Resources: A 2L plastic bottle, a permanent marker, sticky tape, skewers/plastic straws, rulers, scissors, a thermometer, coloured paper and colouring pens/pencils.
Core Handout (2): Results table for the children to record the daily temperature and the weekly rainfall.
Enquiry Approach - Observation over time
Observing changes that occur over a long or short period of time.
Enquiry Skill - Observing and measuring
Using the senses and taking measurements, using a range of equipment, to make observations about a scientific enquiry.
Before starting this unit, locate a piece of land in the school grounds that can become the climate change action station. This space will be used to plant trees and to monitor the ‘mini climate experiment’. Many organisations offer free trees for schools. They will need to be ordered in advance but there are many to choose from, including:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities/
https://treecouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/schools-and-education/orchards-for-schools/
With the children, explore the school grounds to look at the amazing things our world provides for us. The children could identify plants, insects and natural beauty.
Using the presentation slides, introduce the children to the difference between weather and climate. Then, discuss what climate change is and some of the effects of prolonged climate change. Explore greenhouse gases and how they trap the sun’s heat and warm up the planet.
Rocket Thinking - Teacher Notes: A key question is an open-ended prompt that can facilitate discussion, address misconceptions or give children the opportunity to probe more deeply into a topic. The children will likely know that the rising temperatures of the Earth - caused by the greenhouse gases emitted through burning fossil fuels - is responsible for melting glaciers and ice caps. Explore the impact this has. For example:
Career Film: This is Luigi Capponi. Luigi works as a Nuclear Physicist for National Nuclear Laboratory.
Expert Film: This is Luigi Capponi. Luigi works for National Nuclear Laboratory as a Nuclear Physicist. Luigi talks about the Impact of Global Warming.
Ask the children to make a water gauge. Cut a large plastic bottle in half and discard the lid. Pour in 100ml of water and use a permanent marker to mark it all the way round to create a flat starting point for measurement. Turn the top part of the bottle upside down and place it inside the bottom part. Make a scale to measure the rainfall by using a wooden skewer or a plastic straw marked in 1cm increments and fix it to the side of the bottle. Locate it in a place that will collect rain and will also be undisturbed by wildlife.
Each day, measure the temperature; every week, measure the rainfall throughout the unit. Once all the measurements have been collected, take averages and compare them to national statistics to see the changes from the years. Record these on the handout. The children can select 'Year ordered statistics' and a region and can then choose rainfall as the parameter. This site provides excellent source data: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-and-regional-series
Challenge Task: Ask the children to create a climate change poster to raise awareness of climate change to display around the school. Encourage them to research climate change activists. What are they doing to raise awareness of climate change?
Set up a rain gauge in various locations around the school and remember to record the temperature every day and the rainfall once a week. If possible, plant the trees in the chosen location.
Climate change refers to the long-term changes in global or regional climate patterns, including changes in temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events, that have been observed in recent decades and are largely attributed to human activities. The primary cause of climate change is the increased concentration of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, in the Earth's atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun in the Earth's atmosphere, which results in a warming of the planet's surface and oceans.
The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, for energy and transportation is the primary source of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Other human activities, such as deforestation and agricultural practices, also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has caused a rise in global temperatures, which has had significant impacts on the environment, ecosystems, and human societies.
The impacts of climate change include rising sea levels, more frequent and severe heat waves, droughts, and extreme weather events such as hurricanes and floods. These events can lead to increased damage to infrastructure, property, and human health. Climate change also affects ecosystems, as it alters natural habitats and causes species to migrate or become endangered. The impacts of climate change are often felt most acutely by vulnerable populations, such as low-income communities, people in developing countries, and indigenous peoples.
To mitigate the impacts of climate change, there are several strategies that can be implemented at the individual, community, and governmental levels. These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions through conservation and renewable energy sources, promoting energy efficiency and transportation alternatives, implementing policies to protect natural resources and wildlife habitats, and adapting to changes in weather patterns and sea levels through infrastructure improvements and community planning. It is critical that people understand the causes and impacts of climate change and work to reduce their carbon footprint in order to reduce the severity of the changes that are already occurring and to prevent more significant changes from happening in the future.