Climate Change Challenge

In a Nutshell:

As an introduction to climate change or as a wrap-up activity for a climate change study, students participate in an interactive game show.

Goal:

To activate prior knowledge and awaken student interest about the issue of climate change and/or to complete a study of climate change.

Background Learning:

If this activity is used as a review, students should be familiar with material in the Intermediate or High School Backgrounders.

Learning Outcomes:

Click on the icon for your territory to review the learning outcomes that are addressed by this lesson:

Introduction to Lesson Plan:

This lesson plan can be used in different ways:

• Through a fun and interactive game show format, you can introduce your students to the issue of climate change. Climate change issues are often in the news and students may know more than they realize.
• As a motivational introduction, this activity will provide an opportunity to stimulate the interest of your students and to activate any prior knowledge they might have about climate change.
• This lesson would also be effective as a review activity to conclude a unit on climate change.

Prior to the lesson, prepare the materials needed for the Climate Change Challenge game show. Write questions on index cards. You may choose to use the sample questions attached to this lesson and/or create some of your own. Find a chair or stool to use as the climate change “hot seat.” You may also wish to make “lifeline” cards.

A fun idea is to create a persona as the host/hostess of the game show. Dress-up as an animal or plant personality appropriate for your region! Examples include: Ptara Ptarmigan or Ima Lichen. You can also dress up as a “mad” climatologist. Since the atmosphere of the Earth is warming up, and southern animals are expanding their range northward, you may wish to don the persona of one from the south (e.g. Scarlet O’Ladybug) complete with a corny southern accent. If you do not wish to adopt another identity, you may wish to select one of your students who has dramatic flair to dress up and act as co-host or hostess.

If you are using this activity as an introduction to climate change, begin with a class brainstorming session on what the term climate change might mean. Come up with a working definition and tell your students that they are going to have an opportunity to work together to learn more about climate change by participating in a special game show called the “Climate Change Challenge”!

If you are using this activity as a review, challenge the students to test their climate change knowledge through participation in the “Climate Change Challenge!”

Activity:

1. Divide the class into two to four equally matched teams. Have each team come up with a catchy name and a team cheer.
2. Explain the rules to the students. The game show will last a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 20 minutes). Each team will choose a player at random (e.g., draw a name out of a hat) to represent their team when it is their turn. In the “hot seat,” the player will be given two questions to answer. It is okay to guess! If the player answers both questions right, the team gets a point. If the player has trouble with a question, they may choose to use one of their lifelines (ask their team to vote on what they think is the right answer or ask a friend). An individual player can only use a lifeline once during their turn. Once the player answers both questions correctly or gets a question wrong (no point awarded), it is another team’s turn.
3. If necessary, modify the game for your class. As the host/hostess, select questions that are at an appropriate level of difficulty for the student in the “hot seat.” Instead of one player in the “hot seat,” allow partners to be quizzed together. Limit the number of lifelines or increase/decrease the number of questions as appropriate. As the host or hostess, it is also your prerogative to give fun and helpful hints! Make it fun for the students.
4. Continue until the time is up. If the game is close in points, ensure that each team has had an equal amount of turns before ending the game show.
5. Award a fun prize to each team. If you award different prizes, a fun way to do it is to show the class the prizes, but then place the prizes under separate containers without the students knowing which prize is under which container. Allow the winning team to choose first, while the second place team chooses next, etc. Awarding each team a prize and having the teams randomly choose their prize helps to eliminate any unwanted competitiveness.

Handouts:

Click on the icon for the handout that supports this lesson:

Teacher Handout: Questions & Answers Related to Climate Change Issues.

Student Web-Exchange:

On the student exchange portion of the website, students could challenge other classes with their own questions about climate change. Click on the icon for information on how to post material.

Evaluation:

Students can be evaluated on their participation and group cooperation.

Enrichment Ideas:

Science and Social Studies

Follow up: If this is the beginning of a unit of study on climate change, start a KWL chart with the class (what do we Know, what do we Want to know, and at the end of the unit – what did we Learn) as a follow-up to the game show.

Warm-up/review: Use some of the questions in this activity as a warm-up/review to other lessons on climate change.

Class presentation: At the end of a unit on climate change, have the students incorporate a “Climate Change Challenge” into a presentation about climate change for other classes and/or the staff in the school. Have your students use the sample questions and/or make up their own questions and host the game show.

Create a game: Instead of a game show, as a culminating activity at the end of a unit on climate change, divide your class into small groups and challenge each group of students to create an awareness raising board game based on what they learned about climate change. Invite another class over for a “gaming” session to try out the board games.

About the Author:

Kyla Fennig, who wrote this lesson, was an avid naturalist, passionate about ecological education. She was a classroom teacher with the Yellowknife Education District. In February 2004, shortly after she wrote this lesson, Kyla passed away suddenly. We are all the poorer for the loss of this vibrant young woman, passionately committed to the environment.