CER Assignment: Global Climate Change
(Aligned to NJ Standards: HS-ESS2-4,
HS-ESS3-5, WHST.9-10.1, RI.9-10.1, RI.9-
10.2)
Standards Addressed
Science (NJSLS-S / NGSS)
- HS-ESS2-4: Use a model to describe how variations in energy flow into and out of Earth’s
systems result in climate changes.
- HS-ESS3-5: Analyze geoscience data and results from global climate models to make
evidence-based forecasts of climate change.
English Language Arts (NJSLS-ELA)
- RI.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly.
- RI.9-10.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development.
- WHST.9-10.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content using valid
reasoning and relevant evidence.
Informational Text
Most atmospheric scientists think that because greenhouse gases absorb and rerelease
infrared radiation to Earth’s surface, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will
result in an increase in global temperature. A comparison of CO₂ in the atmosphere and
average global temperatures for the past 400,000 years supports this view.
The average temperature at Earth’s surface increased during the twentieth century. This
gradual increase is known as global warming. Because the rise in temperature correlates to
the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, most scientists conclude that the
increase in greenhouse gases, and other factors, have caused the increase in temperature.
Thousands of experiments and computer models support this hypothesis.
The increase in temperature is predicted to continue. This does not mean that temperatures
are rising at a constant rate, or that they are rising in all parts of the world. As with changes
in CO₂ levels, short-term variations in temperature are superimposed on larger trends. For
example, the patterns of precipitation, frequency of fires, and extreme weather events are
also predicted to change. Because these changes involve many parts of Earth’s climate
system, scientists often use the term global climate change rather than global warming.
Part 1 – Understanding the Text
What are greenhouse gases able to absorb and rerelease?
What is the name for the gradual increase in Earth’s temperature?
How many years of climate data were compared in the passage?
What two things are compared in the climate records?
Why do many scientists use the term global climate change instead of global warming?
Part 2 – CER Question
Do greenhouse gases contribute to global climate change?
Use evidence from the passage to support your answer.
Part 3 – Write Your CER
Claim
Sentence Starters:
- My claim is that greenhouse gases ______________________________.
- Greenhouse gases affect Earth’s temperature because _______________________.
- Based on the passage, greenhouse gases ___________________________.
Write your claim:
Evidence
Sentence Starters:
- One piece of evidence from the text is ___________________________.
- The passage states that ______________________________________.
- Scientists compared ________________________________________.
Evidence 1:
Evidence 2:
Reasoning
Sentence Starters:
- This evidence supports my claim because ___________________________.
- This shows that greenhouse gases _______________________________.
- Therefore, scientists believe __________________________________.
Reasoning: