The first task is to detect the spontaneous knowledge of the students on the climate change concept, then the activity proceeds with a warm up game where students have the task of associating - through differently colored wires - papers relating to pollution involving atmospheric alteration, or the water, or the soil, or the electromagnetic or radiation alteration. The end is to form the network of global pollution. Then students reflect on the differences between climate and weather to grasp how the first consists in the long run, while the other concerns the present and short-term forecasts. They study graphs that present climatic variations from the origins of the earth in our day to notice the cyclical nature of climate change and the alternation between periods of cooling, overheating and rainfall variation. The analysis of development lines of climate change highlights the unusual trend of recent decades tied to heating processes of the earth caused mainly by anthropogenic factors. Hence the focus on the greenhouse effect and research of what causes it. The distinction between the emission linked to natural factors and to the human elements make the student aware of the responsibility of the man. The analysis of three case situations can provide deepen the serious effects of the phenomenon. The first one is that relating to the disappearance planned for 2020 of the ice platform, Larsen B, which was formed 11-12 thousand years ago. The second one relates to the extinction of Gentoo penguins and consequent destruction of biodiversity. The third one examines the intensive livestock responsible for an excessive amount of emission of nitrogen and phosphorus. Through videos and websites the students practice to understand the extent of their responsibility for the environmental impact and calculate their ecological footprint. (Http://www.improntawwf.it/carrello/#). Then students move from the personal life style and the changes to do to reduce the impact on the planet to the international treaties signed to combat global warming. A phase dedicated to metacognition allows pupils to become aware of the increase of their affective and cognitive training and to activate self-assessment. At the end of the unit students have face a real task as to design a proposal to discuss with local residents to improve the environmental conditions of their territory.
Author: CVM
Year: 2015
Languages: Italian
Typology of education resource : Class activity
GCE Issues: Environment
Author: CVM
Specific sub-thematic area(s): Social & economic justice, Peace, Human Rights
Key word(s):
Tags:
Carbon footprint , Desertfication , Extinction of animal and plant species , Migrations , Pollution
School subject(s)/field(s) of studies in which the educational resource can be used: Italian, Geography, Science, statistics, History, ICT
Activity’ objectives:
- Motivating students to new knowledge in relation to the environmental issue.
- Grasping the difference between climate and weather.
- Learning about the history of climate change.
- Deepening the greenhouse effect and global warming phenomenon:
a.To study a case: melting glaciers.
b.To study a case: The Gentoo penguins.
c.To study a case: livestock
- Taking impact awareness of their lifestyle on the environment.
- Knowing what are the institutional commitments to combat global warming.
- Metacognition
- Assessing the acquired competence
Pupils’ learning competences (SUBJECT- specific) addressed: - Reading, understanding and interpreting written texts of various types; - Producing oral and written texts about different purposes; - Communication in mother tongue; - Seizing the characteristic aspects of the phenomena belonging to the natural world, identifying what is observed in the differences, similarities, regularities, variations about the phenomena linked to climate change from the past
Pupils’ learning competences (CGE) addressed: - Decentralizing - Seizing transformations, processes, relationships, interconnections. - Thinking critically - Solving problems - Act responsibly for the common good
Methodology: Cooperative-learning, Problem-based learning, World-links method
Age range: 12-14
Duration: 23:00:00
Pedagogic references: This didactic resource has as main reference the model of cognitive - constructivism of Education for Concepts of Professor Elio Damiano, that has been integrated with the experiential learning cycle of Pfeiffer and Jones. They emphasize the need to link the concept "object of study" to the experiential world of the students. This will strengthen the study of knowledge and its application, connecting theory and practice, school and territory. In this frame of reference it is important to consider the inputs that come from the teaching of "service learning" diffused in Italy by professor Italo Fiorin. The method consists in the preparation of educational situations, "authentic tasks", in which students can further develop their professional, methodological and social skills engaging in community service in a glocal perspective.
Link to website: http://scuola.cvm.an.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/UDA-Clima-sec..pdf
Relevant notes :
1) This educational resource offers the following teaching tools:
For those who want to deepen the work on the origin of foods we suggest a book – Sterpellone L., A Pranzo con la Storia. Il Nostro Cibo dagli Assiri ai fast-food, Ed SEI, 2008 – a website for investigations on food www.eat-ing.net
On the website you can find both “Globingo” and the “Bingo border”, dedicated to migration. Or try on a search engine the term “Globingo”; Always on the site is the work “The hundreds’ World”, otherwise known as “If the world were a village of 100 people” (looking on the search engines you can find other versions).
Information and activities with the Peters Map can be found at: http://www.parlezvousglobal.org/it/la-mappa-non-e-il-territorio/ - http://www.petersmap.com
Information and games on the geography of the world: deagostinigeografia.it – worldatlas.com -http://world-geography-games.com
Updated statistical datas on countries of the world can be found at: data.worldbank.org /
hdr.undp.org – faostat.fao.org
A bibliography on globalization can be found on Wikipedia
A movie to watch is The corporation, by M. Achbar, Abbott J., J. Bakan (2003)
Informationon fair trade and responsible tourism are looking for in the search engines.
2) The entire Italian book contains many ideas (based on problem situations) for the evaluation and self-evaluation of the developed competences.
3) Duration: 18 hours at school, 5 at home