Our Beautiful Planet

Abstract

Anyone who has been paying attention for the last decade knows that the overall temperature of the planet Earth is increasing. Climate change is having devastating impact on living systems, causing stronger and more frequent storms, forcing cold-weather organisms to move further north, and altering the reproductive cycles of many plants. Biology teachers are at the forefront of climate education, having the responsibility of ensuring students have the most relevant and accurate information.Our Beautiful Planet is a new collection of short films produced by the National Science Teaching Association, the Climate Initiative, and Kikim Media that introduce students to cutting-edge research on some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. Some titles in the series areThere are a total of 12 films in the series, with each one being between 5–7 minutes long. Each film also comes with a related lesson plan focused on a particular phenomenon found in the film. For example, the lesson plan for The Future of Shellfish is entitled “Why Does the Green Crab Love Climate Change?” It has students experience the phenomenon through the film and then asks a variety of associated questions. The lesson plan gives hints to help students figure out the answers to the questions. It then provides areas where connections were made and summarizes what was figured out. Each lesson plan ends with a section on unanswered questions for students to investigate further. There are also a short biographies of the scientists who appeared in the films.Some other lesson plans are “Why Is Ocean Water Warming Faster in Some Places Than Others?,” “Should Our City’s Wastewater Treatment System Produce Ammonia?,” and “How Can Wildfires Lead to Mudslides?” Each of these has students diving deeper into the topic, asking questions about it, finding answers to those questions, and then going further into things they did not know or things they discovered during the lesson.Our Beautiful Planet is an excellent collection of short, to-the-point videos that are appropriate for grades 6–12. Being real science, the content is somewhat complex, but students with even minimal biology background should be able to figure out what is being discussed fairly easily. The lesson plans outline ways teachers can help guide students through their discoveries. This video series is perfectly aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. It provides anchoring phenomena and has students ask questions and draw conclusions from evidence, all of which are essential scientific and engineering practices.As biology teachers, it is imperative to provide students with accurate and relevant information about climate change. It is only through their learning about the devastating impacts of it that there can be any hope of making changes to protect the planet. Our Beautiful Planet is a great step toward increasing awareness about this global issue.