SNC2D Unit 4: Climate Change

How does Earth's climate system work, and how are human activities changing it? Students investigate the climate system with cheap, safe labs (convection, albedo, density and a greenhouse model), trace greenhouse gases, ozone and smog, read ice-core and tree-ring evidence, test a hypothesis with original time-trend data and separate natural and human causes. They classify their own climate region, analyse effects around the world, including Inuit-led responses, compare media perspectives and assess real climate initiatives. Real figures are sourced in the teacher notes.

Assessment of learning: a Climate Initiative Assessment and Action Proposal with a rubric, plus a unit test with a worked answer key.

Lessons

1. Weather, Climate and the Climate System
2. Heat Transfer in Air and Water
3. Water, Ice and Albedo
4. Ocean Currents
5. Model the Greenhouse Effect
6. Greenhouse Gases: Sources and Sinks
7. Ozone and Smog
8. Reading the Past: Ice Cores and Tree Rings
9. Testing a Climate Hypothesis
10. Natural and Human Causes
11. Indicators of Climate Change
12. Our Climate Region
13. Effects Around the World
14. Climate in the Media
15. Climate Initiatives

What you get

• A teacher lesson plan for every lesson: curriculum expectations, learning goals and success criteria, a timed sequence, differentiation, safety notes, look-fors and answer keys
• Detailed slideshows (15 to 17 slides per lesson) with speaker notes on every slide: what to say, what to ask, what to look for and how long to spend, plus warm-ups, worked examples, model answers and answer-key slides
• Student handouts, lab sheets and exit tickets
• Editable Word and PowerPoint files, plus PDFs
• A unit overview, the summative task and rubric, and a unit test with a worked answer key

Built for the Ontario Grade 10 Science, Academic curriculum (SNC2D), and easy to adapt for any Grade 10 science class.