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Common Claims Readings

Updated: Mar 11

In this activity, you will read more about possible ways Earth’s atmosphere could warm up. Each of these ways has been investigated by scientists. 


If you are completing this activity in class:

  • Join a group and decide which of the 4 options you will all read. 

  • Read quietly on your own. 

  • When finished, discuss the reading as a group.

  • Create a new group of 4. Each member in the new group should have read a different Common Claim reading. 

  • Share what you learned.


If you are completing this activity on your own, think about what might cause the atmosphere to warm. Choose the readings that will best help you answer your questions or resolve your uncertainty.




  1. Make a copy of the handout or get one from your teacher.

  2. Read your assigned reading.

  3. After reading, discuss the following questions:

    1. Who is the source of information and data?

    2. Do the information and data relate to temperature changes in Earth’s history?

    3. Is something related to the data causing temperatures to increase right now?

    4. What is the evidence to support the explanation?


Credits


Reading 1: Is the Sun related to rising temperatures? Text adapted from NASA. (2024). “Is the Sun causing global warming?” https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/14/is-the-sun-causing-global-warming/ 


Reading 2: Is the ozone hole related to rising temperature? Text adapted from NASA. (2024). “Is the ozone hole causing climate change?” https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/15/is-the-ozone-hole-causing-climate-change/ 


Reading 3: Is burning fossil fuels related to rising temperatures? Text adapted from Ritchie, H., & Rosado, P. (2024). “Fossil fuels.” Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels#global-fossil-fuel-consumption 


Reading 4: Is pollen, ash, or dust related to increasing temperatures in the atmosphere? Text adapted from EPA. (2023). “What is Particle Pollution?” https://www.epa.gov/pmcourse/what-particle-pollution and EPA. (2023). “Particulate Matter (PM10) Trends.” https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm10-trends 

Copyright © 2025 BSCS Science Learning. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

The development of this material was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL 2100808. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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