relevant Understanding Global Change concepts, or provide the following icon cards: Greenhouse effect, Absorption of sunlight, Re-radiation of heat, Greenhouse gases, Temperature, Burning of fossil fuels, Solar radiation. Ask students if these concepts are represented in their initial models, or how they might revise their models to include these ideas. You can use back and white icons if students are not familiar with the organization of the UGC infographic, or use the colored icons and remind students of the three categories (Causes of Change, How the Earth System Works, and Measurable Changes in the Earth System). For tips on how to introduce the UGC infographic to students, please visit the Teaching Resources (5 minutes)
4. Play the How Global Warming Works in under 5 minutes video. As students watch the video, they should try to identify and mark with a pen which concepts in their models (including the UGC icons) are represented and explained in the video. Play the video at least twice so that students have time to reflect on their models and the content in the video. Additionally, students could read along with the video transcript and underline the concepts that are in their models, and circle any new ideas they want to add to their models. (15 minutes)
5. Provide students time to discuss new ideas they learned in the video and revise and share their models. (5 minutes)
6. Introduce the Understanding Global Change Interactive that can be used to make Earth system models. In class or as homework, ask students to recreate models of the causes and consequences of global warming explored in the video using icons and arrows in the interactive. As students draw arrows representing cause and effect relationships, a list of the connections appears on the left side of the screen. On each step of the list is a dropdown textbox that students should use to explain the connections they construct between the components in the model. These explanations could come directly from the video, or additional sources of data or information (see Expanding the UGC model below). Additionally, students can record in the textbox any questions they have about the content. Explain to students that the model will become more complex as the course progresses and as they learn additional content. Student models, including their annotations, can be saved as Zip files on computers or to Google Drive to be revised later, and as PowerPoint presentations. (20-30 minutes)
7. Have students share and discuss their models. Student model explanations will likely contain similar explanations, but the use of icons and arrows may differ. For example, the greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, and re-radiation of heat icons may be used in a few different ways that still accurately represent the content in the video. You could have students present their models and/or build a class consensus model as you lead the class in a discussion. (30-50 minutes)
   Potential prompts for discussion include:
   • What similarities and differences do you notice when comparing your models?
   • Can the same idea be represented in the model in more than one way? Why or why not?
   • What predictions can you make using your model? (e.g., what would happen if greenhouse gases continue to increase? What might happen if the amount of sunlight absorbed by the surface of the Earth increased?)
   • What processes or phenomena are not represented in this model?
   • What would make this model more useful for understanding global changes?
   • What questions do you have about global warming or the greenhouse effect?
8. There are various strategies that can be used to support instruction about the greenhouse effect using the UGC Earth system models.
   • Consensus model
   • Working in groups
   • Fill in the blanks
   • Gallery walks
   • Using different colored pens with revisions

Extending learning about the greenhouse effect

• Ask students to add two new icons to the UGC model that are either of interest to them, or that you preselect because the topics are relevant to your curriculum. For example, students might be asked to add the icons for species ranges or snow & ice cover if students will learn about how global warming affects living organisms or the water cycle, respectively. Ask students to explain how and why these parts of the Earth system are affected by the intensity of the greenhouse effect.
• Select a topic that is of interest and/or locally relevant from the Understanding Global Change Infographic. Ask students to gather evidence from this website and linked sources to determine how that topic is related to the greenhouse effect.
• Starting with one of the Earth system models on the greenhouse effect page, construct and explain at least four new connections to additional Measurable Changes in the Earth system (ask students to refer to the Understanding Global Change Infographic). Try to include one measurable change from each sphere (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere). Then, have students visit those topic pages and revise their model as they learn more about those topics.
• Construct an Earth system model that shows how changes in the greenhouse effect can alter the Quality of Human Life (refer to the Understanding Global Change Infographic).
• Provide an additional video, reading, or news article from CLEAN IPCC, NOAA, NASA, or USGCRP that is related to the greenhouse effect. Ask students to construct and annotate an Earth system model about the concepts explored in the resource.
• For a more open-ended assignment, challenge students to identify other parts of the Earth system that are influenced by the greenhouse effect and changes in global temperatures. Students can use pen and paper or the UGC Interactive to construct their own models, and annotate them with evidence gathered from various reputable sources (e.g. IPCC, NOAA, NASA, USGCRP) to explain their system connections.