The Effects of Climate Change on Agricultural Systems

Asombro Institute for Science Education

This set of five activities focuses on how climate change can affect agriculture, including crop production and ranching. The activities in this guide are appropriate for both formal and informal settings and all student handouts, instructor guides, and supporting files are included. The curriculum is designed for five days of activities that build on one another, but can also be used individually.

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Notes from our reviewers

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While the resource is listed for 6th grade to 12th grade, it may be more appropriate for high school students or could even be implemented in a sustainability or agroecology course at the college level as there are a lot of advanced topics covered. The five activities build on each other but can stand alone as well. Because it was published in 2017, the activity says 2016 is the warmest year on record, which is no longer true - this could be a teaching moment too, illustrating our warming climate through time. The resource is very long and detailed but is also high quality, and the instructor can skim and skip over pieces that are not relevant or that they are already familiar with.
This curriculum is a detailed lesson plan that gives significant background, references, and activities on key topics such as making farmland decisions in a changing climate, climate change, and farmland soil quality. In the soils section activity, students interface with the soil web app, a really great data source. A huge strength of this resource is its scientific accuracy and rigor, however, it is not updated to the most recent IPCC report (released in 2021). This resource is an incredible source for activities on a complex topic and where the science is still emerging. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
During the five structured activities in this 5-day unit, students will analyze data, use models, conduct experiments and make predictions, compare and contrast, interpret results and construct explanations. This resource is very sound pedagogically. It is well organized and high quality, with ideas for how to implement the activities in classrooms. Every section addresses common core learning outcomes, and each activity includes student objectives. The teacher's guide is strong, detailed, and complete. This resource includes a good mix of hands-on activities, games, interaction with online open-source data (soil web), and individual and group work.
All activities include a teacher how-to video, PowerPoint presentation for students, a well-made handout, and instructor keys. Some activities require teacher preparation of solutions and demonstration set-ups. Data is accessible and open source. No specific software or hardware is needed. Use of the internet to examine students' local soil is included as well as information on how to test local soil. Some heavy paper and pencil activities may be modified to reduce consumption. Additional costs might be associated with the "Will it be Productive?" activity for materials, such as clip-on shop lights, spinach, and disposable plates. There are some broken links in the background materials.