Lesson summary
In this lesson, students will view a clip from the documentary 2040 and examine data related to CO2 in the atmosphere. They will participate in a whole class graphing activity to explore how CO2 levels have changed over time. Students will then calculate percentages from ‘parts per million’.
Finally, students will reflect on the implications of rising CO2 in the atmosphere and be introduced to the concept of carbon ‘drawdown’, which can be extended in 2040 – Reducing Our Carbon Footprint – Years 5 & 6.
Learning intentions:
Students will...
- understand that carbon dioxide is a gas that naturally exists, although in very small proportions, as a component of Earth’s atmosphere
- learn how atmospheric gases (such as CO2) are measured in ‘parts per million’ and also how to convert parts per million into a percentage measurement
- learn how to construct and interpret a time series graph and use appropriate vocabulary to explain the changes in a given quantity or phenomena over time
Success criteria:
Students can...
- identify several key gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and describe the way they are measured in ‘parts per million’
- convert parts per million into a percentage measurement
- construct a time series graph from a simple data set
Lesson guides and printables
Lesson details
Curriculum mapping
- Unit of work: 2040 – Mathematics – Years 5 & 6
- Time required: 65 mins
- Level of teacher scaffolding: High – direct instruction, scaffolding, and guiding activities
To view our Australian Curriculum alignment, click here.
To view our NZ Curriculum alignment, click here.
Resources required
- Student Worksheets – one copy per student
- A device capable of presenting a video to the class
- Tall glass with 10 increments on it, marked as a scale from 0 to 100 (i.e., going up by 10s)
- Jug of water
- Coloured liquid or coloured rice
- Whiteboard and markers
- Sticky notes – 1 pad
- Large, blank wall space OR whiteboard OR window (with room for students to move around in front)
- Chalk or non-permanent marker (to write on wall/board/window)
- Global Temperature Record Factsheet.
- CO2 Data Table (this can be either projected, printed and given to students or recreated on a whiteboard)
Additional info
2040 is an innovative feature documentary that looks to the future, but is vitally important NOW! Director Damon Gameau embarks on a journey to explore what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream.
In Australia: Order the Schools Version of the 2040 DVD. The Schools Version includes an educational license and is for Australian primary and secondary schools that wish to utilise the film as a learning tool or host free on-site screenings for the school community.
In New Zealand: Order the Schools Version of the 2040 DVD. The Schools Version includes an educational license and is for New Zealand primary and secondary schools that wish to utilise the film as a learning tool or host free on-site screenings for the school community.
If you are teaching in either New Zealand or Australia, you can now organise a virtual screening of the film for your class. To enquire about this option, simply email schools@whatsyour2040.com and the 2040 team will help you set this up! If you have already bought a DVD of the film and you have a ClickView account, you can email the team for permission to upload the film to your account to make it more easily accessible for your teachers and students.
Cool.org, GoodThing Productions and Regen Pictures would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of Good Pitch Australia, Shark Island Institute, Documentary Australia Foundation, The Caledonia Foundation and our philanthropic partners in the development of these teaching resources.
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