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Students will answer questions about the Science News article “Humans may not be able to handle as much heat as scientists thought,” which explores the effects of extreme heat on the body and what that means for us as heat waves intensify around the globe. A version of the article, “How much heat can we handle?” appears in the August 27, 2022 issue of Science News.

In this guide, students will learn about scientists’ efforts to estimate how many tree species Earth has, analyze a related data visualization and discuss the implications the research has for conservation.

Students will look at data from a primary research article to explore how tree biodiversity differs across continents and biomes.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Earth may have 9,200 more tree species than previously thought,” which describes researchers’ efforts to estimate the number of tree species on Earth. A version of the article, “Earth may be hiding thousands of tree species,” appears in the March 12, 2022 issue of Science News

In this guide, students will learn about outliers and why some social scientists study them in an effort to improve people’s lives.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Why do some people succeed when others fail? Outliers provide clues,” which describes how research into communities that defy expectations can reveal ways to help others.

Students will define what an outlier is and discuss why outliers occur, how to identify them and how they can be useful for science and society.

Students will evaluate experimental methods for recycling plastics, gather data about the types of plastics they use at home, research plastics recycling in their community and write a letter to local officials that advocates for improving plastics recycling.

In this guide, students will learn about a United Nations assessment that concludes human-caused climate change is behind extreme weather events. Then, students will discuss and compare climate scenarios and visualize some of the data.

Students will learn about climate scenarios, analyze a chart of climate change impacts under four scenarios and create a data visualization for one climate change impact.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “The new UN climate change report shows there’s no time for denial or delay,” which describes a massive scientific assessment that concludes human-caused climate change is behind extreme weather events. A version of the story, “Earth cannot avoid a warmer future,” appears in the September 11, 2021 issue of Science News.

Students will take on the role of a planning board for a region identified as having an increased risk for natural hazards — wildfires, floods, droughts, heatwaves or hurricanes — due to climate change. After proposing regulations and other strategies to reduce the natural hazard’s impact, the students will discuss the merits of the proposed solutions before voting on a disaster plan and budget for their region.