This activity is designed to raise student awareness and discussion about the complexities of climate change – exploring issues, solutions, people and places. It also highlights the diversity of careers involved in tackling these socioecological challenges.
The activity uses cards organised into four categories of:
- issues
- solutions
- places/habitats
- professions.
Students select cards from each category to make sets – matching an issue with a place along with a solution and the people who provide information and help to create change. There are no right or wrong answers – reflecting the complexities and challenges presented by climate change. This shows there is often more than one solution to an issue or more than one profession that is needed to work on a solution.
It also includes blank cards. These are intended for use as open/safe spaces for ākonga to propose their own ideas – fostering their relationship with places/habitats, issues and solutions as well as exposing them to possible careers in this field.
In this activity, students use cards to explore the complexity of climate change issues, some solutions and the connections with our places and professions.
By the end of the activity, students should be able to:
- use the discussion cards to match an issue to a corresponding place along with a solution and the professionals who work towards this solution
- use literacy skills to find additional information about issues and solutions
- discuss why they’ve chosen these cards to make a set
- begin to understand that climate change issues are not linear – they impact multiple places and habitats
- begin to understand that climate change issues often require/involve several solutions
- consider a range of careers.
Download the Word file (see link below).
Download the Drive it Down – climate change discussion cards – PDF (see link below)
This activity was inspired by Layers of Climate Change from science news magazine Eos, published by AGU.
Nature of science
Socio-ecological issues like climate change require multidisciplinary solutions. This activity highlights multiple professions that can help provide solutions. Although each profession has its own areas of expertise, all require a baseline of scientific literacy.
Basic scientific literacy is also key for all students (citizens), enabling them to identify and critically examine issues, solutions and actions.
Related content and activity ideas
Drive it Down! – a context for learning provides pedagogical suggestions and links to the New Zealand Curriculum. It includes Drive it Down! – the carbon cycle and climate change, which curates resources covering climate change, greenhouse gases, the carbon cycle and climate action.
There is a lot of specialist vocabulary associated with climate literacy. The following resources can be useful for learning about these key terms and key concepts that they underpin:
- The carbon cycle and climate change – key terms
- Climate change – key terms
- Climate change and the carbon cycle – kuputaka
The following resources offer pedagogical assistance when teaching about climate change. It is important that educators also have a baseline of scientific literacy as well as insights to enhance solutions-oriented approaches.
- Climate change – classroom competencies
- Climate change resources – planning pathways
- Climate change – a wicked problem for classroom inquiry
- Dairy farming and climate change – a context for learning
- Understanding the basics of climate change
- Agency in the Anthropocene
- Exploring climate change education in primary schools
The activity Climate change – challenging conversations uses concept cartoons to support student discussions with whānau and others.
Useful link
The Carbon Cycle and Climate Change interactive platform presents the Carbon cycle and climate change booklet in an interactive format – along with quizzes, games and media.
Acknowledgement
This resource has been adapted from resources created for the Drive it Down! Measuring and mitigating school-gate emissions project. Scientists from GNS Science alongside educators developed the project and resources with funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment through the Unlocking Curious Minds fund and Te Herenga Waka University of Wellington Doctoral Scholarship. Further funding was provided by the Royal Society Te Apārangi Catalyst Fund (2020).
Contributors to Drive it Down!
Scientists from GNS Science developed the Drive it Down! project and resources. Funding was through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Unlocking Curious Minds fund, Te Herenga Waka University of Wellington Doctoral Scholarship and the Royal Society Te Apārangi Catalyst Fund (2020).
