Map showing the increase in sea surface temperatures off the western coast of Peru during an El Niño event

El Niño Teaching Box

This Teaching Box combines readings and activities that utilize data to build student understanding of the changes that happen to the Pacific Ocean and atmosphere during an El Niño event.

Teaching Boxes are themed collections of classroom-ready educational resources to build student understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Resources highlighted within teaching boxes are from various science education programs and all have been vetted by the education team at the UCAR Center for Science Education.

  • Topic: El Niño
  • Level: Middle and high school

El Niño in the Pacific

Students will understand the changes that happen to the Pacific Ocean and atmosphere during El Niño events.