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Some great idea’s in this lesson. It is very relatable to students. Often climate change topics can be about places that students have never been visited, however making the question about their own locality make it much more accessible for students.
Research Question: How does deforestation effect the climate?
I would begin my lesson by showing the students images of the Amazon Rainforest 50 years ago and showing them a contrasting image of it today. Through these images I would encourage students to give their views and opinions on why and how come there is such a change in the forest. What factors have influenced it? How does this impact on the world’s climate? What can we do to help? I would gather the points on the white board.
After the class discussion I would show the students a video on the greenhouse effect, so they have a better understanding of how forests play a major role in protecting the worlds atmosphere.
I would follow this video with a brief discussion on anything the children may have learnt about the greenhouse effect and its relationship with deforestation.
Students would be split up into groups of 4. All students would brainstorm different locations throughout the world where that they could investigate climate change. Each group would be allocated one specific location to research and given subheadings to research.
By using the Climate Detectives research question planner, students can explore the effects of deforestation on temperature, precipitation, and humidity levels in the world.
They can use online tools such as the EO browser to analyse satellite data from up to 30 years ago. They watch a range of videos that have been recommended through this course. They can carry out interviews with older people who have lived through the changing times. Students would present their findings to the class after extensive research.
Through the Climate Detectives approach to research students are using the skills encouraged in through STEM which are inquiry based learning and experimenting in classrooms to aid creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.
The EO browser is a fantastic tool that I will be using down the line in my own classroom especially with the senior classes. It is an interactive and user-friendly tool which offers a step-by-step guide on how to use it. You can select your area of interest and narrow down the criteria of what you are looking for specifically for example cloud coverage and inspect the resulting data from different sources. It gives options for different activities based on whether you are a beginner or advanced. This is useful in the classroom for differentiation. Especially when trying to extend the learning of students who have a particular interest in this topic.
This tool would be a great resource for a class project on Climate Change. One of the features that can be accessed on this tool is imagery of the changes on Earth that have taken place in the last 30 years. Students can be analyse the changes with the compare function or by creating a time-lapse. They can also explore the changes in the landscape through the seasons, measure the size of a deforested area. This tool is a great interactive addition to the classroom especially when exploring a topic like Climate Change.
It is important to emphasis to students when exposing them to the reality of climate change that these steps Ireland are taking will help our planet and we can make a difference. We can be overly focused on the damage we have done as opposed to the actions we can take to revert some of the damage. It is important that students are aware of these postitives as it can be a major source of anxiety for younger generation.
I would agree Aine about being mindful of focusing on some of the positive parts as of the video and what we can do now to prevent climate change as opposed to the damage that is already done
Yann Arthus- Bethrand’s documentary film Home is a visual sensation. His images and visuals of aerial shots of the earth in various locations are astounding. He also shows the damage we as humans are inflicting on our own home planet earth. It is an eerie documentary that highlights the impact of our societies over reliance on the earth’s natural resources and the damaging affect it is having on our planet.
The documentary urges you to think of your own actions and reflect on how you alone can make a change. There is a strong message in the film that gives us hope “it is not what is gone it is what remains”, which encourages viewers to take as much action as we can while we still can to save our beautiful planet. It is a very powerful documentary film that is well worth a watch.
After watching the film home, it is reassuring to then watch Irelands Climate action plan to see that we as a country are taking the threat of climate change in our planet seriously. The plan goes through the various steps that are been taking and initiatives that are being implemented into our country over the coming decades to ensure that we are doing everything we can do as a nation to prevent climate change. The steps are all achievable and realistic which gives people hope after watching Home.
The Paxi video is a great resource for simplifying the complexity of greenhouse effect It provides students with a clear visual understanding of what the earths atmosphere is and why it is like a greenhouse. It explains how the atmosphere keeps our earth’s temperature just right and how human activity impacts the earths temperature. It gives examples of these human activities that are negatively impacting our planet. It gives resolutions to fixing the problem and how we can all take small steps to make a difference.
Activity 3 is a great way to get children to understand just how much the greenhouse effect will impact them in the future. It is raising awareness of the severity of the situation and how students themselves can do something to make a difference. It implements a knowledge and understanding of the greenhouse effect for students that they will carry forward with them as grow up and encourage them to take simple action to prevent climate change in future. I would use the temp predictor tool to show students how temperatures can increase where we live and the factors that are taken into account when trying to predict future temperatures. The students would then go on to make their own predictions and present their findings.
It would be a great lesson to be arranged or carried out by the Green School Committee in the school at the beginning of the school year. Their findings could be used and presented to implement some changes throughout the school to reduce the schools carbon emission for the school year ahead.
Activity 1
Liston’s paper Unravelling STEM is very informative. It highlights the importance of inquiry based learning and experimenting in classrooms to aid creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills. These are all skills that are necessary for students growing up in a world that is constantly changing and advancing in terms of science and technology.In my classroom STEM is taught through project-based lessons. Children are generally split up into mixed ability groups and given the necessary guidelines and resources to complete their project. As I teach 5th class projects are student led and they are encouraged to go deeper in their understanding of their project.
Activity 2
The Weather and Climate resources are very clear and easy to follow. They provide a step-by-step approach to teaching the lesson and a clear learning outcome.
I like how the lessons make climate relatable to children such as recalling the weather on their last birthday. It immediately makes the lesson personal for children especially when they can relate to it and how weather and climate affects all of them. The lessons offer great differentiated options which is great for all levels and abilities and ideas for adapting the lesson to make it more visual and comprehensive depending on students’ abilities.
I love how each lesson is student driven and offers very interactive activities and opportunities to get moving and outdoors. The lessons highlight the importance of consistency when carrying out an investigation and give reasons why consistency is so important to get an accurate result. The lessons encourage teamwork discussion and problem solving. These lessons could be dramatized where students pretend to be meteorologists and report their findings in front of their classmates.