The Carbon Budget

Everglades National Park

Grade Level:

Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Subject:

Science

Lesson Duration:

60 Minutes

State Standards:

Next Generation Florida Sunshine State Standards

SC.5.L.14.2
SC.5.L.15.1
SS.5.C.2.4
SS.5.C.2.5
LA.5.5.2.2

Essential Question

Does the amount of carbon humans are adding to the environment outweigh the amount of carbon removed by the environment?

Objective

Students use math, visual and auditory techniques to demonstrate that the amount of carbon being added to the atmosphere by humans is more than what the planet is removing. This activity can use different learning styles to demonstrate the 2008 global carbon budget. Show that the imbalance of a yearly extra four billion tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the fundamental cause of climate change.

Background

Our "Climate Change" unit is broken into three lesson plans, each taking 60 to 90 minutes to complete, and targeted mainly at fifth and sixth grade students. A class needn't complete every lesson in the unit, though some lessons do refer to one another and are better done in sequence. However, each lesson comes with its own set of objectives and resources.

Preparation

Incorporate the Everglades into your lesson planning. In partnership with teachers, we are proud to offer multidisciplinary, curriculum-based activities that bring relevant lessons from the field into the classroom. These materials can be used as pre-site lessons for any in-park field trip. Please click here to view a list of Everglades Curriculum Materials.

Materials

Tons of Carbon Handout

Download Tons of Carbon Handout

Carbon Budget for Kids

Download Carbon Budget for Kids

Vocabulary

Carbon budget, carbon sink, carbon source, greenhouse gas