Icebergs in the Southern Ocean
Ute Kaden/PolarTREC

Content for Climate Change Education Courses

Looking for online content that can be used for a climate change education course or module?

Pages linked below can be used to support an introductory climate change education for either a unit or a full course.  Pages link to content on Windows to the Universe as well as readings from other reliable online educational sources.   Be sure to click "Advanced" in the button bar near the top of the page to get content for more advanced readers.  We will continue to expand the resources provided below in coming months.  Be sure to check out our Climate Change Educator Resource page for links to classroom activities, videos, interactives, and resources provided by other organizations as well!

Nature of Science

Weather and Climate

Regional Climate

Global Climate and Climate Change

Earth System Science and Biogeochemical Cycles

Reading Nature's Clues to Earth's Past Climate History

Earth's Climate History

The following web pages are from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History's Geologic Time: The Story of a Changing Earth web interactive

From the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

NOAA Paleoclimatology

Climate Forcing

Climate Change Today

Climate Interactives

Last modified November 1, 2013 by Roberta Johnson.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Climate Change Teacher Resources

Many educators are now finding opportunities to teach about Earth's climate and climate change in their classrooms.  Windows to the Universe provides an interlinked learning ecosystem to a wealth of resources...more

What Is Climate?

How do you know to pack your bathing suit and sunhat for a trip to a tropical island or pack warm sweaters and coats for a trip to Alaska? If you know a little about regional climates, then you know what...more

Regional Climate

The average temperature, precipitation, and winds at a location determine its regional climate. These average weather conditions are determined by factors including the latitude and altitude of the region,...more

Climate Changes with Latitude

Places far from the equator receive less sunlight than places close to the equator. The amount of sunlight and the amount of precipitation affects the types of plants and animals that can live in a place....more

Rain Shadow

A rain shadow is a dry region of land on the side of a mountain range that is protected from winds. The protected side of a mountain range is also called the lee side or the down-wind side. Winds carry...more

Surface Ocean Currents

The water at the ocean surface is moved by powerful wind. The wind is able to move the top 400 meters of the ocean. This moving water is called surface ocean currents. Surface ocean currents form large...more

Earth's Global Climate

Earth's climate is determined by the amount of energy received from the Sun and the amount of energy held in the Earth system - in short, Earth's radiation budget.  The Sun emits a huge amount of energy,...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA