Maps of Climate and Energy Concepts

Strong approaches to teaching about climate and energy make connections between the Essential Principles of Climate Science and help integrate the fundamental concepts into an overarching scope and sequence for student learning. Further they build connections between other science content and these topics.




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If you want to know how to build and move students' understanding of climate and energy concepts to more advanced levels, you can simply examine the maps above the central concept. This image shows the concepts for which the concept "the Earth's climate has changed in the past, is changing now, and is expected to change in the future" is foundational for more advanced climate literacy fundamental concepts.

Key Maps

Middle School (grades 6-8)

Scientific Inquiry-1b Scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant data, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected data. (1B/M1b)

The Earth-9 Thermal energy carried by ocean currents has a strong influence on climates around the world. Areas near oceans tend to have more moderate temperatures than they would if they were farther inland but at the same latitude because water in the oceans can hold a large amount of thermal energy. (4B/M9)

Energy Transformations-6 Light and other electromagnetic waves can warm objects. How much an object's temperature increases depends on how intense the light striking its surface is, how long the light shines on the object, and how much of the light is absorbed. (4E/M6)

Interdependence of Life-1b The world contains a wide diversity of physical conditions, which creates a wide variety of environments: freshwater, marine, forest, desert, grassland, mountain, and others. In any particular environment, the growth and survival of organisms depend on the physical conditions. (5D/M1b)

Evolution of Life-2b Changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of individual organisms and entire species. (5F/M2b)

Energy Sources and Use-5 Energy from the sun (and the wind and water energy derived from it) is available indefinitely. Because the transfer of energy from these resources is weak and variable, systems are needed to collect and concentrate the energy. (8C/M5)


High School (grades 9-12)




Energy Sources and Use-2 When selecting fuels, it is important to consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of each fuel. (8C/H2)

Energy Sources and Use-5 Decisions to slow the depletion of energy resources can be made at many levels, from personal to national, and they always involve trade-offs involving economic costs and social values. (8C/H5)


Credit: CLEAN