Design Coastal Protection

Worksheets

Grades6, 7, 8Earth and Space Sciences, Engineering

This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Stone Living Lab
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What it is

  • This one-page design activity worksheet asks students to create and name an imaginary city, then design a strategy to protect it from sea level rise and erosion.
  •  Suggested adaptation strategies are also provided on the back of the sheet.

Teaching tips

Classroom Implementation:
  • Pair with a class discussion on real-world coastal protection strategies such as seawalls, living shorelines, and nature-based solutions to compare student designs with professional approaches.
Prerequisites:
  • Ensure students are familiar with sea level rise and coastal erosion due to climate change. Consider using this lesson.
Differentiation:
  • Challenge older or advanced students to include cost, environmental impact, and equity considerations in their designs.
Extensions:
  • Early finishers can play this game to test their adaptation strategies in a simulation.
Sustainable Development Goals Connections:
  •  Make connections to Sustainable Development Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action.

From the scientist review

This worksheet tasks students with designing protection from sea level rise and erosion for a city. Several possible solutions are presented with thoughtful pros and cons for each. This activity’s greatest strength is that it helps students to grasp the fact that there is not a single solution to climate change-induced sea level rise. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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