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C: Climate Change and Agriculture
Day: 7-8
Grade Level: 8
Time Required: 180 minutes
Essential Question: How will agriculture be impacted by climate change on a local and
global scale?
National Science Standards Addressed:
H.C.4 Interdependence of organisms
e. Human beings live within the world's ecosystems. Increasingly, humans modify
ecosystems as a result of population growth, technology, and consumption. Human destruction of
habitats through direct harvesting, pollution, atmospheric changes, and other factors is threatening
current global stability, and if not addressed, ecosystems will be irreversibly affected.
H.F.4 Environmental quality
a. Natural ecosystems provide an array of basic processes that affect humans. Those
processes include maintenance of the quality of the atmosphere, generation of soils, control of the
hydrologic cycle, disposal of wastes, and recycling of nutrients. Humans are changing many of
these basic processes, and the changes may be detrimental to humans.
Objective: Students will investigate how climate change will impact a major economic
sector of the local economy of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Teacher Notes:
Students will use the internet to complete a web quest investigating the impacts of
climate change on agriculture and the economy of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Student knowledge will be extended in the second component. Students will have the
option of completing one of three assignments that relate to the topic.
Resources:
https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-agriculture-and-food-supply_.html
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1498/climate-change-and-poultry-production
http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/crop-yields-could-wilt-heat/
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/nov09/soybean1109.htm
Procedure:
• The handout that accompanies this assignment should be available on each
student computer. This will allow students to use hyperlinks to reach each
destination.
• Students should complete web quest in one 90 minute class period. The second
portion will be assigned as homework, with presentations occurring during the
next class period.
