Evidence in a Changing Climate
Objectives
- D06.S1.09.01 Construct an evidence-based explanation that links data to a claim and states its limits and uncertainties.
- D06.S1.09.02 Critically evaluate a source of scientific information for reliability, bias, and conflicts of interest.
Essential questions
- How do we know the climate is changing, and how do we know what we know?
- How do we tell a reliable source from a biased one?
Big ideas
- Scientific claims are only as strong as the evidence and reasoning that support them, and honest claims state their limits.
- Evaluating a source means asking who made it, how they know, and what they stand to gain.
Lessons
- 1 How Do We Know the Climate Is Changing? 60 minutes
Assessment plan
A written evidence-based explanation (claim, data, limits) plus a short source-evaluation of one article.
Unit 1 — Evidence in a Changing Climate
Overview
A rigor-calibration exemplar for Grade 9. This unit shows the bar for high-grade science: building an evidence-based explanation that links data to a claim and states its limits, and critically evaluating sources — taught through a topic that demands the distinction between evidence, values, and certainty. Inquiry over creed; data over assertion.
Lessons
| Lesson | Title | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| L.09.001.01 | How Do We Know the Climate Is Changing? | D06.S1.09.01, D06.S1.09.02 |