Climate kNOWledge for 6th Grade HCPSS students
Student research and action to reduce the impacts of the climate change emergency
Thanks to funding from NOAA B-Wet, a district-wide climate change curriculum with a meaningful watershed educational experience is being developed with the Howard County Public School System. By August 2023, every sixth grade Howard County Public School System student and teacher will be engaged in robust hands-on climate science and climate justice lessons in and out of the classroom, the first program of its kind in the region. Weaving together environmental justice, STEM, and real data, this program will directly address one of the biggest challenges facing future generations.
Unit Question: How are individuals and communities impacted by severe weather events differently and how can they understand and mitigate these events caused
by global climate change?
Curriculum Highlights:
Climate Justice: Why are some communities more at risk than others?
• Students explore ways different communities across the globe are affected by climate change.
•Students use real data and case studies to understand the Urban Heat Island Effect.
• Students compare the response to flooding in two communities with different socioeconomic indicators.
Climate Solutions: What mitigation and/or adaptation strategies
can we use?
• Students use models and data to understand and plan for climate change solutions.
• Students develop action plans to combat a local climate change impact.
Field Activities
Field activities support the MWEE Model!
Schoolyard data collection:
– Carbon sequestration
– Schoolyard microclimates
– Water runoff
Climate Expedition: Journey to Solutions
– Climate Justice
– Hidden Carbon Cafe
– Climate Xpedition Solutions Hike
Sixth Grade Climate Change Solutionists
Sixth grade students are invited to participate in a weekend fall enrichment program hosted by the Howard County Conservancy. The Climate Change Solutionists will meet 4 Sundays in the fall with mentors from the Howard County Conservancy and a team of high school Climate Change Ambassadors from the Youth Climate Institute. Solutionists work to build a better understanding of climate change science and prepare to implement action projects at their schools. The application deadline is September 6, 11:59 PM.
Program Partners:
