Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

In a survey of over 700 educators, NAAEE found that only 39% reported they were teaching about climate change. Around half of these educators responded that they sometimes or never had educational resources on climate change. SubjectToClimate's programs aim to connect educators to high-quality, fully-vetted, free resources on climate change education. 
Our Core Platform is a website with:
-2,500+ lesson plans and teaching resources (e.g. readings, curricular materials, audiovisual media, and activities); 
-200+ exemplar lesson plans written by current teachers;
-100+ professional learning opportunities for teachers related to climate change education;
-500+ climate change news articles for students that can be differentiated by grade level;
-And a chat tool called ClimateSocrates, developed in partnership with MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, that answers basic climate change and pedagogical questions. 
In addition to our Core Platform, we’ve launched 4 customized state Hubs - one each in New Jersey, Oregon, Maine and Wisconsin - wherein we align all our resources to state academic standards and identity state-specific resources and professional learning opportunities.
Finally, our teacher training program is a series of 3 professional development modules designed for teachers to: 
1) Enhance their understanding of climate science; 
2) Provide tips for teaching about climate change;
3) And guide them through the process of creating exemplar lesson plans that integrate climate change.
So far we have executed these modules with cohorts in Hawai'i, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Oregon. 
Our goal is to increase the number of hours teachers spend teaching about climate change. By empowering students with the knowledge they need to take action on climate change, we believe that we will effect change and solve critical issues related to the climate crisis.

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Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

We do not charge teachers for our resources. Most students of color, those from low-income families, and English language learners do not have equal access to grade-appropriate assignments nor high quality resources, let alone resources about climate change (TNTP, 2018). To help bridge this gap, we have committed to providing all our resources for free so that all educators can access them. 
We also ensure that our content reflects the perspectives of underrepresented groups by creating lesson plans about racial, economic, indigenous, gender, historical, and intergenerational justice.  From looking at the distribution and density of trees in low-income communities vs. wealthier and predominantly white cities to exploring how lithium mining in Chile affects Indigenous people of that region, our StC Lesson Plans share the stories of marginalized communities to ensure that environmental justice is taught alongside climate change. This is a critical criteria in all our teacher-developed lesson plans.
We also prioritize resources that reflect diversity. When our team curates resources, we consider whether the resource reflects BIPOC, women, and/or youth voices.  We also highlight lessons and resources that profile specific minorities (i.e. LGBTQIA+ individuals and individuals of color) during different heritage months.  As such, around ~300 of our resources are related to climate justice.

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