New Jersey was the first state in the nation to incorporate K-12 climate change education across content areas when the State Board of Education adopted the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards in June 2020.

The planet is experiencing the effects of climate change at an alarming rate – from intense heat waves to excessive rainfall to unprecedented sea-level rise. And the Garden State, particularly, has been dealing with more frequent precipitation and damaging flooding only predicted to grow more challenging.

The young people sitting in our classrooms today will be the leaders in the continuing battle against the climate crisis. They will maintain the efforts to build and sustain a thriving green economy. They will propel us toward 100 percent clean energy by 2050. We must prepare them to be climate literate, with comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the environment around them. 

Learn more about climate change and how to approach teaching it with these resources.

Teacher resources and climate change background 

• Report on K-12 Climate Change Education Needs in New Jersey 
• K12 Climate Action 
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History Climate and Rural Systems Partnership 
• NAAEE Climate Change Education and Climate Justice 
• NOAA Toolbox for Teaching Climate and Energy  
• Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science 
• STEM teaching tools Climate Learning Resources 
• Eight Ways to Teach Climate Change in Almost any Classroom – NPR 
• New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center – Rutgers 
• Teacher Friendly Guide to Climate Change 
• How NJ Schools Are Taking Climate Education Beyond Science Class – YouTube, Today Show