Guidance in Teaching About Climate and Energy

Climate and energy are complex topics, with rapidly developing science and technology.

These pages offer easy-to-read explanations of science and policy, designed to step students through the key principles of climate and energy. Each page is illustrated with examples to bring these topics alive in your classroom.

A summary of each of the climate and energy literacy principles
Ideas to support learners
Suggested teaching approaches, selected for various grade levels
Relevant resources from the CLEAN collection

Teaching Climate

Walk students through key components of the climate system: the Sun, the atmosphere, life on Earth, human impacts, how scientists study climate, and actions humans can take.

Teaching Climate in Spanish / Enseñando sobre el Clima

Addressing Climate Change

Explore how to address climate change with your students. Understand the human-climate system and how to implement solutions to climate change.

Teaching Energy

Trace the story of energy in our lives, beginning with the physics of energy and how energy flows throughout the earth system. Explore energy's influence on human society, sources of energy, the ways we use energy, how we make decisions about energy, and the impacts of energy use.

Teaching Energy in Spanish / Enseñando sobre la Energía

Guidance in Elementary Teaching About Climate and Energy

The fundamentals of Earth's climate are exciting to teach to any audience. Find advice, ideas, and strategies for elementary educators for teaching climate and energy in grades K through 5.

Select Guidance Pages in Spanish / Selección de páginas de la Guía para Enseñanza Primaria sobre el Clima y la Energía

Culturally Relevant Climate Teaching

This climate course from the Living Landscapes project is a NASA-funded set of educational resources designed to integrate traditional knowledge (Native science) about the climate with current climate science research. The materials follow the climate literacy principles (similar to the CLEAN 'Teaching Climate' section), and are framed within traditional ways of knowing.

Culturally Relevant Climate Teaching in Spanish / Enseñanza Climática Culturalmente Relevante