Graphing Global Temperature Trends
Activity - Classroom
Grades5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics
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 My NASA Data
What it is
- In this activity, students determine if the global temperature is increasing by graphing and analyzing global temperature data.
- This activity has one version designed for fifth grade with graphing done by hand and one for eighth grade and high school students with graphing in Google Sheets or Excel.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This activity is a powerful way for students to visualize evidence of global warming.
- The educator guide provides helpful background information, detailed step-by-step instructions, discussion questions, assessment ideas, and optional extension resources.
Additional Prerequisites
- The data is provided as text or CSV files, which some devices, such as Chromebooks, may be unable to open. Teachers can convert these files into Google Sheets or Excel for easier distribution.
- Students should be comfortable graphing and understand the difference between weather and climate.
- The fifth-grade version requires a printed worksheet or graphing paper and tape, and the high-school version requires individual student devices.
- Fifth-grade teachers should use the graphing worksheet when possible to make it easy to connect each group's graphs into one cohesive graph.
Differentiation
- The two versions of the lesson demonstrate how to differentiate this activity for different grade levels.
- Teachers can use this activity in math courses when learning about graphing, analyzing trends in data, and using data to make predictions.
- In science courses, this would be a great activity to use as a hook for a unit on climate change.
From the scientist review
This classroom activity engages students with plotting global temperature data and understanding trends. The provided instructions are clear. Terms are defined expertly, most notably weather, climate, global warming, and climate change. Supported by three concise and helpful NASA Earth Minute videos, this resource’s greatest asset is that it engages students with real-time climate data. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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