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Students will take on the role of a planning board for a region identified as having an increased risk for natural hazards — wildfires, floods, droughts, heatwaves or hurricanes — due to climate change. After proposing regulations and other strategies to reduce the natural hazard’s impact, the students will discuss the merits of the proposed solutions before voting on a disaster plan and budget for their region.

In this guide, students will learn about how the amount of heat energy that Earth’s upper oceans have absorbed has increased over time. Then, students will discuss strategies for interpreting, understanding and communicating data.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Earth’s oceans are storing record-breaking amounts of heat,” which explores how the upper oceans’ heat storage capacity has changed over time. A version of the story, “Earth’s oceans broke heat records in 2020,” appears in the February 13, 2021 issue of Science News.

Students will discuss how graphs and quantitative analogies are useful for interpreting and understanding data. Then, students will analyze and compare how effective each strategy is at communicating a scientific claim. As an extension, students may propose an alternative method of displaying or explaining given data.

In this guide, students will learn about the development of the theory of plate tectonics and discuss how scientific theories are formed.

Students will discuss the development of the theory of plate tectonics to determine how scientific theories are created.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “How the Earth-shaking theory of plate tectonics was born,” which explores how scientists formed the theory of plate tectonics. A version of the story, “Shaking up Earth,” can be found in the January 16, 2021 issue of Science News.

Students will research the conditions necessary for the formation of organic molecules and living things. Working in groups, students will then develop a “recipe” for life based on physical, chemical, geological, astronomical and biological principles. Class discussions will cover the role of interdisciplinary research in studying the origins of life on Earth and searching for life beyond our solar system.

In this guide, students will learn about how researchers used engineering to help an endangered species navigate its habitat after a natural disaster. Then, students will explore other examples of solutions to habitat fragmentation and discuss the importance of conservation.

Students will learn about the effects of habitat fragmentation on a critically endangered species, explore scientists’ process for designing and engineering a solution to the problem, and discuss the importance of conservation.

In this guide, students will learn about the extraordinary diving ability of the Cuvier’s beaked whale and what scientists think allows the marine mammal to stay underwater for extended periods. Then, students will discuss the ocean zone model and research the environment and species of a specific ocean zone.

Students will explore how the ocean environment changes with depth and how various organisms’ physical traits allow the organisms to thrive at different depths. Students then will discuss the benefits and limitations of the ocean zone model.