Teacher instructions

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune in: Activating prior knowledge about turtles

25 minutes

Find out: Explicit teaching about the effect of climate change on turtles

20 minutes

Take action: Create a news report to communicate scientific knowledge

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune in: Activating prior knowledge about turtles

Step 1.

Discuss:

What changes to our environment are we seeing due to climate change?
What animals have been affected by changes to their environments due to climate change? Likely answers may include polar bears, koalas, whales.

Step 2.

Discuss:

Share a fond memory you have of a turtle. This could be at the zoo, in the backyard, on holiday, reading a book from the library.
Are there different species of turtle?

Find out: Explicit teaching about the effect of climate change on turtles

Step 1.

Watch:

Turtles and climate change: Why more females are being born in Florida | CBC Kids News (https://youtu.be/zi8-BuHZMgs)

Step 2.

Watch:

How does weather affect sea turtle eggs? | Natural History Museum (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3oty3wzGqs)

Step 3.

Discuss:

What impact has climate change had on the Green Sea Turtle’s environment?
What consequence does this have on the hatchlings?

Step 4.

Read the facts about Green Sea Turtles available on the Student Worksheet.

Step 5.

In the first video, the rescue centre in Florida showed that they are taking special care of males to ensure males survive into adulthood. Invite students to consider what they think we can do as individuals.

Turtle centres can ensure that hatchlings are taken care of to ensure that they reach adulthood but what can you do on a personal level to help reduce sand temperature levels?

The following video explains how researchers are using irrigation to cool the sand temperature. Remind students to reflect on what they can do on an individual level whilst watching the next video.

Turtle Cooling Project 🐢 | WWF Australia (https://youtu.be/XL6ArVAIOco)

Take action: Create a news report to communicate scientific knowledge

Step 1.

Discuss:

How is a news report different from other fiction writing styles?

Step 2.

In small groups, students write and film a news report about the affects of climate change on green sea turtles.

Consider the following:

Who features in your news report?
Who will play which part?
What will you say?
What is your climate change message?

Reflection

Invite some students to share their news reports with the class.

Writing About Climate Change - Plays About Green Sea Turtles

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Summary

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