What lesson plans can be used to explain climate change to children?

Question

It will be useful to have a collection of climate change lesson plans that teachers or parents can use to help children understand the subject. These could be descriptive guides on what needs to be done in the lesson, contain tools & resources on the subject, indication on the time frame of the lesson, etc.

Answer 1

Resources below are free to access & download. These can be used for classroom teaching as well as at home by parents.

Please suggest any edits using the feedback link or by registering which will allow you to give comments & answers.

See the complete list of resources at “What Resources Can Be Used to Explain Climate Change to Children?” (OneSharedEarth, 2019).

Topic	Age	Curriculum Links	Resources	Info	Reference
Shaping our Future: The Climate Challenge	7-14	UK	3 lessons, teacher guides, presentation slides, worksheet activities, debate cards, image bank, experiments	Covers climate, weather, water cycle, pressure, temperature, problems, goals	“Shaping Our Future | Green Ambassadors” (WWF, 2016)
Climate change	7-11	Strand	10 lessons, activities, worksheets, photographs, web links	Covers climate, weather, carbon, fossil fuels, greenhouse effect, biodiversity, transport, causes, evidence, solutions, community, leadership	“Creating Futures - Climate Change Education for Senior Primary | Dublin City University” (www.dcu.ie, 2013)
Climate Change: Connections and Solutions	11-14	Canada	9 lessons, background info, activities, discussion ideas, videos, websites, assignments, approximate timings	Covers carbon cycle, historic atmospheric CO2 trends, effects, carbon footprint, energy sources, resource distribution	“Climate Change: Connections and Solutions- Gr. 6-8” (Resources4rethinking.ca, 2011)
Polar Bears & the Arctic	8-11	US	5 activities, background info, worksheets	Introduction to climate change using the topic of polar bears in the Arctic	“Polar Bears & the Arctic” (Climate Classroom Kids, 2015)
Healthy food for a healthy planet	7-11	UK	5 activities, background info, approximate timings	Introduces the issue of climate change using food. Covers food production, impact of food choices, food labels, impact of climate change on growing food.	“HEALTHY FOOD FOR A HEALTHY PLANET” (WWF)
Food Poster Presentation Activity	11+	Global	Suggested activities, background info, approximate timings	About how food choices affect climate change. Covers transport, packaging, seasonal produce, food miles.	“Food” (Carbon Partners)
Climate Change Summit Activity	11+	Global	Suggested activities, background info, approximate timings	Activity to simulate a climate change summit. Covers carbon footprint, greenhouse gases, impacts, challenges, solutions.	“Climate Change Summit Day” (Carbon Partners)
Climate Challenge	7-14	UK	6 sessions, 2 slide shows, activity sheets, approximate timings	Covers causes, human impact of climate change, action to be taken, greenhouse effect, analysis of carbon footprint data	“Climate Challenge for 7-11 Years | Oxfam Education” (Oxfam GB, 2019)
A Guatemala case study		US	5 activities, background info, approximate timings	Uses the rainforests of Guatemala as an example. Covers carbon cycle, greenhouse effect, role of trees & forests.	“Climate Educator Guide: A Guatemala Case Study” (Rainforest Alliance, August 27, 2014)