Filtering Options
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Polly the Polar Bear Sleeps Well
This lesson plan accompanies the book Polly the Polar Bear Sleeps Well, a K–Middle School educational resource produced by the CO2 Coalition’s CO2 Learning Center.
It teaches students polar bear biology, Arctic habitat, adaptations, diet, and reproduction, while deliberately challenging the common narrative that declining sea ice threatens polar bear survival.
It emphasizes empirical evidence showing that polar bears are thriving despite reduced summer sea ice: populations have increased significantly since protective regulations, many subpopulations are stable or growing, bear body condition has improved in key regions, and reduced ice has boosted phytoplankton and the entire marine food chain that supports seals, the bears’ main prey. The lesson contrasts real-world data with less reliable computer model predictions.
Key components include:
Student learning goals focused on polar bear resilience
Detailed scientific background with maps, images, and data
Hands-on activities (fur insulation experiments, climate graphs, water distribution models, data interpretation)
Formative and summative assessments
Alignment with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for grades K–MSThis lesson promotes critical thinking by encouraging students to value measured data over model projections and to understand how polar bears successfully adapt to a changing Arctic.
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Foxy the Fruit Bat Sleeps Well Lesson Plan
This lesson plan accompanies the book, Foxy the Fruit Bat Sleeps Well. Foxy lives on the islands called the Maldives (pronounced mall-deevz). The Maldives are a large collection of very small coral atolls in the Indian Ocean and, on a map of the world, can be found below the southern tip of India.
Like Foxy and his friends Laila and Ghassan, children around the world have heard that these lovely islands will disappear beneath rising seas because of climate change. But that is just not true. Most of the world’s coral atolls are growing, rising higher and higher rather than getting smaller as sea levels rise. And that’s good news!
Everybody will be glad to hear that Foxy – and all who live on tropical islands – will have homes for many generations to come.
Included in this lesson plan:
student learning goals, background information, references, suggested activities, formative and summative questions, next generation science standards -
Chloe the Clownfish Sleeps Well Lesson Plan
This lesson plan will assist educators to:
Explain what a clown fish is and where it lives.
Identify what the Great Barrier Reef is and where it is located.
Describe how the temperature of the oceans has changed over the last 100 years.
Locate the Coral Triangle on a map of the world.
Explain how the growth of corals on the Great Barrier Reef has changed since 1985.
Explain why warm oceans are good for coral growth.
Identify whether ocean water is acidic or alkaline.
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The Mystery of the Night Raiders Lesson Plan
This lesson plan accompanies The Mystery of the Night Raiders, the fifth book in a planned series of informative and entertaining books for students on various aspects of science made available through the CO2 Learning Center.
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The Big Bad Woof Lesson Plan
This lesson plan accompanies The Big Bad Woof, the fourth book in a planned series of informative and entertaining books for students on various aspects of science made available through the CO2 Learning Center.
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The Magic Mirror Lesson Plan
The Magic Mirror is the third in a planned series of informative and entertaining books for students on various aspects of science made available through the CO2 Learning Center. Students will learn about how the Earth naturally recycles all of the substances on the planet and how the carbon dioxide cycle is a critical part of this recycling.
