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That’s a great idea to make the wind speed tool as well as rain gauges to further challenge the children. Thanks for sharing the twinkl resource it looks great and I would love to use it in the future.
I agree that linking the HOME documentary with SPHE would be a good idea to ensure that the children have the tools to talk about the emotions they may have around the issues of climate change.
I think HOME by Yann Arthus Bertrand is a powerful insight into how human actions have put a strain on the earth’s resources and led to the climate crisis. The documentary is beautifully filmed and is such eye-opening viewing. If using the video in the classroom I would show the children short segments to focus on a particular aspect of climate change. I would be conscious not to create a sense of fear and hopelessness as I think even young children can very easily become anxious and overwhelmed around the concept of climate change. Whilst climate change is an incredibly important issue for this and future generations, I think it is important to address the issue in an age-appropriate and optimistic manner to ensure not to frighten children.
Another great video to show the children when exploring the concept of climate change is Greta Thunberg’s Ted Talk. I think it’s really powerful for children to realise that someone so young has made such a difference and that their voice really matters.I think linking your research question with report writing is a great idea and I think basing your question on animals is an excellent way to capture their interests!
Research Question: How does human impact accelerate climate change?
I would begin the investigation by showing the children the video ‘There’s an orangutan in my bedroom’ which demonstrates the impact of palm oil on the destruction of rain forests in Indonesia. This is a very powerful video delivered through child friendly language and imagery which makes it a perfect stimulus for talk and discussion around our research question ‘How does human impact accelerate climate change?’
Once the question has been revealed and discussed with the class I would create a large pictograph chart with the children using washy tape to create the axis and hands on materials/ pictures to represent the various every day pictures and actions that impact climate change (plastic bottles, palm oil, deforestation, aeroplanes etc.) The children in groups will then choose an object and place it on the graph to predict how much CO2 emissions (of an impact) this item has on the environment and explain their reasons. Once the graph has been completed and agreed the children would then use earth observation data to research the correct order of the graph.
After discussing the results and the need for these items in our lives we would then mindmap ways to reduce our C02 emissions and how we can still live with and use these items responsibly to ensure we are all doing our part to slow down the speed of climate change.The Nose High Up in the Sky resource has some great ideas that are very child-led and have great opportunities for critical thinking and active learning.
In activity 1 I liked that the resource focused on proverbs that the children have already heard. I think it is a great way to start with what the children already know and then build upon that knowledge by providing a scientific explanation behind each proverb. I would extend this activity by giving the children a homework task where they ask their parents/ grandparents about proverbs based on the weather and research the possible origins of each proverb.
The sensing the weather activity would be suitable for children of all ages and could be integrated with subjects such as literacy or music whereby the children could create a weather soundscape or poem. I also think this would be a great starting point for project work with the older classes where the children could investigate different methods people used in the past for predicting the weather.
I am looking forward to using activity 3 with my class this year where the children will use everyday items such as plastic cups, straws, sticks etc. to create their own weather stations.I agree that some of the language as well as some of the maths concepts are quite challenging. I think it would work better with older classes and in some cases some prior vocabulary work may be beneficial beforehand.
I would use the Paxi video as a stimulus to introduce the topic of climate change. The video explains what greenhouse gases are in a child-friendly and coherent manner that I think is very engaging and would capture the children’s attention. I like that the video is optimistic as sometimes children may feel daunted or overwhelmed with the concept of climate change. I think prior to showing the video I would provide time for the children to brainstorm and create a KWL chart to assess their prior knowledge of greenhouse gases. The tool for predicting future temperatures would be a great way for the children to apply their learning and also to imagine possible future scenarios. Promoting the children to reflect on the impact of rising temperatures on a national and international level with older classes would be a great way to develop critical thinking. This would allow children to connect their learning to real-life examples. I would like to build on this learning through project work where the children would collaborate to investigate possible solutions to reduce greenhouse gases.
I really like your idea of a weather club. This would allow children to share and compare their recordings authentically. Sharing the children’s findings in assemblies is a great way to incorporate learning about weather using a whole-school approach.
This module was very useful in providing a wide range of ideas and resources to support children of all ages to explore weather and climate. I really liked the interactive and engaging video explaining the difference between weather and climate which in my experience is a concept that children can sometimes find difficult to grasp.
I think the ‘ESA nose up high in the sky’ is a really valuable resource in promoting rich discussions amongst the children about weather. It also provides great scope for integration across different curricular areas which facilitates children to explore these ideas on a deeper level. I think creating a weather station is a particularly meaningful idea as it gives children the opportunity to have ownership of their own learning and they would love how active and engaging it is whilst also fostering their skillset in the areas of STEM.
Reflecting on ‘Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym’ it reminded me of the importance of engineering in STEM activities and how often activities can be incorrectly labelled as STEM. Upon reading Liston’s paper what really resonated with me was the emphasis on providing the children with real-life meaningful experiences which I think both ‘Is it weather or climate?’ and ‘Weather Detectives’ provide.