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Use the Climate Detectives research question planner to develop your own research question in relation to a climate issue.
Research question: The effect of climate change in our own local forest and how this is effecting the animals who live there.
I think this question could be used with younger children as is it is relevant their own lives and worlds. I would start by teaching the children about local animals that live in the forest near our school. I would ask lots of open ended questions like why do you think it is a good place for them to live, what do they eat, where do they sleep, how do they mind their babies etc. We would then look at the effects of leaving food behind and rubbish in the forest. How would this effect the animals? Recently we have seen more animals like foxes leaving the forest to search for food. Why is this? What is happening to the animals that they hunt for in forest? This would introduce the topic of trees being cut down and the importance of “Leave no trace”. We could then go to the forest for a school trip. I would bring some ipads for the children to record their findings of anything the consider harmful to the eco system of the forest.
This a really engaging research question Sharon – the effect of climate change on an animal makes it more real and engaging for children.
The film HOME is a truly breathtaking vidoe, showing the beauty of nature from all parts of the world. I think an important take from this video is observing how we as humans need to live in respect of the earth and to work with the land in our own environments. Eating local produce, allowing nature to grow as it was intended and not to harm any native animals. The film is blunt in it’s highlighting of what our actions are doing to the climate and the world. I would use the lesson as a follow up lesson after first discussing and allowing the children to explore the changes we need to make in the world. I would then use this video to introduce and allow for conversation around our actions in the world and the reality of what is happening. I think this film is more suited to an older class as younger children may find it distressing.
I really like the idea of taking the class on a tour of the school and surrounding areas to engage with how the greenhouse effect is effecting their local areas.
To introduce this lesson I would first do a quick brainstorm to see what the children already know about the effect of greenhouse gases and climate change. I would then show them to Paxi video. This video is really engaging and I can see that the children would enjoy interacting with it. It is informative in a child friendly way and is also empowering with all we can do to help climate change. I think the importance of allowing the students to investigate how this will effect their lives is important and meaningful for children to be active in helping to save the planet. The TEAL toll links us to other countries in the world and is a good means of comparison.
The children could all present their findings to the class or invite other classes to come and watch their climate report presentations at the end.I think both activities one and two are good introductions to weather with sny class level and allow the children to have an investigative approach to weather.
Activity one:
Allows for lots of open ended thinking and collaborative group group work. It also ties in global warming and opens a whole new discussion on what that is.
To add to this you could bring in construction and allow the children to create different way to get weather information themselves such as creating a rain catcher or wind dial.
Activity two:
Again, this activity allows for excellent group work. The children have to share ideas and work together. It would be important to note for the teacher to have all needed resources ready for them.
This could be used with younger children by buddying up with an older class and working together.