Next Generation Climate for Grades 6-8
The Next Generation Climate (NGC) curriculum was first developed in 2015 to meet a growing need for curricular materials that develop students’ climate literacy while supporting the Next Generation Science standards (NGSS). Over a decade later, climate change education has grown more comprehensive, but it remains no less important to educate students about the foundations of climate change and solutions to the crisis. The 2025 update includes current graphs and data sets, plus more interdisciplinary approaches that highlight climate justice leaders and perspectives.
This curriculum’s main purpose is to build students’ climate literacy. According to the 2024 Climate Literacy Guidelines, a climate-literate person: “Understands the essential principles of Earth’s climate system and the options to address human-caused climate change; recognizes credible information about climate change and knows where to find it; communicates about climate change in accurate and effective ways; and is able to make informed decisions related to climate change.”
We hope that NGC can serve as both an introduction to climate change and as a source of activities that deepen and broaden students’ climate literacy. Formal and non-formal educators will find that NGC aligns with their frameworks and can spark climate conversations in any subject area. We invite you to dive in!
