Lesson Plans

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Education and Outreach Program creates basic science lessons related to weather and climate for K-12th grade. ARM Education strives to make lessons that are relevant to the needs of the schools in the communities where ARM has its sites, the Southern Great Plains (SGP) of the United States, the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP), and the North Slope of Alaska (NSA). However, almost all of these lessons are useful for students anywhere. To learn more about the ARM Climate Research Facility, click to view a short video (YouTube).

Additional classroom materials are available at Just for Fun, including an activity book full of Climate, Coloring, Crosswords... and Other Fun Stuff!

At the teacher workshop at Barrow High School, the teachers took part in an Arctic Microclimates Lesson and Activity. The teachers, shown here, are taking temperatures of different microclimates.

Getting Started

Lesson Plans and Activities

Click on a table header to sort the table by name, type, grade level, category, or site.

Name	Type	Grade Level	Category	Site
Common Covering Clouds (PDF, 297KB)	Lesson Plan	K-2	Weather and Climate
When Floating Ice Melts in the Sea (PDF, 631KB)	Lesson Plan	K-2	Oceans
Planting Trees (PDF, 285KB)	Lesson Plan	3-5	Climate Change
Rainfall and the Water Table (PDF, 625KB)	Lesson Plan	3-5	Climate Change
Making Clouds (PDF, 247KB)	Lesson Plan	6-8	Weather and Climate
Why Is It Hotter at the Equator? (PDF, 1.6MB)	Lesson Plan	6-8	Weather and Climate
Monsoon Convection Cells (PDF, 254KB)	Lesson Plan	9-12	Weather and Climate
Thermal Expansion of Water (PDF, 870KB)	Lesson Plan	9-12	Oceans
Air Density and Temperature	Activity		Atmosphere	Tropical Western Pacific
Air Pressure	Activity		Atmosphere	Tropical Western Pacific
Comparing Temperature, Pressure, and Humidity (PDF, 39KB)	Activity	6-9	Atmosphere
Measuring Quantities of Gases	Activity		Atmosphere	Tropical Western Pacific
Measuring Water Vapor	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Atmosphere
Outgassing	Activity		Atmosphere	Tropical Western Pacific
Plant Growth and Carbon Dioxide	Activity		Atmosphere	Tropical Western Pacific
Simple Light Scattering	Activity		Atmosphere	Tropical Western Pacific
Sunlight and Water Evaporation	Activity		Atmosphere	Tropical Western Pacific
The Thermodynamics of Pizza(PDF, 155KB, also available in PPT, 152KB)	Activity		Atmosphere	North Slope of Alaska
Acid Rain	Activity		Climate Change	Tropical Western Pacific
Amount of Greenhosue Gases in the Atmosphere	Activity		Climate Change	Tropical Western Pacific
Bringing Climate Change into the Classroom (PDF, 261KB)	Activity		Climate Change	North Slope of Alaska
Environmental Changes	Activity		Climate Change	Tropical Western Pacific
Expansion of Population and the Environment	Activity		Climate Change	Tropical Western Pacific
Global Warming	Activity		Climate Change	Tropical Western Pacific
Historical Climate Statistics	Activity		Climate Change	Tropical Western Pacific
Make Your Own El Niño (PDF, 64KB)	Activity		Climate Change
The Pacific and El Niño	Activity		Climate Change	Tropical Western Pacific
Tracking Global Climate Change	Activity		Climate Change
Coastal Erosion	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Dissolved Gases in Water	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Estimating Local Sea Level	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Moving Water and Waves	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Ocean Currents	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Past Sea Level Data	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Rate of Coral Growth	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Sea Water and Agriculture	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Surface Currents	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Temperature of the Pacific Ocean	Activity		Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Whales and Sea Ice: Investigating Insulation (PDF, 148KB)	Activity	3-6	Oceans	North Slope of Alaska
When Land Ice Melts	Activity	3-6	Oceans	Tropical Western Pacific
Adapting to Survive (PDF, 12KB)	Activity	6-9	Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Arctic Microclimates (PDF, 34KB, also available in PPT, 80KB) Arctic Microclimate Worksheet	Activity	6-9	Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Climate in the Pacific Region	Activity	6-9	Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
Clouds of Changing Times (PDF, 43KB)	Activity	2-4	Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Current Weather	Activity		Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
Effects of Solar Radiation on Land and Sea	Activity		Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
The Extraordinary Life of the Alaskan Tundra (PDF, 77KB)	Activity	Middle School/High School	Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Iñupiat Weather Expertise (PDF, 102KB) An extended version of An Iñupiat Weather Report (PDF, 30KB)	Activity		Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Measuring Cloud Heights	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate
Measuring Solar Radiation	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate
Measuring Wind Profiles	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate
Microclimate	Activity		Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
Mountains of Erosion (PDF, 39KB)	Activity		Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Observing Wind Speed and Cloudiness	Activity		Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
Reason for the Seasons	Activity		Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
Surface Meteorological Observation System (SMOS)	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate
Understanding Wind Direction and Making a Wind Vane (PDF, 37KB)	Activity	K-3	Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Understanding Inversions (PDF, 175KB) More About Inversions (PDF, 264KB)	Activity		Weather and Climate
Vertical Cloud Radar	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate
Wave Erosion (PDF, 22KB)	Activity	4	Weather and Climate	North Slope of Alaska
Weather and Climate Statistics	Activity		Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
Weather Balloons	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate
Winds	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific
Your Own Greenhouse	Activity	Middle School/Junior High	Weather and Climate	Tropical Western Pacific