Going to War with Climate Change Issues

 Bryan Dibble , what a great way to add climate change issues to your curriculum and what a drastic (though rather unsurprising) shift in mentality between administrations.

I am in a similar situation in my district in NJ, where I am given a lot of trust to choose curriculum as long as it aligns to state standards. And lucky for me, NJ has created specific standards to address climate change. Even prior to those standards, though, there were so many ways to include climate change in curriculums across the board. It really is an interdisciplinary subject - not just focused on science and social studies.

I would love to hear more about how/where others are including climate change in their current courses. 

Here is the followup post!  My two-week unit in my U.S. History Through War class that blended the OER Climate Project with our study of the military is finished, and it turned into one of the strongest projects I’ve run. We started with an article from unit 2 which gave students a grounding in how climate change affects people differently depending on where they live. From there, we tied it into 4.4 Climate and Health and 5.3 Climate Policy, focusing on how the U.S. military is adapting to the changing environment.

Students examined the Department of Defense’s official climate action plans and compared them to the current “Department of War” posture reflected in public language and budget priorities. They quickly noticed the contrast: even as national leadership pulls climate out of the broader conversation, the military continues to treat it as a serious, science-driven security issue. Each branch- the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force- has its own published plan built on recent, credible data and research. This fact was crystal clear and didn't need the 'teacher opinion' to drive the point home.

Once students started looking at the evidence, there was no pushback about whether climate change is real. They were genuinely curious about how the military is responding, especially to the cost and destruction from hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires. California’s fires came up often, as did the strain on National Guard units that spend enormous time and resources responding to climate disasters. Students saw that the military doesn’t talk publicly about how much it budgets or trains for these realities, but it’s clearly a growing burden.

Adding climate study to my military history class was a fantastic fit. The students asked thoughtful questions, saw real-world connections, and the OER materials blended seamlessly with what I was already teaching. That’s the real strength of OER (preaching to the choir) that we can pull and adapt material in our Climate Project curriculum and mix and match it to existing classes.  100% chance that climate is changing and 100% chance I am teaching this unit again.

My student made Slides for their audience to look at while they spoke on their topics.  They spoke for 2 to 3 minutes, or 4-5 if a team, and could not look at the slides- only the audience could.  The DoK (depth of knowledge) was apparent in these presentations.  That's how I combat AI, make the students talk!  Here is a typical example.

docs.google.com/.../edit

Bryan Dibble said:

Are you in a position to make unilateral changes to your curriculum?  Do you think you could modify your curriculum to add climate change issues? 

 Bryan Dibble I am fortunate to teach at a private independent school where teachers are allowed to curate the curriculum to meet the learning needs of our students. From independent studies conducted on a one-on-one basis to courses we propose and have approved—drawing on our curriculum and content expertise—I can say that climate change is included in all science courses as well as in the humanities, such as Big History and AP Human Geography.

Bryan Dibble said:

Once students started looking at the evidence, there was no pushback about whether climate change is real.

I fully concur with your statement after reading your quote. The evidence is so compelling that evidence-based discussions tend to shift the focus from debate to understanding.

 Laura Massa The key to unfolding evidence that might be controversial (not untrue) is having students lay it out instead of me.  I ask the big question, they go where the evidence takes them.  There are still a few articles left on the official "Department of War" website.  www.war.gov/.../

Aligning-OER-Climate-Change-Materials-with-Florida-Next-Generation-Environmental-Science-Standards-b.pptx

ALIGNING - OER- CLIMATE MATERIALS TO FLORIDA STANDARDS

Hello:

If anyone is teaching Climate in a Florida school I am sharing this powerpoint on alignment of climate information with state standards.

Respectfully,

Lisa

 Bryan Dibble I really like that approach--letting students discover and interpret the evidence themselves--  because it makes the learning deeper, shifting the focus from “the teacher’s opinion” to the process of inquiry itself. It also helps them practice evaluating sources critically. 

How do you guide the discussion when the evidence leads to interpretations that might challenge their assumptions?

As a teacher from New Jersey, we are already mandated to integrate climate change issues into our Social Studies curriculum. Thank you for the articles you shared! I feel this is a great way to encourage discussion in the classroom, and to better integrate the OERProject Climate curriculum in other history courses. 

I have been struggling to incorporate more Climate Change into my US History 1 classes. I struggle with this time period because the content only goes up to Reconstruction. 

The best connection you've got with that timeline is the power of railroads in the Civil War, leading to the industrial revolution.  Could be a week unit there looking at the springboard for fossil fuel usage.  Ian Casey