Energy and a Changing Climate for English Language Learners, is written for the English language learners taking phychem at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, CT. The students bring a wide variety of skill sets to the school as well as growth areas to the class. Many of the students are from Spanish speaking countries in Central and South America. There are also a few students from African and Middle Eastern countries. This past year the main languages of the students included Spanish, Pashto, Persian, Dari, Urdu, Swahili and French. In my science classes students are working on both their language and science skills.
At Wilbur Cross on the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences the ninth and tenth grade students stay together as a cohort and take phychem and biology together. The classes run on a block schedule with A and B days four periods per day 80 min per period.
Starting off the year with this unit will cover how energy and the atmosphere keep the earth a livable temperature for life. The unit is written to cover the following Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) HS PE ESS2-4 (use a model to describe how variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth’s systems result in changes in climate.), HS PE ESS2-2 (analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth's surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.) and ESS3-5 (analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth's systems.).
The purpose of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of the earth’s energy budget and how energy enters and leaves the earths’ atmosphere in a supportive environment to English language learners. My unit Energy and Earth’s Climate for English Language Learners will focus on the science around how energy affects earth’s climate.
It is important for students to learn about climate change not just because it is in the curriculum but because it will greatly affect their generation and the generations of students to come. All students including the ELLs should have the opportunity to learn about relevant environmental issues of their time in a way that they can understand.
