Mathematics

Use environmental data and themes to help your students apply mathematics to real-world problems. Assign environmentally-themed math problems, analyze data such as population figures, land use statistics, and pollutant levels, use data to draw inferences about changes in population and natural resource consumption, and have students explain the impacts of their analysis. Use the search function to the right to explore other ways to use environmental data in your classroom.

Hidden Relationships: Energy Sources and Water Usage

In this lesson, students will examine the major ways that water is utilized for a variety of energy sources. They will also participate in a photographic matching activity that compares energy usages to further understand the role water plays in energy consumption. Lastly, students will analyze the amounts of water used by various energy sources through a graphing activity.

Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators

This kit, developed by several government agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, helps illustrate how climate change affects wildlife and public lands. It contains classroom activities, video, links and other materials.

Earth Gauge

Earth Gauge provides science-based quick facts, in-depth fact sheets, videos and online courses that make the links between climate, weather and environment. Earth Gauge Kids Earth Gauge Kids makes the connection between weather and the environment for middle school students.

It's Easy Being Green: Green Building and Climate Change

This lesson introduces students to green building practices and their benefits. Students collaborate to design their own green building, conduct an energy audit of their school and use the resulting data to suggest ways to improve the school's energy efficiency and reduce its carbon output.

Climate Status Investigations: Let the Chips Fall Where They May

In this lesson from Keystone Science School, students apply the concepts of ice core analysis to measure atmospheric CO2 concentrations from 1006 A.D. to 1978 A.D. Register for free with Keystone Science School to access the lesson plan.

Prehistoric Climate Change: And Why It Matters Today

This activity, developed by Smithsonian Education, introduces students to environmental topics using fun and challenging real-world math problems. Students determine average annual temperatures 55 million years ago by examining the fossils of leaves from various prehistoric tree species.

Moisture and Clouds

In this activity developed by NASA, students develop a basic understanding of the relationship between cloud type and the form of precipitation. They also explore the relationship between the amount of water in the atmosphere available for precipitation and the actual precipitation observed by satellite.

What's Up with the Weather? Examining Temperature Statistics

This lesson prepared by NOVA examines temperature data over ten years. Students use a statistical analysis technique, the moving average, to search for meaningful trends in the raw temperature data.

Weather Watchers

In this Illuminations activity by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, students gather weather data, interpret the information and make a stem-and-leaf plot to illustrate patterns.

Graphing the Weather

Students track the weather over a month-long period using basic weather instruments, chart the information, and make predictions based on their observations.

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