Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Students understand that the Earth's climate has always been changing and that changes in climate affect different parts of the world in different ways, and can have a big impact on the life that exists there. Students recognise that changes in the Earth's climate have been dramatic since the Industrial Revolution and that science can be used to tell us about our past and to make predictions about our future.

Teacher content information:

Cool Australia Presents Climate Change from Cool Australia on Vimeo.

The IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was created to:

provide policymakers (governments) with regular scientific updates about climate change;
highlight the impact climate change will have on the planet in the future; and,
offer some ideas about how to tackle the challenges of climate change's potential effects on the planet.

In 2021-22, the IPCC released their sixth assessment report. This is the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change.

The report makes a number of important points:

It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.
Global surface temperature will continue to increase until at least mid-century under all emissions scenarios considered. Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades (B1). The report describes five possible climate futures, where #1 is not great and #5 is extremely bad. If we want to keep global warming at less than two degrees, which the IPCC says is the best-case scenario, we need to reduce our CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions significantly and start right away.

'Net zero' or 'carbon neutral' are terms that refer to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Getting to net zero means we can still produce some emissions, so long as we're doing something else to reduce the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere at the same time, kind of like balancing a set of scales (more info).

Psychological safety. The IPCC Report sets a hard challenge. While this real-world issue is essential for students to understand, there is no doubt it can make them feel sad or anxious about the future is becoming darker and scarier by the day. So, reassure students that we can have a hopeful and optimistic outlook on this report, rather than one of doom and gloom. Explain that optimism involves looking objectively at a situation and making a conscious decision to focus on the good (more info), and that hope is the belief that you can make an impact (more info). Explain to students that you are going to look ahead, identify what needs to be improved, and then work on the skills and confidence so that they can go out and do it. If you're interested in learning more about how to approach challenging topics around climate change and sustainability in your classroom through a Hope and Optimism lens, consider our PD course.

Student and classroom organisation:

Step 1.

Hold an introductory discussion/review with students around the following:

What is the difference between climate and weather? (Definition from NASA: The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.)
Give an example of weather. (Suggested answers: Weather includes sunshine, rain, cloud cover, winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, ice storms, thunderstorms, heat waves and more.)
Give an example of climate change. (Example: After looking at summer rainfall through rain gauge data, reservoir levels, and satellite data, scientists can tell if that summer was drier than average. If the drier than normal conditions continue over the course of many summers, than it would likely indicate a change in the climate.)

Explain to students that our climate has been changing almost continuously since the Earth was formed. Natural events like volcanic eruptions, changes in solar energy, and natural changes in greenhouse gas concentrations are thought to have been the causes of climate change prior to the Industrial Revolution. However, recent climate changes cannot be explained by natural causes alone and it is widely believed that human activity is contributing to changes in our climate.

In this activity students will investigate these historical climate changes and predicted future changes by creating a timeline of climate change.

Step 2.

Begin by asking students to watch the short clip on the history of climate change (in french with subtitles). What do they think about the idea of us heading for another ice age? Is it really time to start knitting?

A Brief History of Climate Changes (https://vimeo.com/39772292)

Step 3.

Break the class into three groups. Group 1 will be investigating historical changes, Group 2 will be investigating predicted future changes, and Group 3 will be constructing the timeline and creating a class wide glossary.

Ask groups to use the instructions on the student worksheet to guide their research and activities.

Step 4.

Once the timeline is created and all the significant climate related information is added to the timeline, ask students to discuss the timeline and explain their research. Also consider the following questions:

What aspects of the timeline are the most striking or significant?
What things about this timeline surprise you?
How has the climate in Australia changed over time? How will it continue to change?
How has the climate around the globe changed over time? How will it continue to change?
How can we be sure that this timeline is as accurate as possible? Where do we get our information on climate from?
What does the timeline tell us about human impacts on the Earth? Does it tell us anything?
How easy or hard was it to find information relating to the area you were researching? Why do you think it was easy or hard?

Assessment/Reflection

Ask students to complete the PMI learning tool (available on the student worksheet).

Extension/Homework

Ask students to compare predicted changes to climate in Australia with a country in the Pacific or in Asia. Look at potential impacts on two of the following:

Agriculture and food production
Biodiversity
Human health
Infrastructure

A timeline of climate change

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

Additional Info

In this lesson