Climate Change Basics
Understand the basics of climate change: Earth’s atmosphere traps some of the Sun's heat (the greenhouse effect), burning fossil fuels adds extra greenhouse gases (especially CO₂), this is making Earth gradually warmer, and this warming changes weather patterns, melts ice, and raises sea levels
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Sunlight warms Earth’s surface. The surface emits infrared energy. Greenhouse gases absorb and emit some infrared, slowing heat loss to space and keeping the surface warmer than it would otherwise be. Burning coal, oil, and gas adds carbon dioxide. Added greenhouse gases cause warming, with effects on ice, oceans, and weather patterns. Safety: No heat, flames, chemicals, sealed vessels, or distressing disaster images. Stop: Stop after the paper mechanism. No heated jars, lamps, burning fuels, melting-ice tests, or predictions for your home.”
Bring to the table
- Paper
- Pencil
- Two colours if available
Extra for the adult
Worked example. Follow surface → atmosphere → surface. Answer: the arrows represent infrared absorption and emission, not a solid lid or a mirror returning every ray. Some energy still escapes to space. Increasing CO2 changes how readily the system loses energy and leads to warming.
Optional challenge. Explain why floating sea-ice melt is not the same direct sea-level mechanism as melting ice resting on land.
What to notice. Keep the diagram and explanation. Note help supplying energy labels or linking causes. No temperature experiment was performed.
Share and support
Family records and proof options
Keep a record of your learning
Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
NASA Climate Kids · Practice link — not the full lesson
What Is Climate Change?
Before you open · source notes
What Is Climate Change? supports Climate Change Basics. An adult previews and guides; this is a learning page, not a scored quiz.
Free educational page, no sign-in required for the tested path.
Before you openAsk the learner one fact they learned and one question they still have.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public NASA Climate Kids page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.
NASA Climate Kids. “What Is Climate Change?.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.
Unknown — link only
Check understanding
- Describe the greenhouse effect: the atmosphere traps heat from the Sun
- Explain that burning fossil fuels increases CO₂ in the atmosphere
- Name at least two consequences of global warming: changing weather patterns, melting ice, rising seas
“Can your child explain the greenhouse effect in simple terms and describe how burning oil, gas, and coal adds extra CO₂ to the air, making Earth warmer and changing weather patterns?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Weather & Climate
- Age range
- Ages 9–12
Standards