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Students learn about rainshadow/orographic effect by making observations of mountain range and ocean location, direction of prevailing winds, and vegetation on each side of the mountain range in a region that exhibits rainshadow effect. Students then collect temperature and rainfall data from the same region and write an explanation for the climate categories found in the region investigated during the explore phase. Students apply their understanding of the processes that drive by rainshadow effect by explaining why large lakes located in cold climate regions can cause lake snow effect.

Students learn about the greenhouse effect and how an increasing concentration of greenhouse gases are contributing to a rise in average global temperature. Students further their understanding of how humans are contributing to current climate change by reading an interactive text and watching a video. Students extend their thinking by exploring the implications of climate change in the regions be analyzed for the performance task.

In this 5E lesson sequence students learn about how proximity to oceans impacts climate by collecting and graphing cooling/heating data for sand and water. Then students apply their learning to a climate through an analysis of two cities at similar altitude and latitude, one of which is coastal and one of which is inland. Students further their understanding of how oceans affect climate by exploring the climate implications of ocean surface current origin and temperature. Finally, students extend their thinking by learning how an El Nino event can affect the climate of western United States.

In this unit students will analyze and create topographic maps of human cities as they consider how geographical features such as oceans, lakes, and mountains have influenced where humans have chosen to live. Students will also make predictions about how changes in the Earth's surface features that may take place?whether due to climate change or other factors?can influence the migration of human populations in the future.

In this task, students explore the causes and effects of El Nino.

Students work in groups to learn about the causes of lake-effect snow.

The Regents Item Bank provides questions from past Regents exams aligned with the content of this unit.

The distribution of human populations over time has been largely influenced by the Earth's geography and climate. As global climate changes, the impact on geography and climate will be profound, inevitably causing challenges to the quality of life and survival of human and animal populations, forcing migration. Where would you want to live in the future in order to ensure that you're comfortable and safe? Consider current geography and climate and how these might be impacted by climate change in the year 2100.