This unit will teach students about “Carbon and Ecosystems.” They will begin by analyzing the four spheres: biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere and how they are interconnected. They will understand that one system cannot exist without the other in order to maintain proper functioning within our planet. The students will learn about the various types of ecosystems that exist and how living organisms depend on other living and non-living organisms for survival. This being said, students will examine how the spheres interact and how changes in one, affects another. Students will understand that ecosystems are fueled by the energy from the sun and cycles from which they are powered.

It will focus on what the carbon cycle is and its’ influence in our lives. Carbon is essential for all life on Earth and is also in our atmosphere. It regulates the Earth’s temperature and provides an essential source of the energy to fuel our economy. The carbon cycle describes how carbon moves throughout the Earth’s spheres. By gaining a deeper understanding of how carbon moves, we can better regulate our daily decisions to help sustain our future.

This unit will include an overview of the three main greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide). The unit will be a mix of organic and inorganic chemistry and will describe the physical and chemical properties of the three main gases and the most important chemical reactions that move the greenhouse gases into and out of the atmosphere. The unit will include a chapter of chemical reactivity, how these gases work (by atmospheric absorption and scattering of electromagnetic waves at different wavelengths), their residence time in the atmosphere and analyze the mitigation (what humans can do to reduce or limit the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere).

One section of the unit will discuss the “global warming potential” (what makes a stronger or a weaker greenhouse gas) and the relationship between physical properties of greenhouse gases and their lifetime (how long they remain in the atmosphere).

The purpose of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of the earth’s energy budget and how energy enters and leaves the earths’ atmosphere in a supportive environment to English language learners. My unit Energy and Earth’s Climate for English Language Learners will focus on the science around how energy affects earth’s climate.

It is important for students to learn about climate change not just because it is in the curriculum but because it will greatly affect their generation and the generations of students to come. All students including the ELLs should have the opportunity to learn about relevant environmental issues of their time in a way that they can understand.

The main content objectives covered in this unit are the phenomena of global warming, carbon cycle, ocean acidification, and its impact on plants, animals, and the marine ecosystem. The main purpose of this is to provide the reader with the basic knowledge base about these processes and understand the main players that are responsible for them. Fossil fuel pollution by human activities is contributing to the increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Some of the CO2 is being absorbed by the oceans. This process increases the number of free hydrogen ions in the oceans, making the ocean water more acidic. This phenomenon is called ocean acidification. When oceans become acidic, they can negatively affect the plants, living organisms such as shell-forming organisms, and other marine life. The results of this process are devastating and this unit hopes to bring students’ attention to these dangers.

This unit is designed to give students an introduction to this pressing societal problems and to teach students how to analyze some of the compiled data on global warming through rates, ratios and proportions; students will also learn to make projections and predictions using slope, and linear and exponential functions.

To teach this unit, the teacher has to have at least a general knowledge of global warming, the greenhouse effect, and the carbon cycle. I thought that it was important to explain the basics of these topics. This unit is designed as a math unit, to help students gain a deeper understanding of linear functions, slope, exponential functions, as well as rates, ratios and proportions. Global warming, the carbon cycle, and the greenhouse effect, will be the real life application to which we will apply our mathematics.

Our bodies are finely-calibrated, organic machines that are capable of dealing with the fluctuations of our internal systems in response to stimuli. We are able to regulate these changes through feedback loops in order to maintain the self in a prime ‘operating condition’ known as homeostasis. While deviations from homeostasis may occur, the body has processes in place to eventually return to normal. Long term or highly disruptive deviation, to the point where the body’s natural feedback loops are insufficient at correcting the error, is an indicator of something abnormal at work—be it parasite, virus, or organ malfunction.

The Earth also displays similar mechanisms of homeostasis—complex feedback loops that allow it to regulate temperature, gas concentrations, and pH. Normally, small fluctuations are regulated within the system. Negative feedback loops maintain balance through chemical processes like the sink and release of carbon gases. However, as excessive fossil fuel combustion tips the scales, it is likely that we are moving further away from the point where these feedback loops are enough to return the carbon cycle to balance.

We can see symptoms of this deviation in alteration of the climate, increased warming, and the thawing of glaciers and permafrost. The study of these indicators allow us to monitor the disease and provide insight into the underlying cause. The feedback loops found in the carbon cycle are unable to rectify the anthropogenic carbon output post Industrial revolution, leading to some alarming trends. The greater the divergence from normal the greater the impact these indicators have on the system of the planet until, like the human body, there is irreparable harm to the system.

Is this warming a fever-- a planetary self-preservation system precipitated by the intemperate combustion of fossil fuels-- that aims to overcorrect the problem before returning to homeostasis in the geological timeline? How does a ‘sick’ planet impact our own health? This unit addresses the consequence of anthropogenic carbon sourced global warming on the planetary system and human physiology.

This unit is designed to help 4th grade students foster an understanding of the effects climate change in Connecticut. Students will learn about specific species native to Connecticut, that depend on salt marshes, that are experiencing heavier precipitation and loss of habitat due to the changing climate. The unit focuses on these main questions: How is climate change and the greenhouse effect related? What is happening to the animals on our coastline? Why is there so much flooding occurring in my neighborhood? Students will explore and research species in Connecticut who’s survival has been negatively impacted by climate change, specifically the rise in sea level.

This unit will help 4th or 5th grade teachers prepare students to explore two big questions related to the Earth’s changing climate. The primary goal is to nurture an understanding of the element carbon, Earth’s carbon cycle, and how carbon dioxide and other gases contribute to the planet warming greenhouse effect of Earth’s atmosphere. The questions are:

1) What is carbon and why are all living things on Earth considered to be carbon-based lifeforms?

2) What is the greenhouse effect and why should we care about how much carbon is in our atmosphere?

These questions align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for 4th grade that many states have adopted or adapted.1 An annotated list of the applicable NGSS and state science standards can be found in the appendix of this curriculum unit.

Under the NGSS, 4th grade students study concepts related to energy and learn that all fuels used to meet our continuously growing energy demand are derived from natural resources. Consequently, the production and usage of some energy resources adds more carbon dioxide to Earth’s atmosphere. Students are just beginning to develop an understanding of how human activities can impact the Earth and result in either positive or negative consequences.

The changing climate is a phenomenon that will affect us all in the future - with a global increase of 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century1,decreasing sea ice in the arctic, rising sea levels, and an increase in the frequency of severe weather events, high school students are sure to feel the effects of climate change. While many students may have heard the terms “climate change” and “global warming” in the news, this unit aims to help students develop a scientific understanding as to what is causing these changes. Through a deeper understanding of the scientific basis of climate change, specifically the role of carbon dioxide in climate change, students will be better equipped to explain the changes that they are observing in real time. It is my hope that through this investigation students will become voices of change in their schools and communities, helping to educate others and get involved in climate action.