Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: In this activity students are introduced to the topic of weather. They identify a range of different weather types and recognise how the weather affects our environment.

Teacher content information: While climate change is a complex concept with science that is beyond the reach of most young children, students in years 1 and 2 can still engage with the topic by exploring the topic of weather and its impact on plants, animals and humans.

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.

Begin this activity by asking students watch this short video on weather:

Cummulus & Nimbus https://vimeo.com/38514156.

Ask students to report back on all the different types of weather they saw in the clip. Which ones were missing? Write student responses on the board or ask students to record these in the student worksheets.

Step 2.

Break the class into groups and using the Cool Australia Toolbox, ask students to find pictures of weather or pictures that remind them of weather. In particular, students should be looking for pictures that show the weather having an affect on the environment – this might be a positive affect such as sunshine helping the grass to grow, or a negative affect such as trees being blown down, or it might just show a cold or hot climate such as Antarctica or a desert. Alternatively, students might want to include pictures of animals experiencing different types of weather.

Ask students to download these pictures and squeeze as many as possible onto an A4 document in Word, then print the pictures out and then cut them out. Groups should then make a poster or collage about the different types of weather.

Students should also include a small caption for each picture explaining why this picture was chosen and how it relates to the weather.

Step 3.

Ask each group to present their posters to the class, describing their pictures and why they were chosen.

Assessment/Reflection

Using the student worksheet ask students to write a short story (one or two sentences) describing the strangest weather they have ever experienced.

Extension

Ask students to elaborate upon how the plants and animals in their photos are affected by the weather OR how the types of weather in their photos affect plants and animals.

A picture of weather

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