Teaching Climate Change: What Educators Should Know and Can Do

In this article, we outline five critical topics about global warming and climate change that secondary students should learn and that every adult should understand: (1) weather, climate, and climate change; (2) the earth’s climate system; (3) the earth’s energy budget and the greenhouse effect; (4) energy use and carbon emissions; and (5) climate change debate or not. For each, we articulate key concepts and provide some pedagogical suggestions in an attempt to promote the teaching and learning of global warming and climate change.