Project Resilience: Case Studies of Coastal Change

Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

• Teaching Tips
  Invite students to explore other coastal cities that they are interested in to support a personal investment in sea-level rise projections. If students are not obviously connected to coastal communities, invite them to explore how they may be impacted through supply-chain disruptions, or the challenges faced by a hurricane-response team. NOAA's Digital Coast Sea Level Rise Viewer has projections for sea level rise due to climate change for a lot of specific locations around the country. It could be useful for students who live on the coast or have family members who live on the coast to investigate how the regions where they or they families live will be impacted by sea level rise. This lesson is part of an eight-section curriculum unit. While not all sections have been reviewed by CLEAN, teachers have the opportunity to use the curriculum to develop a culminating project.
• About the Science
  This collection of activities investigates topics like sea-level rise, hurricanes, and impacts on fisheries by using an assortment of learning tools such as a sea-level rise model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. It is the third lesson in an 8 part series called Project Resilience which seeks to teach students about environmental issues in gulf coast communities. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  This resource includes a powerpoint with embedded videos (10-20 minutes in length) and discussion questions in addition to student worksheets and links to associated computer models. Students are able to explore simple models to understand how managers' actions can mitigate climate change scenarios in the gulf coast community. Student sheets help support an understanding of the material and a deeper understanding of vulnerability along the coastal USA. This resource also includes the opportunity to extend several activities with additional research and reflections for students. Students will analyze sea level rise data (lesson 1) and hurricane data (lesson 2). They will also learn how sea level rise and hurricanes can impact fisheries (lesson 3). The lesson uses data analysis, worksheets, and class discussion-based methods. A variety of different activities with varied modalities (data shown visually, with numbers, and with words) will help engage diverse types of learners. Students will need a prior understanding that human-caused climate change impacts sea level rise. This is a highly organized activity with thoughtful teaching guides. Each lesson is tagged with Louisiana Student Standards for Science and NGSS labels.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  This resource is easier to use if there is access to a computer lab. Computers with internet are required to navigate NOAA's Digital Coast Sea Level Rise Viewer.