Australian Education Resources

Think Climate Think Change

Lesson and Activity Ideas

Students to have assigned roles in the class to help combat climate change (e.g. student/s responsible for turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use, or student/s responsible for emptying the class recycling bin etc.).
Students to devise a recycling strategy for their school if there is not one already in place. Students to answer the question 'How does recycling help to combat climate change?'
As a homework task, students to keep a journal and record every evening for a week how they saved energy around their house. Discuss students' actions and speak about the importance of habits that help combat climate change at home.
Students to research some Australian animals affected by climate change. Students will choose five animals (including the Spot-tailed Quoll) and produce a PowerPoint presentation featuring information about them.
In addition to the Ten Tips to Combat Climate Change, students to brainstorm a further list of six things in their lives (home, school, sport etc.) they can do to combat climate change. Students to complete the More Tips to Help Combat Climate Change student activity sheet.
Students to complete the Climate Change KWL Chart student activity sheet.
Students to test their climate change knowledge by completing the Think Climate Think Change True/false Quiz.

Students to investigate how trees help to reduce emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide, then draw and label a diagram of a tree to explain this process. Students to compile a class letter to the principal outlining the benefits of having more trees within the school grounds.
Students to draw and label a diagram that describes the greenhouse effect.
Students to design and create a diorama of an ecosystem. Half the diorama should show a healthy ecosystem, the other half should show an ecosystem adversely affected by climate change.
To help combat climate change, it is important to save water. Students to monitor water use at home and analyse which activities use the most water. Students to then use this information to decide how water can be better managed. There are many 'water-wise' activities already available on Australian websites to investigate as a class and gather ideas to promote 'water-wise' thinking.

Students to do a school grounds clean up, sort and classify any litter and graph the main types of litter found. They then report their results in a school newsletter.
Students to complete the Calculating Energy Around the Home student activity sheet. (Students will most likely require some guidance on how to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions. There are a number of carbon dioxide calculators provided by energy suppliers available on the internet.)

Students to create a poster or comic strip featuring 'Marty' that includes some key climate change messages and tips.
Students to create a collage of recyclable items using pictures cut from magazines.
Students to design a re-usable canvas bag with a message designed to encourage people to use it instead of a plastic bag.
Students to make their own recycled paper.
Students to create their own sculptures from recycled material.

Students to participate in a 'Walk or Ride to School Day.'
Students to establish a school vegetable patch. Why not organise a 'healthy food' day. Invite parents and carers to taste some school-grown vegetables.