The Teacher Guide is the driving and unifying component of this unit, Earth’s Resources and Human Impact. In this unit, students investigate the phenomenon of changes that data suggest may be occurring in the earth’s systems. The subtitle of this unit is How do changes in the Earth’s system impact our communities, and what can we do about it? Students are familiar with news reports that discuss a possible increase in floods and droughts, increased warming of the atmosphere, sea-level rising, and greenhouse gases. Is there a scientific basis for concerns, and if so what to these data tell us about changes in Earth’s systems? Students will analyze data and developed new questions as they come to an understanding of the nature of atmosphere shifts. Then they face the issue of what they can do to protect their communities form any possible, harmful changes in the future. This unit allows students to spend time working with classmates to analyze the shared experience, formulate new questions, and developing new strategies for answering them.

CKSci Middle School is an enhanced republication of the OpenSciEd Middle School project–with a unique, integrated Core Knowledge science literacy component.

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