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Climate Change – Boon or Bust
for Northern Waters? |
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In a Nutshell:
Students do research and engage in a role-play discussion on
the potential benefits and costs of climate change on northern
hydrological systems and related environmental and human factors. |
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Goal:
To learn about and evaluate the potential impacts of climate
change on northern hydrological systems. |
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Background Learning:
Teachers and students should be familiar with the basic science
and impacts of climate change as reviewed in:
During the lesson, students will be gathering information about
northern impacts of climate change from:
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Learning Outcomes:
Click on the icon for your territory to review the learning outcomes that are addressed by this lesson:
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Introduction to Lesson Plan:
In this lesson the students, working in small groups, will research
the background to climate change in the north with a particular
focus on lakes and rivers (limnology). They will use the information
they have learned to brief their “speaker” – the
person from their group who takes on an assigned role and participates
in a role-play discussion about the stance the community should
take towards climate change. |
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Activity:
- The subject of the greenhouse effect will likely be familiar
to most students but a discussion of the causes and mechanics
of how it generally takes place is the best way to start this
activity. You may want to brainstorm some of the basic key
words (greenhouse effect, global warming, fossil fuels).
 Brainstorm the hypothetical effects of warming on the northern
hydrological system. Be sure to include as many
aspects of this system as possible; for instance rivers
(earlier break-up may make caribou crossing difficult), lakes
(thinner
ice, earlier break-up), wetlands (some drying up, some
being formed), permafrost (melting), snow (deeper, crustier),
spring
run-off (earlier), etc. As the discussion proceeds, students
should record a list of these effects, and then spend a
couple of minutes identifying each effect as positive or negative.
(Note: This discussion is just a preliminary overview of
information that the students already know; they will get
more information during the course of this lesson.)- Introduce
the role-play scenario: An oil company wants to build a pipeline
very close to your community. Members
of the community have called a meeting to discuss the
question: When we know that the northern climate is changing
due
to climate change, should we be supporting oil development
(which
will bring in immediate jobs), or should we be switching
to alternative energies?
- Divide the class into groups,
each group taking one of the roles in Student
Handout #1: Role-play – Pipeline or Not? Give
each group an information package, including one copy of each
of Student
Handout #2: Climate Change & Limnology,
and Backgrounders 6–11. Ask the students to divide
up the reading material within their group, so that each student
reads a different piece of information. Ask them to use
a
highlighter or pencil to identify important points their
character should raise in the discussion.
- Assign roles
for the role-play (either by student group or by you). Give
each of the role-players an appropriate
item of clothing (e.g., hat, nametag, necktie, briefcase,
fishing rod, etc.) to identify the part they will play.
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 When the students have had long enough to prepare, hold the
discussion. You, as the teacher, should be the mayor
(unless you have an outstanding student who can take
this on). Encourage the students to really act their parts
and
stay in role the entire discussion – this will
make the activity much more fun. It will help students
remain
in role if you fully participate in your role.
- Students
not involved in the discussion should: a) be the
support team sending suggestions and notes to their speaker;
or b) take notes and write a short news report on
the
discussion.
(Note: designate students to do one or the other.)
- When the discussion has concluded, do a debrief with the
class:
- Which points of view came through most strongly?
- What
did they learn from this research and discussion (that
they had not known before) about the effects of climate
change on rivers and lakes?
- What are the problems
facing small communities that want to change?
- Do a secret ballot vote (on pieces of paper put
in a hat – no names associated with the
vote) on the following question: If this were
your community,
would you
vote for or against the pipeline? Count up
the results and read them out.
- For evaluation purposes
and a follow-up to the discussion/discussion,
ask students to write about the positive and negative
effects
of climate change on northern lakes and rivers
(and affected plants and animals).
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Handouts:
Click on the icon for the complete set of handouts that support
this lesson:
Student
Handout #1: Role-play – Pipeline
or Not?
Student Handout #2: Climate
Change & Limnology
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Student Web-Exchange:
Students could post their news reports of the debate, and/or
short write-ups on the positive and negative effects of climate
change on northern lakes and rivers. Click on the icon for information
on how to post material. |
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Evaluation:
Assess student participation in group research and role-playing,
on their news reports, and on their reports about the positive
and negative effects of climate change on northern lakes and
rivers (and affected plants and animals). |
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Enrichment Ideas:
English Language Arts:
The Unknown Future: Students could write science fiction short
stories about your community in the year 2095 in relation to
how the greenhouse effect has influenced local hydrological systems
(e.g. fisheries, stream flows, snow cover, etc).
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About the Author:
Jamie Bastedo’s work is all about taking science to the
streets. Whether playing zany environmental songs around a campfire,
hosting lively nature shows on CBC radio, performing as an arctic
explorer, leading eco-tours, portraying a backwoods nature nut
on video, or writing fiction or non-fiction works, Jamie spreads
a catching enthusiasm for the land. Well established as a popular
science writer, he has written five books on northern nature,
the latest being Falling for Snow – A Naturalist’s
Journey into the World of Winter (fall 2003, Red Deer Press),
plus hundreds of natural history features in magazines such as
Up Here, Backpacker, Winter Living, and Canadian
Geographic.
Jamie’s passion for popularizing natural science brought
him national honour in 2002 when he won Canada’s Michael
Smith Award for Science Promotion. His outstanding contributions
to the conservation and promotion of northern nature also earned
him Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee Medal. Jamie lives
in Yellowknife, NWT.
This lesson plan was adapted from “Take the Plunge – Teaching
Resources on Water Education for Secondary Schools in the NWT” a
resource created by Jamie Bastedo, Cygnus Environmental Consulting & Rosanna
Strong, Interpretation, for Water Resources Division, Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada. The YCS Curriculum team further
modified this lesson.
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