NEW! Cost of Climate Change Unit
Climate change imposes economic costs on the global community right now. This unit (six-part lesson) flexibly explores current climate impacts, future trajectories for climate change as well as the relative costs of action vs. inaction. These lessons are supported by a unit slide deck and include: a 5-part climate jigsaw, intro to RCPs, cost of inaction, and social cost of carbon.
NEW! U.S. Grid Economics
This Econ/Physics/Social Studies unit explores the creation and organization of the U.S. electrical grid, factors influencing electricity costs, how the cost of renewable energy compares to that of traditional energy, and an introduction to carbon pricing. Carbon pricing materials are informed by CATE Director Christopher R. Knittel and his Distributed Effects of Climate Policy paper as part of the Roosevelt Project at the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
Endangered Languages: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Meet Environmental Diversity
This English/Language Arts unit is designed to bring awareness to the connection of cultural + linguistic diversity to environmental biodiversity. Background resources and content appropriate activities are included to best introduce climate change in the English language classroom. In a culminating project, students are encouraged to hone both their research & presentation skills as they role play investigative journalists sharing both issues and solutions for protecting the world’s endangered languages.
NEW! Securing Our Future Unit
Seven interdisciplinary lessons that describe the types of adaptation & mitigation investments needed to secure our future. The first four lessons set the stage for solid work in Project Drawdown, En-Roads, or both. A companion slide deck connects and supports the lessons on: community adaptation, infrastructure & resilience, externalities, carbon policy, economics of renewables, & solutions.
Media/Climate Literacy
Students strengthen media literacy by evaluating evidence in multiple media on the topic of climate change. They investigate sources, identify misinformation and disinformation techniques, and demonstrate skills through formative and summative assessments. Note: this is an inherently interdisciplinary lesson, incorporating the humanities and sciences.
The MIT CATE Classroom Guide
We're launching the MIT CATE Classroom Guide, a new monthly resource for grades 6–12 educators. Each issue will feature classroom-ready climate education content, practical teaching ideas, and curated resources from MIT to help you bring climate learning into your classroom with confidence. Interested in receiving the first issue when it launches on August 24? Let us know. You can email [email protected] or sign up for a free CATE account in the header of this website.
15 min: Polar Ice in a Warming World
The frozen parts of our planet—from sprawling polar ice sheets and floating sea ice to alpine glaciers and frigid soils—face profound risks from climate change. Already, a warmer world has transformed these landscapes, with consequences that span the globe. Dr. Sarah Das joins to discuss her decades-long career studying the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and help us understand how changes to the polar regions affect people now and in the future.
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What Does Climate Change Cost Households Today?
A new op-ed authored by MIT CATE Faculty Director Christopher Knittel & co-authors Catherine Wolfram & Kimberly Clausing examines a question that students increasingly ask: How does climate change affect everyday life? Their answer points to costs that many households are already experiencing, including higher insurance premiums, disaster-related public spending, increased energy costs, and health impacts associated with extreme weather. Based on recent research, these costs can add up to hundreds of dollars per household each year. For educators, the article offers a useful example of how climate change connects to economics, public policy, and household decision-making—not just environmental science.
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