Throughout the month of April 2016, Third and Fourth Classes studied Trócaire’s Education Resource Pack on Climate Change / Climate Justice for Primary Schools.
The well-structured lessons addressed the aims of the 6th green Flag on Global Citizenship: Litter and Waste. The pupils enjoyed examining the important issue of Climate Change through active engagement
James, Joshua, Óran, Dáire and Séamus
Prior to commencing the project, we were delighted to welcome Séamus Collins, a Cork native, who has spent almost twenty years working for Trócaire. He is an uncle-in-law to Joshua (4th) and Matthew Curley (6th). His first-hand knowledge of working with communities in Eastern Africa really appealed to his young audience. Their rapt attention and questions afterwards were indicative of their knowledge and interest in ecology.
The activities undertaken by the pupils were as follows:
The activities undertaken by the pupils were as follows:
- Exploring the environment and distinguishing
between natural and man-made materials
2) Discovering where our clothes come from and discussing our dependence on the weather for our clothes, food and shelter
3) What is Climate Change? KWL Chart and animated Video
4.) Web quest to research and understand related
Terminology such as the Carbon Cycle, Fossil Fuels,
Industrialisation, Carbon Emissions, Greenhouse Effect
5) Ranking Climate Change causes in order of severity
after democratic discussion and persuasive arguments
6) Impacts of Climate Change around the World.
Group work on Photo pack
7) Meeting Mahlet from Ethopia in a powerpoint presentation
Comparing similiarities and differences between our world
and ours
8) Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes using role cards and
Statements
9) Climate Change Mitigation Actions
Pyramid and Graph to highlight results
10) Completing Problem and Solution Trees
11) Design Posters to encourage the reduction of CO2 emissions
12) School displays to:
- Inform school community about Climate Change and
- Encourage actions to bring about Climate Justice
This Trócaire Project gave pupils a great insight into how our wastefulness (Litter & Waste) can impact so adversely upon the poorest communities on the planet (Global Citizenship). The over-consumption, greed and waste of the Western lifestyles are directly leading to:
- Climate Change: storms, floods, drought and rising sea levels
- Soil, air and water pollution causing disease and species extinction
- Loss of Biodiversity through the unnecessary destruction of forests, wetlands, bogs ….
In response the pupils were highly motivated to create posters urging people to reduce their carbon emissions and thereby protect natural environments locally and globally.