Teaching Sequence

10 minutes	Part A: Lesson 1 Recap
40+ minutes	Part B: Looking forward
10-20 minutes	Reflection (may be completed as homework)

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Lesson 1 Recap

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by recapping what you discussed in the previous lesson with regard to climate change and Earth Hour (suggested answers included):

Who remembers what we discussed about climate change?
Who remembers some actions we could take to help fight climate change? (Reducing our energy use, considering our transport choices, reducing consumption, improving biodiversity, growing your own food or buying locally and seasonally)
Who remembers what Earth Hour is about? What action are people encouraged to do? (Earth Hour encourages people, businesses and communities to take action for climate change by switching off their lights for an hour, and then extending this awareness into further action for climate change)

Step 2.

Now invite students to share what they remember about creating headlines for stories (suggested answers included):

Why is a headline important? (It draws readers into the story)
What are the main features of a headline? (Attention-grabbing, tells a bit about the story but not too much, short)
How can you make a headline more interesting or attention-grabbing? (By using dramatic, emotive or informal language)

Part B: Looking forward

Step 1.

Remind students that in Lesson 1, they looked back at some stories that described actions that Australians have taken over the past 10 years for climate change. Explain to students that as well as looking back over the last 10 years in celebration of their 10th anniversary, Earth Hour is also looking forward 10 years. Specifically, they are inviting kids – especially those around the age of 10 – to imagine how they will be newsmakers 10 years in the future. In this lesson, students are asked to think about what actions they can do now that will positively affect climate change 10 years in the future and how this action and the subsequent changes would be reported in the news.

The task for students is to work as a class to:

Imagine an action that will help fight climate change that they could do now (this could be an individual or group action)
Imagine how this action will make a positive change 10 years in the future and what this change will look like
Create a news piece based around this future change. The news piece could be a news story or a TV news segment.

The news piece will need to be created and based around the work students did in the previous lesson, with all news pieces (including TV news segments) being accompanied with a heading.

Step 2.

Deciding on an idea - The first step in making your news piece is to develop an idea of what action for climate change you want to focus on and how this would work as a story 10 years in the future. The aim of this exercise is to imagine the world you would like to see, so encourage students to think big and to describe the change they would like to see, not the change that might be possible based on calculated predictions. You will have to invent some of the details of your story.

If you can dream it, you can do it.
Walt disney

First you will need to decide on an action your students could focus on and make the central part of your story. Think about the actions you thought up in Lesson 1, or use one of the ideas below:

Idea for action now	How this will help fight climate change	Example of how you turn this idea into a story about how this action might positively change the future
Plant a veggie garden	Saves the amount of food that needs to be transported and stored, both of which require lots of energy and cause lots of emissions. Planting a veggie garden will mean fewer CO₂ emissions released into the atmosphere.	By planting a veggie garden in Year 3 to supply the school with half of its vegetables for school lunches, students saved emissions equivalent to 300 cars over 10 years.
Switch off lights and appliances every night, on weekends and over the holidays	Saves CO₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere.	By starting a switch off program 10 years ago, students cut their school's emissions in half.
Introduce plastic waste free lunches	Making plastic requires energy which releases CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere. Using less plastic means fewer emissions are released into the atmosphere.	10 years of plastic free lunches at Little Lake School has meant that students saved a classroom full of plastic from being used (and wasted).
Plant trees and improve biodiversity	Trees absorb CO₂. The more trees there are the less CO₂ there is in the atmosphere.	By planting a line of trees around the school boundary 10 years ago, and by caring for and adding more plants, students have helped create cleaner air for their school and their community.
Paper free classroom	Recycling paper requires fewer trees to be chopped down. Trees absorb CO₂. The more trees there are the less CO₂ there is in the atmosphere.	For the past 10 years students at Big Mountain School have had paper free classrooms, meaning they have saved an area of rainforest the size of 37 football fields from being turned into paper.

Once complete, invite students to vote on the idea they are most interested in or most inspired by.

Step 3.

Now that you have decided on a story, it’s time to decide what presentation format this story is best suited to. Is it best suited to a written format, such as a newspaper article with images to complement the story? Or will a TV news style segment tell the story better? How much time do you have to complete your news piece (a TV news segment will probably take longer than writing a news article)? Do you have the resources you need to create the news piece of your choice (e.g. camera/tablet for recording TV news segment)?

Step 4.

You will now need to think about how to develop your idea into a story, based on the format - a news article or a TV news segment - you have chosen.

A useful way of developing your story further is by considering the 5 W's:

You could work with students to develop several story ideas and test these against the 5 W's to see which makes a good story.

If you’ve decided to write a newspaper article it’s time to start the first draft. Consider the following points when creating your article:

What important information do you need to include?
How will you engage and inspire your readers?
What language will you use?
Tips for writing a news article

If you’re creating a TV news segment it’s time to write the script. Consider the following:

How will you engage and inspire your audience?
What language will you use?
What information will you present visually and what information will you present verbally?
Tips for creating a news report

Ensure you have parental permission for students appearing in films or photographs.

Step 5.

What resources and assets do you need? If students are writing a newspaper article, they will need to think about the following:

Do you need photos or pictures?
Where will you get these photos or pictures?
Can you take them yourself, or can students draw their own pictures? You could encourage each student to take their own photo or create their own drawing - these could then be displayed alongside the article you write. Remember that many photos on the Internet are subject to copyright – you will need to acknowledge the source of any images you find online.

If students are creating a TV news segment they will need to think about the following:

Where will you film your story? Can you use an app such as Green Screen?
What props or costumes will you need?
What will you use to film your news segment? A tablet or camera?

Tips for group work:

- move into your groups quickly
- stay in your groups
- speak quietly and take turns
- perform your role
- be respectful

Step 6.

Work together to complete your news piece, assigning students with various roles as necessary. Advise students of the time available to complete this task and give time reminders as you work through the project.

Step 7.

Work together to edit and check your work before sharing it with an audience.

Newspaper articles - students need to check:

Spelling and grammar
That images complement the story
That the reader understands the 5 W's of your story
That the headline is short, attention-grabbing, and uses engaging language

TV news segment - students need to:

Check that all spoken parts can be clearly heard (make sure music or background noise isn’t too loud)
Check that visual features complement the story
Check that the reader understands the 5 W's of your story
Create a headline that is short, attention-grabbing and uses engaging language

Step 8.

Consider sharing your news piece with other students at your school. Invite your audience/readers to provide feedback and incorporate this feedback into your news piece. Explain to students that as long as you ensure those giving feedback understand it needs to be kind, specific and helpful, then the feedback process can be an extremely valuable part of learning.

Encourage readers/audience members to use Peer Assessment Rubric to provide feedback.

Reflection

1. Invite students to work independently to complete the following reflection questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What I used to think about climate change.
What I think about climate change now.
Why is it important to think about how we can make the future a better place?
What will I do to help make the future a better place?

2. Invite students to visit the earth hour website to find out this years theme. Encourage students to grab a piece of paper and write the theme as a title, then challenge them to create a poster that illustrates how they could reduce the impact of climate change using this years theme.

Differentiated Learning

Extension

Break students into groups during the process of creating their news piece (newspaper article or TV news segment).

Take it further

Has your school been involved with Earth Hour before? Have you got a record of our involvement? Consider creating an exhibition/display to celebrate your involvement and to share how far your school has come!

Earth Hour - Switch Off to Join the Future (Part 2)

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