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How can we as a school community reduce our carbon footprint?
I will direct pupils to the How Big Is Your Environmental Footprint Questionnaire online and ask pupils to complete the questionnaire as honestly as they can. We will discuss findings. There are many ways and areas we can focus on to try and reduce our carbon footprint but we will pick one to focus on for the year. We will focus on reducing the amount of plastic in lunchboxes. We have found in our school that we have a problem with the amount of plastic that is in our bins at the end of the day, majority being from lunches, fruit juice cartons, yogurt pots, lunches wrapped in cling film. We will appoint some students as monitors who can visit each class and count the amount of plastic in lunchboxes. Figures will be recorded and we will run a campaign around school to try and encourage pupils to reduce amounts. Pupils could run a poster competition, prizes for most improved class, etc. Ideas will be given to pupils and an ‘idea sheet’ could be sent home to parents. Reusable bottles, reuse cling film or else use paper, buy big yogurt pots and send in small class jars, etc. After a month, monitors will visit classes, record figures again and see are there improvements. Continue the campaign and hopefully it was also encourage changes at home also which in turn will have a positive effect on reducing our carbon footprint not only in school but at home.3. I definitely intend on using the resource Nose High Up In The Sky with my class in September. I think they will find this resource fun and interesting. Children will love seeing the photographs of Earth taken from Space. I think it is a great way to start the lesson. The visual resources included are great and the activity of matching the photos to the different landscapes take from the ground will be interesting. The third activity then of learning about how a satellite works and how it is different to a space station will allow for some interesting discussions in the class. It is a great lesson as it provides children with the opportunity to see different perspectives which they usually wouldn’t get to experience in other lessons. It is a great resource to get children interested in delving deeper into the topic and hopefully doing some further research.
I agree Christine, the video has a very impactful message that we need to act now to combat climate change- and how every person, young and old can play a part.
Module 3 was very interesting but also bought home the serious nature of climate change. The stark reality of climate change in our world today was very prevalent in al of the videos. Home was a tough watch and it really showed the devastation that climate change is having throughout the world. There is no escaping the hard facts and visual reality from that video. I enjoyed Greta Thunberg’s Ted Talk. I think that the pupils would enjoy this and could relate to her as she is young also. She is a great role model for children, she is passionate and she catches everybody’s attention. She is a fantastic advocate for climate change. It would hopefully allow children see that they too could make a change. Every little change matters. They might feel empowered to also encourage their own families and together all these small changes can make a difference.
I thought that the Paxi video was great, was very child friendly and a fun way for children to learn about greenhouse gases. I would play this video for my class and then hold a classroom discussion with emphasis on how us humans are influencing climate change. I would divide pupils into groups and ask them to come up with 3 changes that we could make to tackle climate change. I liked Activity 3 also. I think the kids would enjoy making their own predictions first and then compare this with the scientists’ predictions and see were any similar. I think it would be a very thought-provoking exercise and get pupils thinking like scientist and engaging in critical thinking. I like the idea of giving the different scenarios to pupils, high emissions and low emissions. At the end I would ask pupils to present their ideas and conclusions to the class. I would hope that every pupil would engage and find this activity interesting.
Module 1 has been very enjoyable and I’ve found it to be a great introduction. The resources supplied were fantastic and I will really enjoy using these with my class last year. They were clearly laid out and easy to follow.
Activity 1: Is it weather or climate? I thought this activity was very well presented. I think that many, even adults, still can be confused by this question. It was explained very clearly and simply in this lesson. The pupils’ activity sheet is great and easy for kids to complete. I liked the idea of remembering weather on their last birthday as it can be difficult to recall but children usually remember how they spent their birthdays. Dividing the sentences at the end was a good way to check understanding and to discuss together.
Activity 2: Weather Detectives. I liked this activity as pupils get to use the thermometer, it is hands on and active and I think children will really enjoy it. It will provide for good discussion and every pupil will get the opportunity to use the thermometer. It is integrated well with maths when they create the graph. Overall, I really liked the simplicity of these two lessons. There are many ways they could be extended. They could share their findings with other classes or link up with more junior classes and show them how the thermometer works.