laptop with IISG weather and climate toolkit for educators on the screen
The weather and climate toolkit for educators includes over 60 resources—with more being added—for K-12 teachers, parents and students.

With the prolonged pandemic continuing to affect the United States, traditional education has turned toward at-home learning and virtual classrooms to keep students safe. Now more than ever, teachers must be able to find lesson plans for their students that are adaptable to different learning environments and cover topics required by the curriculum. To meet these needs, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) has created a weather and climate education toolkit where teachers can find resources on the topics of weather, climate and climate change.

Teachers—whether parents, home school tutors or licensed professionals—can find what they need by using the search function to filter by grade level, specific weather and climate subtopics or geographic locations, learning mode and more. Many of the lesson plans and activities in this curated catalog of resources can be used as-is or adapted for virtual learning and at-home teaching environments.

“It was great to be able to work closely with our IISG education team to create this toolkit,” said Veronica Fall, climate extension specialist with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and University of Illinois Extension. “These are tough times we’re living in, so we’re excited to help empower educators, both locally and nationally, with additional resources to be able to teach complex topics in a virtual setting.”

IISG developed the weather and climate education toolkit with support from the Center for Great Lakes Literacy and the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.


Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

Writer: Hope Charters

 

IISG Instagram

Join the 2026 Great Lakes BioBlitz! 🌎🦋📸Starting Earth Day, educators, students, youth groups, and families are invited to help document biodiversity across the Great Lakes region using iNaturalist. A kick-off webinar is scheduled for April 16th at 2 pm CT.Participate anytime during the four‑week event. Snap photos, make observations, and contribute to real conservation data while getting students outside and engaged with nature. Learn more and get ready to explore: https://sites.google.com/wisc.edu/annual-great-lakes-bioblitz/2026 #TeachingTuesday#GreatLakes
Don’t miss out! Join us for a deep dive into the latest Lake Michigan fisheries science.Topics will include:-Reef restoration impacts on aquatic and fish species-Wild reproduction rates for salmon and trout species from the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program-Fisheries update from the Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesLearn more & register: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86eBlPnbjdm7pPg
Celebrate Earth Day with freshwater science and good conversation! Join Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, the Northwestern Center for Water, Loyola University researcher Tim Hoellein, and IISG’s Sarah Zack for Science Sips: Trash Talk about Chicago Waterways. Learn what research reveals about litter and trash in Lake Michigan and Chicago waterways and what we can do to help.Plus, enjoy Great Lakes trivia games!📅 April 22, 2026⏰ 7–9 PM📍 Sketchbook Brewing Company, Evanston Tap RoomCome curious and ready to test your Great Lakes knowledge!