Invitations to Inquiry by BSCS is a set of nicely-designed mini-units that provide thoughtful ways for secondary students to engage in the practice of analyzing and interpreting data. Below is a screencast where I provide a quick overview of the materials.
Other Links and Resources:
All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal with Climate Change by Leslie Davenport is a book written for kids that is designed to help them examine and work through their feelings and emotions about our changing climate. Just looking at the chapter titles gives a sense of what this book is about:
Introduction
Chapter 1: How We Know What We Know
Chapter 2: The Earth is Heating Up
Chapter 3: Everything is Connected
Chapter 4: Eco-Justice
Chapter 5: Making the World Healthier Together
In my work with classroom teachers it is common to hear a certain amount of hesitancy in engaging students (especially younger students) with learning about climate. The thought being that the content is too heavy and overwhelming. This book might be a great resource for thinking about how to tackle learning about climate head on with a solution-oriented frame and also dealing with our feelings about it.
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Posted in Books, climate science, elementary
Philip Bell and Nancy Price have shared a graduate course they taught at the University of Washington on Climate Justice and Environmental Justice in Education during winter quarter 2021. The entire course has a nicely organized Google Site built to tell the story of the learning. You will be able to walk through the 10 sessions using the embedded slides, readings and videos. There is a nicely organized set of Resources used as well as a Wakelet that organizes many other Climate Justice resources.
In order to get a good sense of the course before digging in, I recommend checking out the following:
I can imagine this resource being used in multiple ways:
Washington Green Schools is a non-profit organization working to empower students to become environmental leaders by certifying their schools and conserving resources. During the pandemic Washington Green Schools has added the option for students to apply for At-Home Certification.
I would argue that while the usual school certification process is powerful this is one of those instances where the pandemic can lead to interesting modifications to our procedures. Encouraging students and their families to make changes in their home practices is where the real environmental impact can happen.
Teachers and families can download the Washington Green Schools At-Home Certification Kit HERE. The kit provides a menu of projects to choose from (with their family’s permission and support). Students then conduct a home audit and collect data on the change (project) they selected. Families will also get access to the Carbon Calculator tool and multiple other learning resources. I can image this being a powerful at-home STEM learning experience for the winter and/or spring of 2021.
Here in Washington the state K-12 teachers have a cool opportunity to join an ongoing workshop series on Climate Justice. Plus you get to join a group that sounds like a combination of the Justice League and Captain Planet and the Planeteers... The Climate Justice League!
Who: This is designed for any K-12 teacher in WA and is lead by Puget Sound ESD, Northwest ESD 189 and ESD 112 in partnership with Washington Green Schools.
What: members will receive support to develop learning opportunities to share with students around issues of social justice through the lens of climate change. Participants will be expected to work on lessons, deliver learning to students and bring student work samples to the final meeting.
Where: It’s all online via Zoom!
When: four 2-hour Zoom meetings:
January 12, 2021
February 2nd, 2021
March 10, 2021
April 27, 2021
Why: Learn about social justice related to climate, get resources (A People’s Curriculum for the Earth), collaboration, $480, and clock hours
How: Check out the registration information below!
Check out the Climate Justice League flier HERE.
If you are interested you can register FREE HERE.
The Phenomenal Assessment site features three assessment tasks created for the Climate Science Proviso which has provided climate science education funding in Washington state. You will find an elementary task, a middle school task and a high school task.
Elementary: Comparing & Critiquing Energy Sources grade 4
Middle School: Analyzing Patterns in Wildfire Data
High School: Climate Impacts after 1492
These assessment tasks are not intended to be solely used as summative assessments. Think about how you might use these as objects of study for your own professional learning and how these might be used as assessments WHILE learning. This site provides examples of ways that these tasks might be used in equitable and rigorous ways. See below:
I’m assuming you are coming to grips with a global pandemic and the introduction of murder hornets. So there is no better time to add on by sharing the Climate Clock. This site features a real-time clock that displays the total global warming to date, the time left to a 1.5 degree celsius increase, and the tons of CO2 emitted.
This is a powerful image to have projected while presenting information on climate science to students, adult learners and/or the community. Could be interesting to have learners discuss why these metrics were selected to be a part of the clock. Enjoy!
Posted in climate science, Uncategorized
My colleague, Tom Hathorn, and I are facilitating a workshop series on Climate Science for High School Science Teachers in the Puget Sound Region of Washington State. The series starts October 23rd and we still have a few seats left- so register soon at the link below if you’re interested in joining us.
Who: HS Science teachers in King & Pierce Counties
Where: Sumner School District Office (1202 Wood Ave, Sumner, WA 98390)
When: Face to Face- Oct. 23, Jan. 15, Mar. 24 (8am-3pm)
When: Online- Nov. 20, Dec. 11, Feb. 12, Mar. 4 (4-5:30pm)
What you get: Learning, collaboration, sub coverage, STEM clock hours, Stipend pay for after-school online meetings
Overview:
Registration: pdenroller.org/psesd/Catalog/Event/97616
Click HERE for the flyer with more information
OVERVIEW: In the state of Washington we are committed to engaging K-12 students in learning about climate science and climate change. For the 2018-19 school year our state has funded an initiative that will provide tools and professional development to support thoughtful implementation of climate science learning opportunities. I’m hoping that this space will be able to promote many of the resources that are developed and used during this process.
One resource that has bubbled to the top for me is Drawdown.org. Drawdown provides 100 everyday solutions that humans can implement to reverse global climate change. I know several teachers who worry that the teaching of climate change- especially with younger students- can be scary for the children. Draw Down (while not sugar-coating anything) is very solution-oriented and can put students in a positive space rather than doom and gloom.
PURPOSE: The proposed solutions on Drawdown are completely research-based and include some intuitive solutions that you might have predicted (rooftop solar) and others that might seem less intuitive (educating girls & telepresence). The book Drawdown is also a “must-have” climate resource to add to your collection.
AUDIENCE: all the humans
LINK: https://www.drawdown.org/
@projectdrawdown
Science for All 