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These are really fantastic ideas Elaine. They would also really grasp the children’s attention as they are relatable to their lives.
Research Question:
“How does plastic waste affect our local environment, and what can we do to reduce it?”
To encourage pupils to participate in this climate issue, I would introduce it by making it relatable to them by beginning with a story about an animal that is affected by plastic waste. I would also use real-life examples to try and relate to the students, using prompt questions like “Have you ever seen plastic waste at the local park or at the beach?”
I would have the pupils engage in interactive activities such as keeping a ‘Plastic Diary’, getting each child to record how much plastic they use at home in a day or a week, or carry out a local litter hunt around the area where pupils can record the different types of plastic waste they find. At the end of the week the pupils would discuss and share their results with the class. In small groups, children could explore solutions to plastic waste, and what they can do to reduce the problem, such as using reusable water bottles, saying no to plastic straws etc.
By relating the research question to the pupils everyday lives and giving them a role in solving the problem, pupils will become more engaged with and aware of climate issues around them.
I agree with your recommendation of showing ‘Home’ to senior classes to captivate their attention and help them connect emotionally before engaging in a class discussion and working on projects. I think the video would be a great prompt for lots of discussion around the seriousness of climate change and how we as humans need to play our part in fighting against it.
The film ‘Home’ is a powerful, striking piece of cinematography that portrays Earth’s environmental crises and the impact of human activities on climate change. It highlights how human activities such as deforestation, pollution and intensive agriculture etc have disrupted and damaged the Earth’s ecosystems. I think it would be a fantastic visual resource to use to introduce children to the topic of climate change.
I think the Greta Thunberg Ted Talk video would be a great video to use in the classroom as she is a young person most children are already familiar with and they see as a role model. I believe this video would also highlight for pupil’s how young people can make a change in fighting against climate change.
I also think the Climate Ad video was very powerful and I would show this to older classes to help them gain a better understanding of the dangerous impact of human activities on our planet and on animals habitats.
I like your idea of having the children create their own weather or climate report and the follow up task of presenting at a school ‘Climate assembly’. I think this would be very engaging for the children.
I think Activity 3 ‘Climate Reporters’ is an excellent, engaging way to introduce pupils to climate change and the impacts of greenhouse gases. activity contains cross-curricular links (science, maths and geography), as well as encouraging critical thinking and discussion. The Paxi video is a great additional resource that I think children would find very engaging and informative, and that would really benefit visual learners. The TEAL temperature prediction tool is a great visual resource which would help reinforce the impacts caused by rising temperatures.
In my classroom, I would introduce the lesson by having a classroom discussion, asking prompt questions like ‘What do you already know about greenhouse gases?’ I would then play the Paxi video for the class. After this I’d split the children into small groups and assign them each a climate scenario, and get each group to design a poster which raises climate awareness on their topic. The groups would then present their findings and have a whole-class reflection. The children could display their posters in the corridor of the school in order to share their ideas with the school community.
I love your idea of setting up a local weather station and that it could involve a whole school approach. I like your idea of involving the student council and green team too.
After reading Dr Maeve Liston’s (2018) paper ‘Unravelling STEM: Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics’, it made me reflect on what STEM really means and how important it is for pupils to engage in hands on, inquiry based learning and not just learning from a book/Powerpoint.
After completing activities 1 and 2, I found them to be both engaging STEM activities. I think Activity 1: ‘Is it Weather or Climate’ would support pupils differentiate between weather and climate. I like the element of blending pupil’s birthday weather memories and climate zone maps as it makes it both relatable and personal for the children as well as reinforcing children’s global awareness.
I found Activity 2 ‘Weather Detectives’ to be a great, hands on activity which would support pupil’s critical thinking, measurement skills and how they interpret data. I would love to use this activity in my classroom and have the children record the temperature at lunch time each day for a couple of weeks.
I agree that Eo Browser is an incredible way to explore environmental changes globally and locally. I like your idea of teaching students how to interpret satellite data and connect it to real-world issues. I agree that it supports critical thinking in students.
2. Elevator pitch
EO browser is a free, accessible, online platform that provides users with access to real-time satellite imagery as well as historical data of the Earth from space. These images can be viewed in true colour or by using advanced features such as burn ratio moisture etc. It also allows provides users with tools such as measuring areas drawing AOIs and exporting data. It is a fantastic resource for exploring environmental changes over time without needing to download anything or have coding skills.
In the classroom, I would use EO Browser as an engaging resource to support learning in both geography and science. Students could explore the topic of climate change and learn about coastal erosion, land-use change, deforestation etc by comparing real- time satellite imagery with historical images. I would get the students in pairs to choose and explore nearby locations known to them, and to compare the environmental changes they notice from the year they were born vs in the current year.
