Want to teach climate change?

Enter the Schools for Change Challenge 2010!

Welcome to Climate Change North. Young northerners will witness rapid changes to climate during their lifetimes. That makes climate change an important topic that you can teach right across the curriculum. You can start in science, move on to writing letters, paint posters and do greenhouse gas (GHG) calculations for math.

This site allows you to pick and choose the background information, lesson plans and resources you need to make the topic of northern climate change come alive for your students.

A Website for Northerners

Climate Change North has been developed specifically for the north with:

• materials developed with Aboriginal content and advice
• lesson plans developed by northern teachers and educators
• lessons clearly linked to learning outcomes in Yukon, Northwest Territories
  and Nunavut
• backgrounders filled with northern examples and images
• user-friendly format for computer beginners

What Can You Find on This Site?

Backgrounders: These are written at two levels, intermediate and secondary, and are available in English and French. Using engaging language and interesting northern examples, they contain the background information that students – and teachers – need to understand climate change.

Lesson Plans: Check out our “made in the north” lesson plans. Groups of northern teachers decided on the most relevant lesson topics and put together a user-friendly lesson-plan format. Then grassroots, classroom-tested lesson plans were submitted by teachers from Yukon, NWT and Nunavut, and by environmental educators across the north. Use the Cross-Reference Lesson Chart to help you choose the lessons that will work best for your subject and grade level. Lessons are clearly linked to learning outcomes for Yukon, NWT and Nunavut.

Curriculum Links: Separate charts for Yukon, NWT and Nunavut list the learning outcomes that relate to climate change for each grade and all subjects.

Resources: An annotated list of websites, videos and print materials directs you to ideas and information for teaching and student research.

Student Exchange: Once northern students have completed a lesson plan, the exchange allows them to post their work where others can see it. This offers students a voice, provides motivation, and helps them to see that their concerns are shared across the north. Best of all, it’s so simple that anyone can use it!

Glossary: Key climate change vocabulary is defined.