This unit includes classroom activities to help students understand global warming and its possible effects on human beings. Lessons in the unit provide students with opportunities to study global climate changes, discuss and debate the current arguments for and against global warming and the Greenhouse Effect, investigate the possibility of global warming and the Greenhouse Effect, and present their findings in the form of research reports. Learning Gap: The 1999 Tennessee Report Card shows the mean gain for Colonial Heights Middle School was 49% below the national mean gain in social studies. As a result, improved gain in this subject at all grade levels has become a School Improvement Plan goal for our school. One of the Action Steps is to integrate Social Studies Standards into other subject areas. Through class observation and assessment scores, I have determined that at least 90% of my eighth grade students do not know the meaning of "global warming" and if it is a genuine problem facing the world. The same percentage is also not able to explain the possible causes and effects of global warming. Curriculum Standards: The Geography Standard 5 indicates, "Students will exhibit an understanding of the dynamic interaction between human and physical systems around the world." One of the 6-8 grade Benchmarks in Science Standard 2.2b states that, "the survival of individual organisms and entire species is dependent upon environmental conditions." Survey Items: During the discussion and debate in Lesson Two, the students will be able to put themselves in their teammates' shoes so they can understand their points better. Since they are completing this unit in cooperative learning groups, the students will be given the opportunity to think about their best skills and use them to complete a task. The students will also use the Internet in my class to research this topic, and to practice skills on line.