As a high school teacher, you can use this lesson plan to introduce climate change and its impacts to your students.
In this lesson plan, students will be introduced to the basics of climate change, which is one of the most significant issues of our time. Students will further learn about the causes of climate change and will explore possible climate solutions.The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:
Teacher-contributed lesson plan by Dr. Shefali Shukla (Department of Chemistry, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, New Delhi), and Dr. Shikha Gulati (Department of Chemistry, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi)
Want to know more about how to contribute? Contact us.Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Reading (10 mins)
Begin your lesson by showing your students some examples of impacts of climate change from your location. Learning is more effective when it is local and in the context of the students. You may search for a recent story on any news portal of your choice or you could browse the ‘Climate Stories’ section on the TROP ICSU platform where you can find location specific climate stories. This section contains Climate Stories from every country of the world. It is advisable to search for age specific stories.
Reading (15 min) and Video (5-15 min)
Use the reading titled, “The Causes of Climate Change” from the NASA Global Climate Change website that provides introductory information on climate change and global warming. It contains information on the scientific evidence of climate change, its causes and impacts.
This set of 7 short video micro-lectures have been developed by the National Research Council, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This can be used to provide additional information on climate change. They include:
Classroom/Laborat ory Activity (20 min)
Further use this classroom activity of listening to a music album titled ‘The Rap Guide To Climate Chaos’ by Baba Brinkman that contains 24 tracks on climate change. Discuss with your students the science, politics and economics of climate change by summarising the video through a class reflections session. The tracks cover a variety of topics such as greenhouse gases, carbon emissions, climate taxes and green capitalism.
Tracks include:
Reading (0 min)
Finally, use the interactive reading titled “The six-sector solution to the climate crisis” provided by the United Nations Environment Programme to discuss a possible roadmap for a carbon-free future. This interactive portal mentions the policies and actions that can be undertaken by governments in various sectors to reduce carbon emissions.
These sectors include:
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| Sr. No. | Name of the Teaching Tool | Name of Owner/Author, Affiliation, weblink |
| 1 | Classroom/Lab Activity | Use the colouring book titled “Climate Change
Colouring Book” by Brian Foo, to help students
explore climate data and research through various
colouring activities.
This can be accessed here |
| 2 | Reading | An interactive comic book by Somdatta Karak, CSIRCentre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, India that
introduces what is climate change.
This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Reading Climate Stories | By TROP ICSU |
| 2 | Reading “The Causes of Climate Change” | By NASA Global Climate Change website |
| 3 | Video Lectures “Climate Change, Lines of Evidence” | By The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine |
| 4 | Classroom/Lab Activity ‘The Rap Guide To Climate Chaos” | By Baba Brinkman, Talks at Google |
| 5 | Reading “The six-sector solution to the climate crisis” | By United Nations Environment Programme |
| 6 | Additional Resources | Brian Foo Somdatta Karak, CSIR- Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, India |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
1.Initiate the topic of Climate Change Impacts with the help of a climate story
Reading (10 mins)
Begin your lesson by showing your students some examples of impacts of climate change from your location. Learning is more effective when it is local and in the context of the students. You may search for a recent story on any news portal of your choice or you could browse the ‘Climate Stories’ section on the TROP ICSU platform where you can find location specific climate stories. This section contains Climate Stories from every country of the world. It is advisable to search for age specific stories.
2. Introduce the science of Climate Change through a readings and videos
Reading (15 min) and Video (5-15 min)
Use the reading titled, “The Causes of Climate Change” from the NASA Global Climate Change website that provides introductory information on climate change and global warming. It contains information on the scientific evidence of climate change, its causes and impacts.
This set of 7 short video micro-lectures have been developed by the National Research Council, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This can be used to provide additional information on climate change.
They include:
3. Classroom/Lab Activity to explore the topic through Rap Music
Classroom/Laborat ory Activity (20 min)
Further use this classroom activity of listening to a music album titled ‘The Rap Guide To Climate Chaos’ by Baba Brinkman that contains 24 tracks on climate change. Discuss with your students the science, politics and economics of climate change by summarising the video through a class reflections session. The tracks cover a variety of topics such as greenhouse gases, carbon emissions, climate taxes and green capitalism.
Tracks include:
4. Discuss solutions to the climate crisis using an interactive reading
Reading 20 min
Finally, use the interactive reading titled “The six-sector solution to the climate crisis” provided by the United Nations Environment Programme to discuss a possible roadmap for a carbon-free future. This interactive portal mentions the policies and actions that can be undertaken by governments in various sectors to reduce carbon emissions.
These sectors include:
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| Sr. No | Name of the Teaching Tool | Name of Owner/Author, Affiliation, weblink |
| 1 | Classroom/Lab Activity | Use the colouring book titled “Climate Change
Colouring Book” by Brian Foo, to help students
explore climate data and research through various
colouring activities.
This can be accessed here. |
| 2 | Reading | An interactive comic book by Somdatta Karak, CSIRCentre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, India that
introduces what is climate change.
This can be accessed here. |
| Sr. No. | Name of the Teaching Tool | Name of Owner/Author, Affiliation, weblink |
| 1 | Reading Climate Stories | By TROP ICSU |
| 2 | Reading “The Causes of Climate Change” | By NASA Global Climate Change website |
| 3 | Video Lectures “Climate Change, Lines of Evidence” | By The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine |
| 4 | Classroom/Lab Activity ‘The Rap Guide To Climate Chaos” | By Baba Brinkman, Talks at Google |
| 5 | Reading “The six-sector solution to the climate crisis” | By United Nations Environment Programme |
| 6 | Additional Resources | Brian Foo Somdatta Karak, CSIR- Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, India |
