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Carbon Dioxide, Temperature, and Human Impact

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Carbon Dioxide, Temperature, and Human Impact

About This Lesson

This lesson on carbon dioxide, temperature, and human impact was developed by Hanna Nielsen at the Coastal Ecosystems Institute, and it centers on a short animation called “Worse than Poop!”, created by filmmaker Vanessa Warheit. 

Worse Than Poop! is an award-winning 6-minute film featuring an 8 year old climate “scientist”. It was released in 2014 and has screened at film festivals internationally. As Warheit puts it, “Worse than Poop!” focuses on the idea that “poop, like CO2, can be good - if you have the right amount to sustain the life cycle. But when you have a lot...that’s a problem.” By graphically illustrating the quantity of CO2 pollution created by gasoline-powered transportation, the film gives an overview of climate change and basic atmospheric chemistry, touches on the short and long carbon cycle, and introduces kids to the benefits of renewable energy sources and alternative transportation choices.

This lesson plan is designed for 6th grade, but the film is appropriate for grades k-8.

Subject Area: Earth and Human Activity: Climate Change 

Next Generation Standards: MS-ESS3-1.

For more on carbon dioxide, temperature, and human impact, visit the Climate Change Collection

Resources

Files

Lesson-Plan-2-Resources.pdf

February 13, 2020
632.16 KB
Videos
Worse Than Poop - for Educators Only
Remote video URL

Standards

Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and protecting ecosystem stability.
Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.
5.0
1 Reviews
Julia bishop
December 07, 2020
Great Lesson Plan!!! I am going to use it next week.
lmmillner
November 08, 2020
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