IMPLEMENTING THE UNIT AND ACTIVITIES IN THE CLASSROOM
Using the unit
The unit can be used in a number of ways. It will be of most benefit to teachers who wish to implement a sustained sequence of activities following the inquiry stages.
Selecting activities
At each stage several activities are suggested from which you are encouraged to select the most appropriate for your purposes. Not all activities in each stage of the unit need to be used. Alternatively, you may add to or complement the suggested activities with ideas of your own.
The unit identifies a broad age group for which the activities have been written. Again, teachers will be in the best position to determine the appropriateness of content for the students in their class.
Each activity includes all or some of the following headings:
• Suggested Subject Area: What subject areas the activity relates to
• Purpose: What the activities set out to achieve
• Preparation: What the teacher needs to do before hand
• Procedure: How the activity proceeds
• Discussion: Some of the main points that should be raised and discussed by the class
• Follow-up: Suggestions for ways the activity might lead to other investigations and further learning
• Variations: Simpler or more complex versions of the activity.
The unit identifies a broad age group for which the activities have been written. Again, teachers will be in the best position to determine the appropriateness of content for the students in their class.
Each activity includes all or some of the following headings:
• Suggested Subject Area: What subject areas the activity relates to
• Purpose: What the activities set out to achieve
• Preparation: What the teacher needs to do before hand
• Procedure: How the activity proceeds
• Discussion: Some of the main points that should be raised and discussed by the class
• Follow-up: Suggestions for ways the activity might lead to other investigations and further learning
• Variations: Simpler or more complex versions of the activity.
Resourcing the unit
The resources suggested are on the whole, general rather than specific. Schools and the contexts in which they exist vary widely as does the availability of some resources – particularly in remote areas. There is a strong emphasis in the unit on gathering raw data: interviews, surveys and observations feature strongly as these methods develop important skills, and ensure that the explorations of the topics are grounded in a relevant context. The students and your school are important resources in the unit.
Some You Tube and online videos in addition to Internet based resources are suggested in the unit. You will need to investigate what is available in your school.
Some You Tube and online videos in addition to Internet based resources are suggested in the unit. You will need to investigate what is available in your school.
Adapting the unit
The unit is targeted at middle to junior secondary aged students. This is a suggested age range only and teachers are encouraged to modify activities to suit the needs of their students with whom they are working.
The unit’s topics are based on the needs of teachers involved with The Climate Reality Project on the key perspective of education for sustainability, and embrace content that we believe is of relevance and significance to all students, i.e. becoming more sustainable at school and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to tackle a changing climate. We encourage you to explore ways in which the content can be adjusted to the context in which you are working.
The unit’s topics are based on the needs of teachers involved with The Climate Reality Project on the key perspective of education for sustainability, and embrace content that we believe is of relevance and significance to all students, i.e. becoming more sustainable at school and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to tackle a changing climate. We encourage you to explore ways in which the content can be adjusted to the context in which you are working.
What about assessment?
Rather than being a task carried out at the end of the unit, assessment is viewed as integral to the entire unit sequence. Each activity should be regarded as a context for assessment of student learning.
When planning and implementing the unit of work make clear decisions on what you will focus on in assessing learning. The unit provides an opportunity for a range of skills and understandings to be observed. We encourage you to devise a simple assessment plan that features areas to be assessed over subsequent lessons.
In planning for assessment, student learning in the following areas can be considered:
For this unit, the following understandings are provided to assist teachers in planning for assessment.
By the end of this unit, students should understand:
When planning and implementing the unit of work make clear decisions on what you will focus on in assessing learning. The unit provides an opportunity for a range of skills and understandings to be observed. We encourage you to devise a simple assessment plan that features areas to be assessed over subsequent lessons.
In planning for assessment, student learning in the following areas can be considered:
- Understandings about the topic
- Development of skills
- Exploration and clarification of values
- Use of language in relation to content
- Ability to use and critically analyse a range of texts
- Ability to work cooperatively with others
- Approach to learning (independence, confidence, participation and enthusiasm)
For this unit, the following understandings are provided to assist teachers in planning for assessment.
By the end of this unit, students should understand:
- Climate change is a local, national and global issue that has an impact on the survival and wellbeing of a range of cultures as well as many species
- Many activities undertaken by people in their daily lives are sources of GHG emissions, which includes carbon dioxide emissions (CO2 )
- The reason that climate change is such an issue now is that human actions have been contributing extra greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, potentially changing a number of climates across the world
- Burning fossil fuels for energy can release greenhouse gases and other compounds that create global changes that lead to climate change
- The removal of forests creates global changes that lead to climate change
- Our choice of transport and consumption of resources can increase the production of greenhouse gases
- Greenhouse gas emissions can be cut through increased energy efficiencies, changes in demand and through the adoption of cleaner technologies
- Action is already being taken on local, national and international levels
- Working towards a sustainable future requires planning to meet human needs, together with the responsible use and disposal of resources
- The whole school community can become involved in understanding the potential impacts changes to their climate will have on their way of life
- We can calculate and evaluate the impact we and our school community have on our environment
- We can implement action plans with the support of other members of the school community, local councils and other partners to live more sustainably, adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Individuals, communities and local governments have a responsibility in making informed choices to find a balance to live both comfortably and sustainably and to address the issue of climate change and take positive action.
Assessment strategies
Each stage in the inquiry sequence provides information about student learning. There are, however, two stages in the unit that are central to assessment: the engage stage and the evaluate stage. Work that is undertaken in these stages can assist teachers to monitor growth and see concrete examples of the way student ideas have been refined or changed through the unit sequence. Work samples should be retained for this purpose.
Some questions and possible answers
Should I do all the activities?
At each stage of a unit, a number of activities are listed. You would not be expected to do them all. Instead, the unit is designed so that a selection of activities can be made at each stage. You should select the activities according to the needs and interests of your students and the time, relevance to the existing school curriculum and resources available to you.
While you are encouraged to follow the suggested inquiry sequence for each unit, it is quite possible to pick and choose from the range of activity ideas throughout the unit. It may also be used in conjunction with other programs you use.
How do these units fit into my weekly program?
Although the unit integrates a range of key subject areas, it is not designed to be a total program. It is assumed that regular routines that operate in your classroom will continue to run alongside your unit of work. For example, you may have regular times for use of the library, for maths, physical education etc. These things don’t change – although student’s writing topics or choice of topics to research in the library or in ICT classes may be influenced by this unit.
How long should the unit run?
This will of course depend on your particular circumstances but generally, a few weeks to a term is suggested.
I don’t know much about climate change myself – will I be able to teach it effectively?
Yes! The unit is designed in such a way that you, as the teacher are a co-learner and you are provided with teacher notes, plus the resources are mainly web-based and are readily available. Most importantly, you will find that you learn with the students and make discoveries with them.
At each stage of a unit, a number of activities are listed. You would not be expected to do them all. Instead, the unit is designed so that a selection of activities can be made at each stage. You should select the activities according to the needs and interests of your students and the time, relevance to the existing school curriculum and resources available to you.
While you are encouraged to follow the suggested inquiry sequence for each unit, it is quite possible to pick and choose from the range of activity ideas throughout the unit. It may also be used in conjunction with other programs you use.
How do these units fit into my weekly program?
Although the unit integrates a range of key subject areas, it is not designed to be a total program. It is assumed that regular routines that operate in your classroom will continue to run alongside your unit of work. For example, you may have regular times for use of the library, for maths, physical education etc. These things don’t change – although student’s writing topics or choice of topics to research in the library or in ICT classes may be influenced by this unit.
How long should the unit run?
This will of course depend on your particular circumstances but generally, a few weeks to a term is suggested.
I don’t know much about climate change myself – will I be able to teach it effectively?
Yes! The unit is designed in such a way that you, as the teacher are a co-learner and you are provided with teacher notes, plus the resources are mainly web-based and are readily available. Most importantly, you will find that you learn with the students and make discoveries with them.
