CARBON
Please click on the title of the website to access the resource.
This set of 4 activities leads the teacher and students through an understanding of the carbon cycle and greenhouse gases. This unit is designed to be used as an introduction to the carbon cycle. The human aspect of the overproduction of greenhouse gases is explored through note taking, role-playing, and web searches. The culminating activity requires that the students analyze graphs to determine areas of greenhouse production and develop solutions to the problem. Students will write letters to local or state officials describing the problem and offering solutions for their particular communities. Suitable for middle school.
In this activity students ‘play out’ the carbon cycle to understand how it has been affected by our use of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, and how this underlies current worries about climate change.
CLEAN net - Climate Action and Energy Awareness Network)
The CLEAN Collection of Climate and Energy educational resources. A collection of 700+, free ready-to-use learning resources, rigoursly reviewed by educators and scientists, suitable for secondary through higher education classrooms..
Climate.gov - carbon lessons
NOAA Climate.gov is a source of timely and authoritative scientific data and information about climate. Our goals are to promote public understanding of climate science and climate-related events, Suitable for grades 3 - adult education.
Cool Climate Network Carbon Footprint Calculator
Calculate your carbon footprint due to food, home, travel and shopping. Middle and high school.
Footprint Calculator - Earth Labs for Educators
The Ecological Footprint is the only metric that compares the resource demand of individuals, governments, and businesses against Earth's capacity for biological regeneration. This interactive calculator calulates your footprint, earths needed to sustain you and your earth overshoot day. Middle and high school.
The Ecological Footprint is the only metric that compares the resource demand of individuals, governments, and businesses against Earth's capacity for biological regeneration. This interactive calculator calulates your footprint, earths needed to sustain you and your earth overshoot day. Middle and high school.
The Globe Carbon Cycle project is one of four Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs) funded by NASA and NSF to develop hands-on, primary middle and secondary school-based science activities for the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program. The site has links to numerous other sites including videos, data and maps.
International Student Carbon Footprint Challengen - Inquiry to Student Environmental Action
The “Inquiry to Student Environmental Action” (I2SEA) project promotes international collaboration among high school and secondary school students as they learn about, discuss, and envision solutions to shared environmental challenges. The challenge involves understanding the causes of climate change and then envisioning and embodying effective solutions so that we, as a planet, can avoid the worst potential consequences. In English and Spanish. Basic calculator middle school; advanced calculator highschool
"From student to sun, where does my energy come from" The lessons in this study guide are designed to connect student’s personal physical energy to its original source—the sun, and carry that connection into a deeper understanding of human material culture.from. Marin Carbon Project (MCP) seeks to enhance carbon sequestration in rangeland, agricultural, and forest soils. Grades 1-4.
Mossy Earth Environmental Footprint
Calculate your carbon footprint due to food, home, travel and shopping. Middle and high school
In this unit, students act as scientists seeking to understand the ways matter and energy move through the carbon cycle by conducting research, collaborating with others, and completing a series of tasks, including iterative modeling. Grades 4-8.
National Science Teaching Association
Carbon cycle for middle school collection of resources from New Mexico Science Teachers Associaton.
National Wildlife Federation - Cool Schools Challenge
The enclosed worksheets will help you calculate classroom emissions based on the results of the Audit. You will compare before-and-after totals to measure your school‘s progress toward reducing its climate impact. Middle school and high school.
In this lesson, students will explore the practice of growing one’s own food or obtaining food from locally produced sources and its impact on the environment through CO2 reduction. middle school.
The resources in this collection provide real world examples of the changes occurring in the cycle. There is much to learn about this essential topic and some of the resources highlight exciting career opportunities in this field of study. Middle and high school.
In this four part lesson, students learn from animations that teach them about the carbon cycle, leaf anatomy, and microbes, all in the context of plant litter decomposition. Students then apply their knowledge in a model of decomposition that uses real data that students can manipulate as they pose and answer questions about variables that affect rates of decomposition. High school.
Students are introduced to the concept of energy cycles by learning about the carbon cycle. They learn how carbon atoms travel through the geological (ancient) carbon cycle and the biological/physical carbon cycle. They consider how human activities disturb the carbon cycle by emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They discuss how engineers and scientists are working to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Lastly, with the associated activities students draw connections between the past and present to consider how they can help the world through simple energy conservation measures. Suitable for elementary, middle, and high school.
Worksheets and lesson ideas to teach middle and highschool students about the carbon cycle.
Town Green 2025 - South Africa
Carbon cycles through ecosystems. middle school.
This lesson plan allows students to understand the carbon cycle, its components, and the flow among the different components of this biogeochemical cycle. The activity will introduce the link between the carbon cycle and climate. It will also explore how human activity (such as increased fossil fuel use) may affect the natural carbon cycle, and may thus cause climate-related changes. Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Chemistry. High school and undergraduate.