This resource is aimed at elementary students and provides an entry point to climate change education through the language arts. It was created with the idea that teaching about climate change at the elementary level is possible if the curriculum provides students with real, authentic solutions they can be a part of and offers them with the tools to enact these solutions.
This resource consists of five lesson plans:
This resource teaches the students the skills of persuasive writing for an audience.
This resource is an excellent entry point for climate change education through Language Arts for the upper elementary classroom. It could be used to introduce the topic at the beginning of the year and then measure the success of the climate change messages in the school via student survey, etc.
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
---|---|---|
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Very Good | In Lesson one of this resource the students are able to evaluate and compare their knowledge and opinions of climate change to others by completing a pre-test and seeing the answers of a larger population from a Gallup poll. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
| ||
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Very Good | |
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
| ||
Respects Complexity | Very Good | |
Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
Acting on Learning | Good | The students create a persuasive message to be shared with their school and community regarding the importance of climate change action. |
Acting on Learning: Learning moves from understanding issues to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community, or for the planet
| ||
Values Education | Very Good | By identifying personal strategies for climate change action the students are able to identify and express what they think is important. |
Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
Empathy & Respect for Humans | Poor/Not considered | This is not the focus of this resource. |
Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.). | ||
Personal Affinity with Earth | Good | |
Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
| ||
Locally-Focused Learning | Good | The strategies that the students choose for their persuasive messages are intended to incite change in the student's own environment. |
Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
| ||
Past, Present & Future | Very Good | The information and data shared gives the students a sense of the past and present situation with regards to climate change while encouraging the students to take action. The message received is that even a small action can have an impact. |
Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future. |
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
---|---|---|
Open-Ended Instruction | Good | As the majority of the lessons focus on developing knowledge for the students, the lessons are structured for the learning of concepts. However, students are allowed to develop their own thoughts and ideas with regards to climate change action. |
Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
Integrated Learning | Good | |
Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
| ||
Inquiry Learning | Satisfactory | |
Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
| ||
Differentiated Instruction | Good | This resource has a good variety of activities for all learners. It does not have suggestions for strategies for those learners who may have difficulties with the content or work. |
Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
| ||
Experiential Learning | Poor/Not considered | This is not a focus of this resource. |
Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
| ||
Cooperative Learning | Satisfactory | |
Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
| ||
Assessment & Evaluation | Satisfactory | There are no tools provided for the assessment of students. Rather suggestions are made in the Notes to Teacher section in two of the lesson plans. |
Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc. | ||
Peer Teaching | Satisfactory | |
Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
| ||
Case Studies | Poor/Not considered | This is not a focus of this resource. |
Case Studies: Relevant case studies are included. Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore concepts in an authentic context. | ||
Locus of Control | Very Good | Students choose the format of their final project, the intended audience and the message they wish to convey. |
Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue. |