Earth Hour - Crafting for Climate Change

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• creative thinking
• critical thinking
• communication
• ethical understanding
• global citizenship
• problem solving

Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content description:

Year 5 and 6, Visual Arts

• use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to plan and create artworks that communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning (AC9AVA6C01).

Relevant parts of Year 5 and 6 achievement standards: Students select and use visual conventions, visual art processes and materials to create artworks that communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning.

NSW Syllabus outcomes:

• makes artworks for different audiences assembly materials in a variety of ways (VAS3.2).

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Literacy, Personal and Social Capability

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability 

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium - allow students to explore the topic independently by watching the video in the Student Worksheet. Extra support may be necessary for model creation.

UN SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

• Device capable of displaying audiovisual material
• Glue 
• Markers
• Paint
• Recycled cardboard boxes (various sizes)
• Recycled plastic bottles or similar 
• Sticky notes
• Student worksheet (one per student)
• Whiteboard

Earth Hour is a WWF-Australia initiative and the world’s largest community-driven climate change campaign. At the centre of Earth Hour is switching off lights to show a commitment to action. Thousands of educators use Earth Hour’s education program to enrich their curriculum and provide pathways for young people to create change in their world. For the most up-to-date Earth Hour dates, times, and events, check here.

How to Teach Sustainability With Hope

Quick Summary: This course will help you bring hope to challenging, upsetting or worrying topics around sustainability. 

Using The Cool.org Hope Framework In The Classroom - Primary

Quick Summary: This course will provide you with strategies and tactics for adopting a hopeful mindset when exposing students to upsetting issues when exploring real-world topics in the classroom.