Climate change affects everyone. Our school being in an urban area, greenhouse gas emissions impact us and also the extreme weather conditions in the last few years.
To investigate the emissions the children could be surveyed on how they travel to school. I would get them to graph the data collected. An ‘interview’ with our lollypop lady to get her thoughts could be another component to our detective work. Satellite data and images of our locality would be central to our investigation to help identify any possible trends allowing us to make our own judgements. With this knowledge, I know, the children will lead and make a difference, however small. This would tie in with the Green Schools Programme.
The significant weather events in the last few years and climate change could be brought to life in the classroom. Greta Thunberg is a great role model and children can identify with her. Her Ted Talk is well worth a watch. We must change and act NOW, as she says, and we as teachers must help spread that message amongst our young. Climate Aid 2020 video has the powerful and clear voice of Sir David Attenborough whom the children are familiar with. A short clip to engage and motivate us. HOME is so informative to watch, while also being very moving about our beautiful planet. It conveys a powerful message about the climate change crisis. It is beautifully shot and the main thought I was left with after was ‘What’s important is not what is gone, but what remains.’ Again, we must act NOW. We, as teachers, should use this content to motivate the children to start making changes, and show them the importance of each individuals part in this climate change crisis.
Allowing the children to be ‘gardaí glasa’ for the class – they enjoy making a discovery, especially catching other classes out! Being a detective gives them a responsibility and encourages team building skills and the need to be accurate with their results.
We, the educators, need to get the children working as science detectives and reporters, giving them power and responsibility to make changes to the way we live and make a difference. There are lots of possibilities across the curriculum to do this.