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Kids Describe Solutions to Global Warming | Kids Describe | HiHo Kids

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How Climate Change Is Threatening Polar Bear Populations

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Polar bears are facing a bleak future due to the impacts of climate change, and the loss of their habitats and food supply is putting their survival at risk.

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Climate Science in a Nutshell #11: You Can Make a Difference

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Climate Education in the U.S.: Where It Stands, and Why It Matters

Young people across the globe are concerned about climate change. A Lancet study surveying 10,000 young people ages 16 to 25 in 10 countries found that more than half felt sadness, anxiety, anger, and guilt about climate change. They are seeing the impacts of a warming planet in the news and in their own communities, but many feel helpless and powerless. The young want solutions-they want to know what they can do about climate change.

In 2021, at COP26 in Glasgow, the ministers of education and environment committed to including climate change education in all educational institutions, recognizing "the large remaining gaps in providing everyone with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to effectively participate in the transition towards climate positive societies." However, the same year, a UNESCO study of almost 50 countries revealed that less than half made any mention of climate change in their educational policies. Moreover, only 21 percent of the new or updated plans submitted by 95 countries as their Paris Agreement goals mentioned climate change education; none of them presented it as a climate strategy.

"The time is now to include climate education as a key climate risk mitigation strategy - along with energy transformation, land uses and water - and to make climate education a mandatory part of the national curriculum," according to Radhika Iyengar, director of the education sector at Columbia Climate School's Center for Sustainable Development.

In fact, a 2020 study found that if 16 percent of secondary school (equivalent to middle and high school) students around the world in middle and high income countries studied climate change, it would result in cutting almost 19 gigatons of CO2 by 2050. This is because educated youth would develop personal connections to climate change solutions, and change their behaviors accordingly throughout their lives. Climate education was shown to potentially be a more effective way to reduce emissions than many other single solutions.

The need for climate education in the U.S.

Young people recognize that climate change is going to shape their futures-where they live, the work they will do, and their quality of life. They need climate education in order to develop green skills, adapt to the harsh reality of a warming world, and understand how to combat climate change. But they need to learn the basics of climate change before they can do anything about it.

In the U.S., more than 86 percent of teachers and 84 percent of parents support climate change education in schools. Progress is being made in some states, but on the whole students are not learning enough about climate science quickly enough to give them the knowledge and tools they will need to cope with the impacts of climate change.

"The education system is failing the students when it comes to climate change or climate education in the formal curriculum," said Iyengar. "We really need to pick up speed because otherwise we will have a whole generation of students who will graduate with this climate anxiety and will not know what to do because they have not been prepared by our education systems."

Science standards in the U.S.

At the start of this year, two measures that would have supported climate change education died in Congress. There is still no national consensus about the importance of climate education, and the U.S. does not have national science standards. Each state determines what its schools teach and this can vary greatly. A public school's curriculum must follow state education guidelines which dictate what a student should know at the end of a grade or subject. How and what they are taught to get there is up to the individual school districts and teachers.

An early effort to establish science standards in 1996 was largely ignored by states. But in 2013, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were developed by the National Research Council, National Science Teachers Association, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the nonprofit Achieve and over 24 states. They recommended that man-made climate change be taught beginning in fifth grade and incorporated into all science classes. However, the standards are voluntary. Forty-four states use the NGSS or have crafted standards based on them; the rest developed their own science standards.

Seven years after the NGSS were introduced, the National Center for Science Education and the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund graded the states' climate education. Twenty-seven states, including 20 states and the District of Columbia that adopted the NGSS, scored B+ or better. Of the rest, 20 got a C+ or lower, with 10 of them scoring a D. Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia received Fs.

While one study from the National Center for Science Education found that 75 percent of public school science teachers do cover climate change, another 2016 survey of 1,500 middle and high school teachers found that they only devoted one or two hours to climate change during the entire academic year.

Progress in U.S. climate education

There are, however, two examples of leadership in climate education: New Jersey and Connecticut.

In 2020, New Jersey became the first state to mandate the teaching of climate change in all subjects beginning in kindergarten. The state budget includes $5 million for grants that will fund technical assistance, professional development for teachers, lesson plans, and evaluation strategies.

New Jersey schools are required to teach climate change across all subjects, including visual and performing arts, health and physical education, science, social studies, world languages, computer science, and key skills. Here's what that can look like. Kindergarten through second graders can explore artwork responding to climate change from different perspectives. Grades three to five science classes may teach how energy and fuel are derived from natural resources and their impacts on the environment. Middle school students compare the environmental effects of different technologies that tackle climate change issues and evaluate them in computer science class. High school students collaborate with students from other countries in social studies class to develop solutions to environmental justice issues.

The ambition is commendable. However, the reality is that climate education cannot be taught equally effectively throughout the state. In poorer districts, schools may lack the resources to implement the program; these are often communities of color that are most vulnerable to climate impacts.

"I think they are doing their best," said Iyengar who is a New Jersey resident. "But probably we should have been doing this two decades back."

In 2022, Connecticut passed a law requiring public schools to incorporate lessons on human caused climate change into their science curriculum in line with the NGSS beginning this July. Ninety percent of the state's schools already teach climate change, but the new law ensures that climate education will not be subject to political or budget changes. Students will learn about man-made climate change, its impacts on various communities, and potential solutions. Fifth, eighth and 11th graders will be tested on their understanding of climate change.

Oregon educators have drafted a bill that would require climate education across all subjects in grades K through 12. They are currently seeking support for it.

Massachusetts, a science and biotech center, ranked very low in a study of climate change curriculum policy. The state's science framework does mention climate change, but not what districts must teach, and climate change is not included in the state's elementary learning standards. Students may learn about weather, but not necessarily how it relates to climate change. There are outside efforts to expand climate education, however, such as Change is Simple, a nonprofit based in Beverly, MA, that provides climate change and sustainability programs to elementary and middle schools.

"The current state of climate education in the U.S. is fast evolving, and actually it's very promising," said Iyengar. "It's fast evolving at the policy level, but the current practice of climate education in the schools has yet to see the light. It is a slow and evolving process."

What is slowing progress?

A 2021 report found that 78 percent of registered voters support climate education, including liberal to conservative Democrats, Independents, moderate Republicans, and even 46 percent of conservative Republicans. But while most blue states have good climate education standards, the quality of climate education in red states varies.

The Republican party platform in Oklahoma, a top natural gas-producing state, where 43 percent of Republicans support climate education, reads: "We oppose the teaching of the theory of anthropogenic global warming without providing equal time for instruction in the complex systems of geo-physics [ sic] that cause observable climate change, such as solar variations, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions." It does not mention that 99.9 percent of scientists are in agreement that human activity is warming the planet. While state boards of education and school superintendents are not bound by party platforms, it may be difficult for them to avoid political influence.

Other red states undermine climate education by ignoring it or sowing doubt about the scientific consensus. In Florida, the term "climate change" is absent from the education standards for elementary and middle school, which haven't been updated since 2008. South Dakota introduced legislation calling for the "balanced teaching of global warming." And Kentucky introduced a bill that encourages teachers to teach "the advantages and disadvantages of scientific theories," such as global warming. In 2009, the Texas Board of Education said that teachers must present both sides-the impacts of human activity and natural causes-when discussing global warming. Many teachers recognize that climate change is a political issue, so teaching "both sides" of the issue is a way to avoid controversy.

The 2016 study found that 30 percent of teachers taught that recent changes in climate were due to natural causes, with 12 percent not emphasizing human causes at all. Data shows that what teachers understand about the scientific consensus on climate change largely aligns with their political ideology.

Because climate change has been politicized, textbook publishers often use ambiguous language that avoids controversy to secure approval for their books by the boards of education of the large markets. Texas, the top oil- and natural gas-producing state in the nation, is also the largest market for science textbooks for K-12 and has its own science standards.

A recent study of 57 college biology textbooks published between 1970 and 2019 found that in the 2010s, coverage of climate change decreased. The high point was an average of 52 sentences about climate change in the 2000s, but it dropped to 45 sentences in the 2010s. Moreover, solutions to climate change, which had comprised 15 percent of the climate content in the 1990s, fell to three percent. Information about climate change was also left to the last two percent of the text, making the topic easier to shortchange if teachers run out of time.
Fossil fuel educational resources
The fossil fuel industry directly provides educational resources. "There's been a multibillion-dollar campaign [by the fossil fuel industry] to make the American public doubt climate change, and some of it has been specifically targeted at children," according to Katie Worth, author of Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America. This takes the form of fossil fuel- friendly educational lessons created by the fossil fuel industry, as well as professional development seminars for teachers. Worth found educational programs funded by the fossil fuel industry in 25 states. For example, the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board was found to have spent almost $40 million on pro-fossil fuel industry educational materials over the past 20 years. Pro-fossil fuel programs promote the idea that energy regulation will hurt the free market and that renewable energy is unreliable.

In one Arkansas classroom, a visiting oil and gas industry representative from Arkansas Energy Rocks told students about problems with renewable energy, how access to reliable electricity could be a matter of life and death, and that if the U.S. shut down all fossil fuel use tomorrow, it would make a miniscule dent in global warming. Arkansas Energy Rocks provides classroom speakers, K-12 lessons, and free summer workshops for teachers.

The need for professional development

Fossil fuel industry-sponsored professional development workshops for teachers are insidious because many teachers feel they themselves don't know enough about climate change to teach it. Even schools where there are climate education standards may fall short because their teachers need more training.

The executive director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center said that teachers need better training, complete guidelines, and instructional materials to teach climate change. Teachers themselves recognize this. One survey reported that the two biggest things teachers said they wanted to address climate change more effectively was information about what to do and the resources to do it.

Responding to the need for more professional development, many organizations are providing resources. To name a few, Subject to Climate, staffed by teachers, scientists and climate activists, provides lesson plans that integrate climate change for K-12 in all subjects. Clime Time offers science teacher training, linking NGSS with climate science. Globe.gov, an international science and education program, offers hands-on interdisciplinary activities and inquiries into various Earth systems. Teachers can access educational resources focused on K-12 students, including Earth science storybooks, lesson plans, and activities for children of all ages.

The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which works closely with the Columbia Climate School, offers the NASA Climate Change Research Initiative for teachers and graduate students. It is a year-long opportunity to work directly with NASA scientists and lead research teams on a NASA research project related to climate change. Matthew Pearce, NASA education program specialist, said, "The teacher has to be teaching a course that is relevant to the project, and has to have subject matter competence in that field. And what we try to do is align the teacher's experience in this program with their immediate regular school needs." In the summer, a high school and undergrad intern are added to the project team. Teachers are then challenged to translate a component of their NASA research topic and experience leading the research teams into a unit plan to implement in their classrooms, and to integrate NASA's many educational resources into that plan while performing community STEM engagement events.

Approximately 160 teachers, graduate students, and interns have gone through the program, which takes place at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City or NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. "The teachers that come through this program end up being very substantial ambassadors for us going forward," said Pearce. One such example is Sarah Slack, an eighth grade science teacher in Brooklyn, who is teaching hands-on climate science with the help of NASA's resources-innumerable tools, platforms, programs, and teams NASA offers for teachers.Many of the teachers have also been successful in publishing their work through NASA and other scientific journals. Pearce said the goal is also to "Try to create strong pipelines and STEM ecosystems for their students and communities to apply to our internship program or engage with our other education and citizen science programs, such as NASA's Science Activation Program." The Science Activation Program puts together teams from across the nation to engage learners with NASA teams, science experts, andcommunity leaders on a variety of science projects.

"I feel very positive about climate education," said Pearce. "The teachers I've worked with are deeply impassioned to learn more and share that with their students, and try to be part of the solution. I see students in elementary school, teachers, and community members really learning to contribute and really yearning to make a difference."

The Columbia Climate School offers free climate and sustainability webinars for K-12 students, educators, and the general public. These Climate Live K12 webinars are monthly one-hour videos featuring experts from the Columbia Climate School, and are geared towards students in grades 3 to 5, grades 6 to 8, and grades 9 to 12. In addition, educational resources for teachers are provided. The videos are accessible on the Climate School's Youtube channel. The Columbia Climate School also offers educator training on single environmental topics and Saturday workshops for educators.

"The goal is to help teachers gain knowledge for themselves as educators, and as lifelong learners, and then to implement it in their curriculum, even if the standards aren't requiring them to teach climate change," said Laurel Zaima-Sheehy, program manager of all the K12 and continuing education programs at the Columbia Climate School.

Beyond just the facts

Young people have many feelings and emotions about climate change; these often stem from their connections to and feelings for nature. Teachers need to acknowledge this.

"The element of caring for each other and caring for the planet needs to be integrated [into climate education]," said Iyengar. "If you're not emotionally connected with your environment, it's very difficult to save it." And what helps students deal with their feelings are solutions, so teachers need to offer opportunities for collective action and problem solving.

Iyengar believes social emotional learning is key. Social emotional learning refers to the skills people need to be successful in life, such as self-awareness, goal setting, managing emotions, cultivating empathy, social awareness, relationship skills, problem-solving, and making good decisions. In climate education, incorporating social emotional learning might include recognizing that humans are part of the web of life, promoting understanding of environmental justice issues, fostering collaborative problem solving to help develop solution, and also introducing a spiritual connection with nature.

How to advance climate education

Parents and students do not need to feel helpless about the state of climate education in their communities because there are actions they can take. Concerned parents can talk about the need for climate education with other parents and identify like-minded people with which to join forces. Parents and communities should also support teachers who want to teach climate change, but face political pressure.

Local school boards have the power to shape the curriculum, so parents and students can attend school board meetings to push their school districts to adopt science standards that incorporate climate change. They can also request meetings with the principal of the school or individual school board members.

"Students have a lot of power," said Iyengar. "There's a lot of advocacy and community mobilization to be done. Students can be a big part of raising these issues. They can form collectives and ask the Republican or Democratic candidates running for election what their climate agenda is and hold them accountable." Everyone can write to their representatives in Congress and urge them to mandate climate education.

"There is a lot that can be done at a big scale, at a small scale in your own classroom, and in your own homes-climate education is not only what we do in the classrooms," said Iyengar. "I think we need to be looking at it much more comprehensively. We are all in this together."

From February 23 to 25, the Center for Sustainable Development at the Columbia Climate School and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network USA will host the online the US Summit on Transformative Education 2023. The Summit will bring together organizations, state departments of education, academics, teachers, schools, school principals, university leaders, the private sector, and youth to share ideas and best practices, and discuss and showcase research, case studies, and more about transforming education, including climate change education. It is open to all.

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Climate Education in the U.S.: Where It Stands, and Why It Matters

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Young people across the globe are concerned about climate change. A Lancet study surveying 10,000 young people ages 16 to 25 in 10 countries found that more than half felt sadness, anxiety, anger, and guilt about climate change. They are seeing the impacts of a warming planet in the news and in their own communities, but many feel helpless and powerless.

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Award-winning journalist Katie Worth wanted to know what children learn about climate change in America. As part of her research, she visited several states, talked to teachers, scoured text books, and spoke to students and their families. It turns out climate change education is just as contentious in the classroom as it is in politics.

"There were disagreements among teachers about how to approach it. Sometimes teachers were educating their kids about it, and the kids would push back because they'd heard at home that it was a hoax. Sometimes parents were mad that the kids were learning about it or that they weren't learning about it. So it's a hot topic on the ground, even for children," Worth says. "This is like the classroom has really become a battleground in this adult political conversation around climate change. That misinformation that has permeated the adult world is of course filtering into the world of children."

In this episode of the Harvard EdCast, Worth discusses the points of friction happening between teachers - sometimes within the same school - and how students are often unable to connect environmental disasters in their own communities with climate change.

TRANSCRIPT:

Jill Anderson: I'm Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast. Journalist Katie Worth's reporting uncovers how climate change is taught in American schools, if at all. To find out how public schools are handling climate change she set out going inside America's classrooms, meeting teachers, scouring textbooks, and speaking to students and families. Along the way, she discovered there's a lot of misinformation in the climate change education happening in our schools. There are parts of the country where students will never even hear the words climate change in their entire education she says. I've wondered a lot about how climate change is taught and was eager to find out what Katie discovered. I asked her what was most surprising?

Well, it was interesting to me how many points of friction there were. I went to a couple dozen schools in my reporting, and every single school I went to there was a point of friction about it. Either there were disagreements among teachers about how to approach it. Sometimes teachers would educate their kids about it, and the kids would push back because they'd heard at home that it was a hoax. Sometimes parents were mad that the kids were learning about it or that they weren't learning about it. So it's a hot topic on the ground, even for children. This is like the classroom has really become a battleground in this adult political conversation around climate change. That misinformation that has permeated the adult world is of course filtering into the world of children.

Jill Anderson: How did you figure out which schools to visit and which states?

Katie Worth: I went to several states, often states where I knew there to be political battles over what was being taught in school. So for example, Idaho, there was basically a five year battle over whether to include climate change in the science standards, a panel of a educators tasked with creating our academic standards, which basically determine what a kid is going to learn each year in school, had recommended including it in middle school science, and that had to go through the state legislature. Year after year, struck those standards and refused to allow that education into their state's science classes. So I went to Idaho, I attended some meetings. I met with a lot of kids, a lot of teachers. I spent some time in Idaho and Oklahoma.
Then I spent some time in my own home state of California, which was really interesting because I grew up in a little college town called Chico, which is north of Sacramento. It's a liberal community, although it's in a very red county. But I went to my own Alma mater and talked to teachers there. There had been conflict between a science teacher and a history teacher over whether they should be teaching climate change and what they should be telling kids. The science teacher believed in teaching the science, the history teacher was showing them disinformation video that said that it "Was a hoax, a liberal hoax, and that it was no big deal. Climate change was no big deal, they shouldn't be worried about it."

Jill Anderson: It seems like you found that a lot though, this idea that it's still up for debate in all walks of education from the textbooks, to the classroom, to just teachers.

Katie Worth: Yeah. So there hasn't been a ton of research about what actually teachers teach about climate change. There's one academic that's done a couple of major surveys though. Each time they interviewed 1500 science teachers from around the country and asked them specifically how much time they spend on climate change and what they said about it? 1/3 say that they tell their students that "Many scientists believe that climate change is natural." Another 1/3 say that "It's still being debated." So that leaves only 1/3 that are giving students the accurate information that humans are causing the climate crisis, and there's no legitimate scientific debate over that fact.

That explains the fact that in an international survey, by the UN that was released earlier this year, it showed that a quarter of all 15 to 17 year olds in America rejected the idea that climate change is a crisis. So that was a higher percentage than any other country in North America or Europe. That's not an accident, there's been a major misinformation campaign that has happened here for adults and some of that has trickled into education. Then there's also been a concerted effort to affect what kids learn about climate change by the fossil fuel industry.

Jill Anderson: I don't know if there's a black and white answer to this, but do the majority of students receive any climate change in education in America?

Katie Worth:
So that same study of 1500 science teachers, those science teachers said that the mean was between zero and two hours a year of education about climate change.

Jill Anderson: Wow.

Katie Worth: The education experts that I talked to said, that's just not enough for kids to really understand grasp, both the causes and the effects and the meaning of it. Talking about the kids in Oklahoma, there are many kids who learn nothing about it. Then there are some kids who are in districts or have teachers who really care about it and they actually get a legitimate education about it. One of the things that my research found was that there was a rough red blue divide. So you could roughly guess what a kid might learn about climate change, depending on if they lived in a red state or a blue state.

Jill Anderson: I don't know what you would call it, I mean, you'd expect that divide there, but in some cases in a red state, you found really great climate change education.

Katie Worth: I think it has something to do with how much deference a state legislature gives to the panel of experts, panel of educators that asked with writing academic standards. So in some states like Idaho, the lawmakers really read the academic standards and get upset over what's in them. Then in other states, they defer to the education experts that write them and rubber stamp it. So we mapped academic standards as they pertain to climate change onto a red, blue purple map of the country. What we found was there was not a single blue state that had poor standards when it came to climate change. The red states were all over the map. So there were a few that even did better than most blue states. They had excellent standards, but the majority had standards that either they didn't mention it at all, they mentioned it as a scientific debate, which is inaccurate, or they very lightly handled it.

Jill Anderson: Did you often find teachers attempting to work outside of the existing standards for better and maybe for worse?

Katie Worth: Yeah, absolutely. I would say there're Intrepid teachers in every district in America, probably who care about this issue, who think that kids deserve to know about the world that they're entering, and who give kids in their classes a really great education about it. But there's also often a teacher in the very next room that is giving them misinformation or totally ignoring the subject, even if it is in the standards. I went to one school and talk to an AP teacher... so AP environmental science, doesn't beat around the bush. If you're taking an AP environmental science class, you're going to learn all about climate change.

But this teacher said that her predecessor who taught the class before her refused to teach it, because he had family that worked in oil fields and he just thought it was a political issue and that he shouldn't be required to teach it. He would hand out worksheets for the kids to do on their own. He refused to actually lecture about it. Of course the kids didn't do very well on the AP test. I think it cuts both ways like education is so localized. Ultimately what happens in a classroom is behind the door of the classroom, it's a matter between the teacher and the kids. So we can't really exactly quantify how much teachers are teaching it, but we have a sense that it's very uneven.

Jill Anderson: What did you hear from children? And how did their opinions and views shift when they actually received some accurate education?

Katie Worth: It was really fascinating. It wasn't to find children who had parents who were really ideological about it. If the most important people in your life are telling you, "This is a hoax and don't believe this, that teacher is not telling you the truth about this.", and you're a kid, that's probably the direction that you will go, at least in that moment. But it's still worth planting the seed, giving some information, some data to those kids because later maybe they'll get more and more and they'll think more for themselves. Right? One of the most striking examples of this that I came across was again, in my hometown of Chico, it's about 15 miles away from the town of Paradise, California. Which you might remember burned to the ground in a wildfire in 2018 and 87 people died and 90% of the buildings in that town were destroyed.

So, although one of the schools relocated to Chico for the rest of the year until they could fix the schools in Paradise. The middle school took up residents in the only real estate that was available, which was this big box hardware store that had been shuttered. So the classes were all in the aisles. So, like the science class that I sat in on was in aisles nine and 10, which was like ceiling fans. The kids played kickball in the garden center, they got their lunch on the checkout counters. It was just very surreal and apocalyptic place to like your fractions. Right? I sat in on the science class of a teacher who every single year taught climate change to his seventh graders. This year he was teaching it to a group of climate refugees, basically. Every single student in that class had their whole lives burned down in that fire.

He was just explaining the science of it. What has caused it, how we've increased the amount of heat trapping pollution in the atmosphere. That's changing how long our summers are and how warm they are, and the length of the rainy season and what that looked like in Paradise. At one point a little boy named [Nikola 00:12:16] raised his hand and he said, "Mr. Kessler"... was the science teacher. "I've been wondering something. I don't know what to believe about climate change because my mom and dad say that it's not true, that it's not happening." he started reciting all the reasons that he'd heard at home, like "The climate changes all the time. Last year, we had all this snow and they're telling us there's climate change, but there was all this snow, they lied about how much the data is bad."

He just like had all of these arguments that... He had probably gone him and talked to his parents and said like, "Oh, we're learning about global warming." Then the parents had given him a whole bunch of information, their perspective on that. So then he goes back into class and Mr. Kessler said, "Nikoa, I'm sure that's really confusing to hear different information from different people in your life. I'm glad you raised this. It's always good to raise questions in class, and I'm not here to tell you what to believe. I'm just here to give you the best data and information that I can. You can look at that and draw your own conclusions. We're looking at data from NASA. We're looking at temperature data from around the world. It's just discovery. That's what science is. You get to look at it and make your own analysis and your own predictions." I thought that was a really beautiful way to handle that rather than saying "Your parents are wrong."

Jill Anderson: Yeah.

Katie Worth: But then a few days later, he gave them a writing prompt just as a unit was ending. that writing prompt was how has climate change affected your life so far? how do you think it will affect your life in 50 years? This was a class full of kids whose homes had burned in a fire. Nikola wrote, "I don't think that it has affected my life at all so far. I don't know if it'll affect my life in 50 years, because I don't know if I believe in it yet."

Jill Anderson: Hmm.

Katie Worth: I mean, obviously you can't pin any given event on climate change, but we know that the five hottest summers in Paradises history, it all happened in the five years before that wildfire. The town had received less than an inch of rain in the last six months before the fire. That's not how it was when I was a kid living in that county. We used to get summer storms and like late spring storms, early fall storms. They hadn't gotten any of that, they'd gotten maybe a day of light drizzle in six months. So there's climate changes, fingerprints all over that fire and the kids that were affected by it, some of them anyway were told not to believe in it.

Jill Anderson: I wondered what Mr. Kessler thought of those responses?

Katie Worth: He had run into it quite a lot because Paradise was a politically very red community. He taught this unit every year and ran into kids who were told that it was a hoax. So he had navigated it before and it didn't really surprise him, but he still felt like it was important to tell the kids about the world that they were entering.

Jill Anderson: I love the Mr. Kessler story because I think it so wonderfully illustrates how to handle something that a lot of educators might back away from just out of fear of upsetting a family or maybe someone else within the building. It seems like there's a lot of that understandable anxiety and fear that goes into being a teacher and tackling this topic.

Katie Worth: Yeah. This area hasn't been studied in great depth yet, unfortunately. But there's been some surveys that have shown that teachers have anxiety about this. I think in the same way that they had anxiety about teaching evolution for a long time, because that was another science question that people had very big feelings about that weren't attached to the science. A lot of teachers for a long time, and textbooks, and academic standards avoided or tiptoed around evolution. Even though evolution is the organizing principle of biology, right? The surveys show that there's some of that happening on climate change.

Jill Anderson: I want to go back to something that you mentioned earlier, which is the fossil fuel industry.

Katie Worth: Yeah. Well, there's a few levels of it. First of all, they have a long history of creating educational products. Like lesson plans, they'll pay for kids to take field trips to near by oil derrick. There's actually a long history of these educational products that are created by the fossil fuel industry. Of course not just the fossil fuel industry, every industry does this because there's benefit to getting to kids young, and shaping their opinion about your industry. There are these programs in almost every single state run by fossil fuel companies, some of them are more organized than others. One day I was in Arkansas visiting a middle school science department and I was sitting there interviewing the teachers, and in walks a lobbyist from the state's oil and gas industry association. She was there to talk to the seventh graders. She had been invited as a guest and her whole job is to go classroom to classroom and give a presentation.

She has this whole PowerPoint present and she's talking about the geology, where the oil and gas are, and what parts of the state it's in and how it got there? But then of course there was a part of the presentation where she's talking about renewables and she says, "Well the problem with fossil fuels is carbon emissions." But there's a problem with every single one of these fuel sources, solar power. What happens if there's a tornado? People don't like windmills because they kill birds. Any power source that you think of, there's a problem. I think she said something like "If America shut down every fossil fuel emission tomorrow, the difference that it would make in global climate change is 0.01%," which is radically inaccurate. Then she says, "If we did that, think of all the problems that we would have." So they mention that windmills kill birds, but they don't mention that climate change could eliminate a third of the bird species on earth by the end of the century.

She said it to me directly. She said, "Oh yeah, we used to give this presentation to adults, but then we thought if we really want to change how people think about the oil industry, we got to get to them young. We got to get to kids." That's the only instance where I found lobbyists going classroom to classroom, but there were tons of other examples of fossil fuel industry talking points, getting into classrooms. Teachers are really busy, like if I Google energy lesson and I find in this fancy well produced lesson plan, that looks good and looks like it'll be engaging to the kids and I needed to do a lesson on energy the next day, I'll just print it out. I might not even notice that in fine print it says that it's from the Oil and Gas Association. It's not exactly the teacher's fault. A lot of teachers didn't get much education about climate change themselves.

Jill Anderson: What is lost for children when we forgo some type of accurate and honest climate change education?

Katie Worth: Well, there's one perspective that we owe it to kids to inform them of the world that they're entering, and you set them up to help solve the problem and not just feel hopeless about it. We teach them to read, we teach them math. This is another essential subject in a lot of people's minds. Also, they are going to be voting civically engaged citizens in the not too distant future. So if we hope to forced all the worst effects of climate change, we need them to participate, and we need them to know something about at it to have some grounding. Then there's another aspect, every industry is transforming, not just the energy industry, but agriculture, transportation. Basically, every industry you can think of is being changed by this phenomenon that's drastically altering our future. If a kid gets through their whole education and doesn't know that, then they're going to have a pretty skewed perspective of what would be a good career to invest in.

Jill Anderson: Do you think there is an ideal climate change education?

Katie Worth: There's some really great resources on a site called Cleanet C-L-E-A-N-E-T .org, I believe. But ultimately I heard somebody say it like this: Kids should know this about climate change: That it's real, that it's bad, that there's hope, and that scientists agree about it, and that it's us. We need them to understand the basics. They don't have to walk out of school, an expert on causality of climate change or atmospheric levels of various greenhouse gases. But they have to have a sense that things are changing, why that's happening? That it already is transforming our world. That there are things that we can do to help fix it or at least stop some of the worst effects of it.

Jill Anderson: Well, this has been very informative and interesting, Katie, thank you so much.

Katie Worth: Yeah, of course. So glad to be here.

Jill Anderson: Katie Worth is an award-winning journalist. She's the author of Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America. I'm Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast produced by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Thanks for the listening.

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What are kids being taught about climate change in American schools, what part of the discussion is causing friction, and what are the potential effects a generation miseducated on this topic?

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With the effects of climate change increasingly apparent - from melting glaciers and record heat waves to floods and wildfires - many young people today are concerned about climate change.

A 2021 survey of 10,000 young people ages 16-25 in 10 countries found that 84% were at least moderately worried about climate change, and 68% reported feeling sad and anxious about it. Numerous studies have indicated that younger children and adolescents are also experiencing climate anxiety.

So how can parents help their children cope? Opening up a conversation is the first step, experts say.

Talking with your kids about climate change is a key to preparing them for the future and also helping them manage their anxiety, says Harriet Shugarman,executive director of the education and advocacy group ClimateMama and author of "How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate Change."

"To not provide that information to young people, it is truly a disservice," Shugarman says.

What Kids Learn About Climate Change in School

Schools may cover climate change very differently - or not at all - depending on the state. According to a 2020 report by the Aspen Institute, K-12 science standards in 29 states and D.C. require teaching about human-caused climate change. Fifteen other states mention climate change in their standards but not that it is largely human-caused, as is the scientific consensus. Five states include climate change only in standards for science classes that are optional, not required.

In 2022, New Jersey became the first state to require students in all grades to learn about climate change. But generally, how schools teach about the science and social-emotional impact of climate change varies greatly depending on the grade and location. The result is that many kids may have little or no exposure to climate change education until high school, if at all.

For parents, it may be a difficult topic to broach: A 2022 survey commissioned by This is Planet Ed, an initiative of the Aspen Institute, and Capita, a think tank, found that while nearly 8 out of 10 respondents agreed that climate change is a "very" or "somewhat serious" problem, only about half of parents with children under 18 (49%) said they have talked with their kids about it.

But overcoming this hesitancy is important, some say. Maggie Handelman, a 10th grader at LaGuardia High School in New York City and a member of the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force 's Youth Steering Committee, says that when schools and families avoid the conversation, they leave young people "not equipped to handle it, and it just makes everything 10 times more terrifying."

Tips for Talking With Your Kids About Climate Change

Experts suggest keeping several considerations in mind.

Educate and Care for Yourself First

Parents do not need to be experts on climate science to explore the topic with their children. But educating yourself on the basics is "a critical first step in being able to talk," says Shugarman.

In addition, Elizabeth Bechard, senior policy analyst at the advocacy group Moms Clean Air Force, suggests parents and caregivers start by seeking emotional support for their own climate anxiety or feelings of grief.

"We often give parents advice or have expectations of how parents should be handling these really difficult conversations with little to no support," Bechard explains, and that can have unintended negative consequences for young people.

Whether talking with trusted friends, a support group or a mental health professional, attending to one's own climate anxiety is a vital first step, according to Bechard.

"Parents need to think about how they're going to support themselves before they go into these topics, both because parents deserve that support, but also because no parent wants to dump their emotional baggage onto their kid."

Listen to Kids' Concerns

Conversations about climate change should begin by asking young people to share what they know about climate change, including anything they're worried about.

Vivian Wanjing, another member of the YSC in 12th grade at John Dewey High School in New York City, says she sometimes feels ignored by adults. It's frustrating, Wanjing explains, "when you're a kid, when you want to talk about the issue and your parents (say), 'Oh, yeah, you know it's urgent, but what can I do?' You know they are not really listening to their kid about it."

Adult experts echoed Wanjing's concerns. "When our children tell us they're angry, they're scared, they're worried, they're afraid, don't ignore it. Don't try to make it all better for them," Shugarman says.

Be Age-Appropriate but Honest

Laura Schifter, a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute who leads This is Planet Ed, relies on a framework developed by the group Science Moms that suggests four points to guide your conversation: "Climate change is real, climate change is us, climate change is happening now to people, and it's solvable."

The details of that conversation will look different depending on the developmental phase of each child, but Schifter says kids can understand the facts of climate change. Her daughter, who is 9, learned about climate change at school through a kid-friendly analogy, comparing Earth's atmosphere to a heat-trapping blanket. Emitting greenhouse gases is like changing from a light blanket to a heavy down comforter which makes the planet hotter.

Analogies like this can help make a complex concept like climate change accessible for any age, she says.

Focus on How to Take Action

Experts say that climate change conversations can and should feel empowering. But they should avoid inspiring cliches and focus on collective action.

Research has found that acting collectively, rather than individually, to address climate change can lead to more tangible effects and help combat climate-related anxiety and depression.

When talking about action with young people, look for ways to make an impact that's both systemic and relatable.

"One of the important things to emphasize is that it will take us as individuals and us as systems to make a difference in solving this," Schifter says. For instance, she says, she might say to her daughter: "It's great that we have an electric car, but all your school buses are running on diesel. How could we make changes to the broader community to balance this individual and community action that's necessary?"

By having direct yet hopeful conversations with young people, parents and caregivers can help them feel supported and empowered.

Additional Resources

Schifter recommends this TED talk by Katharine Hayhoe of Science Moms, explaining why climate change conversations are essential and how to have them effectively.

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How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate Change

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Many young people are anxious about climate change, but avoiding the topic won't help.

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We're always looking for more voices to uplift in the climate movement. There are many ways to get involved in Kids Fight Climate Change; whether you're just entering the movement or an experienced activist, there's a place for you here.

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Join the Team | Kids Fight Climate Change: Youth Climate Education

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We're always looking for more voices to uplift in the climate movement. There are many ways to get involved in Kids Fight Climate Change; whether you're just entering the movement or an experienced activist, there's a place for you here.

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Climate Science in a Nutshell #9: How Bad Could it Get?

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Climate Change 101 | Keep The Environment Safe | The Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kidz

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Guidance in Teaching Climate and Energy Science

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Climate and energy are complex topics, with rapidly developing science and technology and the potential for controversy. See the following pages for: a summary of each of the climate and energy science principles ...

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times; CLEAN is here to support all teachers with climate and energy education, from the first-year teacher to the nature center field trip leader, to the veteran teacher wishing to stay up-to-date. Explore the ...

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Explore this resource: Cultural Relevance of the Project Climate Literacy Principles Video Series Labs and Activities

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Introduction to The Living Landscapes Resources. You can also download this video (MP4 Video 246.8MB Aug17 20).

The Living Landscapes Project is a NASA-funded set of climate-science educational resources designed to integrate traditional knowledge (Native science) about the climate with current climate science research. The award was part of NASA's Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) for American Indian and Alaska Native Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement. The hope is Living Landscapes will strengthen climate literacy within native communities and especially within tribal and native schools and colleges. But Living Landscapes is not just for tribal or native schools. Both Native and non-native students will find it relevant and compelling and will learn from its strong conservation message, a message grounded in traditional native cultural values. The package includes a ten-episode video series, two online college courses and an online high-school learning unit, 10 in-depth climate labs, a set of 18 climate tools and models, a complete teachers'/instructors' guide, and a climate-themed social networking site. All of these materials can be reached through the Living Landscapes home page: skclivinglandscapes.org. This article summarizes and explains the Living Landscapes project in more detail. These tutorials give a quick introduction for teachers about Living Landscapes and how to use the educational resources.

Cultural Relevance of the Project

Native Americans are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change because their lives, cultures, and economies are so closely linked with climate-sensitive resources. However, that vulnerability can also be a strength. Living close to the land with the collective knowledge that comes from living in a place for thousands of years provides tribal people with perspectives, insights, and approaches that can help both tribal and non-tribal communities as they try to cope with and adapt to the climate crisis. In their 2018 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognized that Indigenous knowledge is critical for adaptation because of tribal methods of managing forests and agroecological systems-and because Indigenous peoples practiced passing on these traditions across generations. The report states that education, information, and community approaches informed by Indigenous knowledge can accelerate the wide-scale societal behavior changes consistent with adapting to and limiting global heating. The Living Landscapes project provides a host of educational resources for tribal communities as they face the challenges of a changing climate.

Climate Literacy Principles

One of the highlights of the Living Landscapes pages is the course in climate science, where the climate literacy principles are described in a culturally relevant context. There are slideshows for each of the climate literacy principles that include videos and visualizations to better explain the science.

There are also descriptions of common misconceptions within each climate literacy principle and embedded quizzes to test your knowledge. Each set of explanations is tied to a different region of the United States and includes relevant materials for that specific region, including a section called 'Local Relevance'. This helps weave the big ideas of climate science with the indigenous knowledge and cultural values that are relevant to each region. The regions are Alaska and the Arctic, the Northwest, Southwest, Plateau, Plains, Northeast, and Southeast.

Importantly, each of the climate science principles is framed by one or more tribal cultural values. These values make up a unified whole, at the center of which is a deeply held attitude of respect toward the land, water, plants, and animals and a way of living closely and in community, with one another. By placing the science within this larger context, the content becomes more relevant for all students, especially for Native students. It also gives voice to tribal communities, reminding students of the contribution Native people as a whole have to offer the nation as a whole as we face a changing climate.

For Native peoples, culture is inseparable from place, the issues surrounding climate vary from one region of the country to another. A student in the Southwest may have trouble appreciating concerns over receding sea ice and shrinking glaciers in Alaska. But that same student might be very much interested in a discussion about whether pinyon pines will survive climate change. So instead of developing a single introduction to the climate science course and learning unit, the Living Landscapes project developed seven for different cultural areas in the U.S. Although each regional course includes information about all the other regions of the country, its focus is on its particular region. Not only does this place-based approach make the topic more interesting, but it also teaches students what a changing climate means for their community, their future, and their culture.

Video Series

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Each Climate Literacy Principle opens with an episode from the Living Landscapes video series. The episodes are about three to four minutes long and were produced by Story Road Films. The series follows two high school students as they learn from their grandfathers, tribal cultural leaders, scientists, and land managers about how the climate crisis is affecting their community. We follow them as they attend their tribe's first food ceremony, participate in an evening of traditional storytelling, go fishing with their grandfather, hike into the tribal wilderness to learn about grizzly bears, harvest chokecherries to make chokecherry soup, learn about bull trout, fly in a helicopter over a wildfire, and learn about the resilience of buffalo. We hear tribal wildlife biologists, hydrologists, and wildland fire managers talk about how climate change is affecting the reservation. They communicate the science, but they also serve as role models, Indian people working as professionals in STEM fields. Numerous studies have shown that role models can profoundly affect the career aspirations of students as well as their academic performance.

Each episode of the series introduces the important principles in climate science that make up the learning unit. Each places the topic-climate science-within the context of tribal culture. While the series takes place on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, Native students from the Southwest to the Northeast will recognize tribal values such as the Salish and Pend d'Oreille's desire to maintain their traditional practices as well as their focus on community and family. Usually, it is adults and non-Natives who present science content in classrooms. But in the videos, two Native students serve as hosts and introduce the science, explaining, along with tribal scientists, why the information is both relevant and important. This approach makes the content more captivating for tribal students and easier for them to understand and empathize with the challenges and dilemmas the changing climate is bringing. But perhaps more importantly, the videos bring to life the richness and beauty of what it means to be a Native student growing up in a tribal community during this time of great change.

Saving the World that Coyote Made: An Essay

This essay includes information from native peoples throughout North America, but it draws primarily from the culture and history of two of the indigenous peoples of the Plateau region. It is an excellent overview of climate change and how tribes throughout North America are adapting. The essay can be accessed here.

Labs and activities

Accompanying the Living Landscapes climate course is a lab course that includes 10 in-depth climate labs, many of which also have cultural relevance to tribes. Covering topics like native fish, snow cover, polar bears, retreating glaciers, and camas (one of the most important food plants for Plateau tribes). They include video and written tutorials and clear, step-by-step guides. The lab course can also be used at the high school level to accompany the corresponding learning unit. The labs are being added to the CLEAN collection as learning activities for students at the college and high school levels.

The Living Landscapes package also includes 18 climate tools and models that students and teachers can use to learn about their local climate. Developed by NASA and other federal agencies like NOAA and the USGS, as well as several non-governmental organizations, these tools not only allow students to better understand the science, but enable them to learn what they can expect for their community in the future. An example is the National Climate Change Viewer, which students can use to visualize projected changes in the climate (maximum and minimum air temperature and precipitation) and the water balance (snow water equivalent, runoff, soil water storage, and evaporative deficit) for their community. This tool is also being reviewed for the CLEAN collection as a visualization. Another example is NASA's Earth Observations tool. Students can use it to download imagery and data from NASA's constellation of Earth-observing system satellites. The data provide daily, weekly, and monthly snapshots so students can follow and document how climate change is altering their homelands.

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teach the earth incorporating societal issues climate change

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Explore this resource: Cultural Relevance of the Project Climate Literacy Principles Video Series Labs and Activities To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that ...

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Find out why Earth’s climate is changing and what you can do about it.

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One in 4 teachers, principals, and district leaders say that climate change is impacting their school or district to some extent. And an additional 18 percent say that while their district has not yet been affected by climate change, they believe it poses an imminent threat, according to a nationally representative survey of educators by the EdWeek Research Center.

The survey responses, taken in February, give a rare look into educator attitudes toward climate change and its impact on their school communities. School buildings across the country have been destroyed or forced to close in response to wildfires, extreme heat, and flooding due to hurricanes. These more severe and frequent natural disasters, which have been linked to climate change, affect students' learning and physical and mental health.

Even so, 8 percent of educators in EdWeek's nationally-representative online survey of 960 respondents said they do not believe climate change is real. (In comparison, 14 percent of Americans don't believe global warming is happening, according to a 2021 summary of public opinion surveys from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.) The vast majority of climate scientists and peer-reviewed scientific studies on climate change agree that humans are the driving cause of rising global temperatures, which are altering weather patterns and causing sea levels to rise.

But most school districts have not taken any action in the past five years to prepare for more severe weather related to climate change, according to 84 percent of principals and district leaders surveyed by the EdWeek Research Center.

The reasons? The most cited, by 36 percent of school and district leaders, was that their campuses are located in areas that they don't expect to be severely impacted by climate change in the near future.

Many educators also pointed to concerns that senior district leaders, school board members, and the broader community would be resistant to taking action-either because people don't believe climate change is real or that it is not an immediate threat. There are also many more immediate crises competing for school and district leaders' attention: the ongoing pandemic, student mental health, catching students up academically, and charged debates over how race and LGBTQ issues should be taught in schools-to name just a few. Not all district leaders or other stakeholders are convinced climate change is an area districts should be spending their limited time and resources on.

"One of the things that jumped out at me, a lot of people indicate that they are scared of working on these issues because of a fear of people being dismissive of them," said Laura Schifter, a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute, leading the organization's K-12 climate action initiative, who was not involved in EdWeek's survey. But, she said, she's encouraged by the fact that educators themselves are not dismissive of the effects climate change will have on their school communities.

When asked for their personal views on the impact of climate change on their district or school, 16 percent of teachers, principals, and district leaders said that climate change has already had a mild effect, while 7 percent said they have seen a moderate effect. Two percent said climate change has already had a severe effect on their district or school.

Larger shares of respondents said although they believe climate change is real, they didn't think it would impact their district in the foreseeable future (15 percent) or that climate change was unlikely to impact their district because of where it was located (25 percent).

That perception, that climate change will only affect some geographic areas and not others, hints at a misunderstanding of how changing weather patterns will affect our interconnected world, said Schifter.

"Thinking about how climate change is going to impact schools is broader than just the impact of extreme weather on that school," she said.

For example, extreme weather in other parts of the country could lead to students being displaced, which will affect the schools that take them in, Schifter said. It will also change the economy and what kinds of jobs will be in demand in the future.

"As we start to think about the jobs that will be needed-whether that's jobs around clean energy or jobs around what's needed for adaptation or, frankly, emergency management-our school systems need to keep up to ensure that they're providing students the skills they need to be successful in those jobs," she said.

What schools are doing to prep for climate change

Overall, schools and districts are putting more of their energy toward reacting to the effects of climate change than in efforts to reduce their carbon footprints.

Nearly half of principals and district leaders said their campuses had invested in infrastructure to support remote instruction when, or if, severe weather does not allow for in-person classes, while 43 percent say they have upgraded school buildings to better withstand severe weather.

"The investment in infrastructure to promote remote instruction-that seems it's totally reactive to the pandemic. Ultimately, what the pandemic has highlighted is that we need to build more resilience to prepare for disruption," said Schifter. "I think it's encouraging that in [educators'] response to climate change, there was an acknowledgement of the fact that what they have done with COVID is helping them prepare for extreme weather related to climate change."

Large shares of principals and district leaders said their campuses had taken climate change into account when developing emergency response plans (22 percent) and facilities plans (30 percent).

Among other preparations:

Thirty-nine percent of principals and district leaders said their campuses had started using energy-efficient appliances, and 17 percent said their school or district has invested in sustainable energy sources such as solar or wind power.

Thirteen percent said their district had developed a strategic plan related to climate change.

Another 13 percent said their school or district had taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint through efforts like composting, and 4 percent said they had set targets for reducing their carbon footprints.

Eleven percent of school and district leaders said they had eliminated single-use plastics in their schools.

Six percent said they had converted or planned to convert gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles, such as school buses, to electric.

Four percent said they had purchased new or different insurance for severe weather, and 2 percent of principals and district leaders said they had gone so far as to close or relocate buildings in locations that are most likely to be impacted by severe weather.

Schools can play an outsized role in reducing carbon emissions, according to the Aspen Institute. Schools are one of the largest public sector energy consumers in the country, they operate what equates to the nation's largest mass transit fleet, and they generate over 530,000 tons of food waste a year.

In terms of what teachers, principals, and district leaders say is needed to improve their school or district's ability to prepare for the effects of climate change, money-perhaps not surprisingly-was one of the two most cited supports.

The other: 36 percent said that better efforts to educate stakeholders about the need to prepare for climate change was also necessary.

Nearly a third said they felt they needed support from the broader community to improve their school or district's ability to confront climate change.

Eleven percent said that their school or district needed nothing to help prepare for the effects of climate change because their campuses were already well-prepared, and 9 percent said that climate change does not exist or is not a threat to their school or district.

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Nearly Half of Educators Say Climate Change Is Affecting Their Schools-or Will Soon

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One in 4 teachers, principals, and district leaders say that climate change is impacting their school or district to some extent. And an additional 18 percent say that while their district has not yet been affected by climate change, they believe it poses an imminent threat, according to a nationally representative survey of educators by the EdWeek Research Center.

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What children want us to know about climate change | BBC Ideas

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Sex. Drugs. Global extinction. When difficult subjects come up, it's not easy being a parent-especially when that subject is climate change.

But a parent, teacher, or caregiver is often the first and best source of trusted information for children. These are also the people who can help them cope with the Big Feelings that inevitably ensue upon realizing future climate change-related difficulties.

How do you do so without creating an anxious-or perhaps worse, despondent-child?

"Similar to other tough topics like sex and drugs, approach climate change in a developmentally sensitive way," says Wendy Greenspun, a New York-based clinical psychologist engaged in climate issues. By doing so, you set up a baseline for kids to take in more complex information as they grow and become ready to exercise their own voices on behalf of their generation's future.

Introducing the Concepts to Young Children (Ages 0-6)

Inspire environmental wonder in little ones.

Since younger children won't easily understand concepts such as greenhouse gases and ocean acidification, start out with a more straightforward message: Living things grow and thrive when we care for them. Children learn through doing, so try planting seeds or caring for animals as a way to raise young environmentalists.

Noticing, appreciating, and celebrating the seasons builds a good foundation for understanding climate change, suggests Ronnie Citron-Fink, a former schoolteacher and now the editorial director of Moms Clean Air Force. On hikes, note how leaves fall from trees in autumn, then sprout again in spring. Point out migrating birds or butterflies that come and go with the seasons.

Recognize small actions demonstrating respect for the planet.

In the short- and long-term, it's beneficial to instill the idea of cleanup responsibility. "It's thinking about the impact you have-if you make a mess where plants and animals live, it can hurt them, and if you clean up, it helps them," Greenspun says. Additionally, though the idea of "sharing" can be challenging for people of any age, young children should be encouraged to share earth's space with other living things.

Likewise, praise kids when they take initiative. That could be as simple as saying "Thank you for turning off the lights, that's helping the planet." Many of us forget to take this step, says Robin Gurwitch, a professor and clinical psychologist at Duke University Medical Center and the Center for Child and Family Health. "When people most important to us notice our actions," she says, "we're more likely to do again and carry it forward."

Keep their faith in humanity alive (it might help restore yours, too).

"For most children under age 5 or 6, the world is a good place, with people taking care of it," says Mary DeMocker, author of The Parents' Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Night's Sleep. Remind kids that so many grownups care about kids' futures and about nature, and they are working to protect both. "They need to know the adults are in charge, and they've got this," DeMocker adds.

In the same vein, avoid processing your own anxieties while talking to young kids, who easily pick up on our emotions. While important to be open about your climate change concerns, do it out of your kids' earshot, by talking with other parents or banding together with fellow activists in your community.

Teaching the Basics to School-Age Kids (Ages 6-12)

Explain the science, simply.

First, gauge what your kids may already know. If they're familiar with the term climate change, ask them to tell you what they've heard about it. Kids sometimes overhear strange ideas, as we know from some of the lies circulated by climate change deniers in our own government. Acknowledge these false claims for what they are, explaining that some people care more about making money or hanging onto power than about the health of our planet. This may be a tough discussion, but it will help you recognize and validate the outrage that kids may feel at older generations.

Once you've dispelled the myths, you can explain the more abstract idea of climate change by using the blanket analogy. Gurwitch suggests describing it this way: "Our world is protected by a layer surrounding the earth, like a blanket that keeps it at just the right temperature. With global warming, there are more and more blankets being put around the earth. We can't just toss them off. So we're figuring out how to change back to the right kind and number of blankets."

Emphasize how we're trying to solve the problem.

Pivot to the positive changes we're making immediately after discussing the challenges. "Children can be frightened if they don't know there are adults who care about climate change and are trying to fix problems," notes Greenspun. "It can help battle the sense of helplessness and powerlessness."

Let them know that there are, in fact, millions of adults who are working to protect kids, to answer our own questions about climate change, and to figure out the steps we will take to get to where we need to be, together.

DeMocker suggests offering kid-friendly examples of innovations and solutions, too, including Chinese solar farms designed in the shape of pandas and playgrounds that create energy. Some of these solutions will be relatable to your child-like the Turn It Off campaign students have championed to decrease emissions produced by idling drivers, and the Meatless Mondays initiative sweeping school cafeterias to lessen the climate impact of weekday lunches.

Discuss the power of personal action.

In grade school, children understand cause and effect, so it's a good time to talk about what kids can do to decrease carbon emissions, with your help. Maybe this is biking or carpooling to school, switching out incandescent light bulbs for energy-efficient LEDs, or setting up a home composting system. One note of caution, though: Kids of all ages notice adult inconsistencies. If we talk about the importance of recycling but don't cut single-use items out of our daily routine, we may face some tough questions.

Holding Open Discussions with Preteens (Ages 12-14)

Encourage climate change questions-even if you can't always answer them.

Tweens are driven by scientific curiosity, awareness, and a sense of civic responsibility. When they're seeking answers to big questions, you can embark with them on the hunt. Start teaching children about how to find trusted resources for climate science information-and what disinformation is out there. However, there's no need to follow every web link. "If we're not careful, the information can become overwhelming and swamp us," Gurwitch says, and can lead to a sense of futility or unrealistic expectations.

Engage children's personal strengths in expressing their concerns.

Maybe your middle-schooler loves polar bears or is worried about air pollution. Communicate that small acts to spread awareness can have ripple effects and encourage them to speak out. Some children feel comfortable giving presentations to other kids, others will prefer to work on poster campaigns and group art projects, and others might perform spoken-word poetry. Invite outgoing kids to join a rally with you. DeMocker, whose family lives in Eugene, Oregon, began attending climate protests with her children at this age, joining symbolic kayak blockades of the Columbia River to protest fossil fuel exports. "We modeled simple living, but also civic engagement," she says.

Branching Out With Teens (Ages 15-18)

Don't be afraid to let your teen educate you on climate change.

After all, when it comes to climate change, your teen may be more aware of the latest research on fossil fuels and lighting alternatives than you are."We can all learn from our children and listen to them," Greenspun says. Many of us might react defensively, due to guilt or frustration over not doing more. "We all need to have the humility to step back and look at parts of ourselves we don't necessarily like to look at," she says.

So if your vegetarian teen confronts you over burgers, ask questions and reflect back their thoughts: How did you decide to become a vegetarian? How do you feel to live in a family with meat-eaters? Can you think of some solutions or compromises?

Share news articles with your teens about their peers making a difference.

The Youth Climate Movement is flourishing, and there are many inspiring examples you can point to spotlighting young people standing up for their generation's future. "It's empowering for teens to see that the government and people are taking them seriously," says Citron-Fink. "It shows them that their voices matter."

This will also help encourage teens to channel climate outrage and worry into action and to focus on the things they can have control over. That's important for their mental health, since as Greenspun points out, "Obsessing over all the things we don't know and can't do anything about often contributes to stress and anxiety."

Discuss coping strategies-what to do when you feel scared, angry, and overwhelmed.

It might be a breathing practice, talking to a friend or grandparent, or going for a walk. "Review with kids what they've found helpful in the past, when they've gone through something hard," Greenspun says.

On the other hand, some teens might act as if they don't care about climate change. "There might need to be a little more digging to find out what that's really about," Greenspun says. "Underneath the bravado of not caring, there's often a lot of fear and sadness."

It's also important to focus on the good news: If humans are to blame for getting into this crisis, humans can also get us back on track. And the latest reports on climate change all emphasize that we do have solutions in reach. "Reassure kids that the scientists say we still have time to avoid the worst climate impacts," DeMocker says. "Scientists are telling us how to turn this around," she adds-and many of us are listening.

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Your Guide to Talking With Kids of All Ages About Climate Change

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Tips for discussing the basic facts, answering tough questions, and helping your kids cope with climate anxiety-even when you, too, are feeling overwhelmed.

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We answer some of your biggest questions!

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We've all heard of it, but what is climate change and what is it doing to our planet?

So, what is climate change?

Climate change (or global warming), is the process of our planet heating up.

Scientists estimate that since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has caused the Earth to warm by approximately 1°C. While that might not sound like much, it means big things for people and wildlife around the globe.

Unfortunately, rising temperatures don't just mean that we'll get nicer weather - if only! The changing climate will actually make our weather more extreme and unpredictable.

As temperatures rise, some areas will get wetter and lots of animals (and humans!) could find they're not able to adapt to their changing climate.

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What causes climate change?

1. Burning fossil fuels

Over the past 150 years, industrialised countries have been burning large amounts of fossil fuels such as oil and gas. The gases released into the atmosphere during this process act like an invisible 'blanket', trapping heat from the sun and warming the Earth. This is known as the " Greenhouse Effect ".

2. Farming

Believe it or not, cows' eating habits contribute towards climate change. Just like us, when cows eat, methane - a type of greenhouse gas - builds up in their digestive system and is released in the form of... a burp! This might sound funny, but when you imagine that there are almost 1.5 billion cows releasing all that gas into the atmosphere, it sure adds up!

3. Deforestation

Forests absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide - another greenhouse gas - from the air, and release oxygen back into it. The Amazon rainforest is so large and efficient at doing this that it acts like our planet's air conditioner - limiting climate change. Sadly, many rainforests are being cut down to make wood, palm oil and to clear the way for farmland, roads, oil mines, and dams.

How will climate change affect the planet?

The Earth has had many tropical climates and ice ages over the billions of years that it's been in existence, so why is now so different? Well, this is because for the last 150 years human activity has meant we're releasing a huge amount of harmful gases into the Earth's atmosphere, and records show that the global temperatures are rising more rapidly since this time.

A warmer climate could affect our planet in a number of ways:
- Shrinking sea ice
How will climate change affect wildlife?

Climate change is already affecting wildlife all over the world, but certain species are suffering more than others. Polar animals - whose icy natural habitat is melting in the warmer temperatures - are particularly at risk. In fact, experts believe that the Arctic sea ice is melting at a shocking rate - 9% per decade! Polar bears need sea ice to be able to hunt, raise their young and as places to rest after long periods of swimming. Certain seal species, like ringed seals make caves in the snow and ice to raise their pups, feed and mate.

It's not just polar animals who are in trouble. Apes like orangutans, which live in the rainforests of Indonesia, are under threat as their habitat is cut down, and more droughts cause more bushfires.

Sea turtles rely on nesting beaches to lay their eggs, many of which are threatened by rising sea levels. Did you know that the temperature of nests determines whether the eggs are male or female? Unfortunately, with temperatures on the rise, this could mean that many more females are born than males, threatening future turtle populations.

How will people be affected by climate change?

Climate change won't just affect animals, it's already having an impact on people, too. Most affected are some of the people who grow the food we eat every day. Farming communities, especially in developing countries, are facing higher temperatures, increased rain, floods and droughts.

We Brits love a good cuppa, (around 165 million cups of the stuff every day!), but we probably take for granted just how much work goes into growing our tea. Environmental conditions can affect the flavour and quality plus it needs a very specific rainfall to grow. In Kenya, climate change is making rainfall patterns less and less predictable. Often there will be droughts followed by huge amounts rain, which makes it very difficult to grow tea.

Farmers might then resort to using cheap chemicals to improve their crop to earn more money, even when long-term use of these chemicals can destroy their soil.

How are people coping with climate change?

Buying Fairtrade products can help make sure a farmer is paid a fair wage. This means they can cover their costs, earn enough money to have a decent standard of living, and invest in their farms to keep their crop healthy, without needing to resort to cheap methods of farming which can further damage the environment.

This support also helps farmers to replace eucalyptus trees - which take up a lot of water - with indigenous trees that are better for the farmers' soil. They can learn to make fuel-efficient stoves which will not only make them a little extra money, but also reduce the carbon footprint of the community - cool!

How can I help prevent climate change?

Small changes in your own home can make a difference, too. Try switching to energy-saving lightbulbs, walking instead of using the car, turning off electrical items when you're not using them, recycling and reducing your food waste.

All these little things can make a difference. You can check out more eco-friendly ideas, in our kids' guide to saving the planet! Plus, check out our cool article about Greta Thunberg, too, to discover how young people are making their voices heard.

You can download information about Fairtrade and climate change for your school, here! www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools.

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What is climate change: facts for kids | National Geographic Kids

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What is climate change (a.k.a. global warming) & why is it happening? We explain how it affects our planet & how we can prevent it...

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Earth's climate is changing at an rate. As a result, storms and are becoming more intense. Temperatures are rising. Polar ice caps are melting. This is causing oceans to rise. Low coastal areas are flooding. Animals are losing their habitats. Scientists are sounding the alarm: If we don't make changes to halt global warming, the planet's climate will become increasingly unbearable.

Climate, unlike weather, describes long-term patterns in the conditions of the . Earth's climate as a whole has changed several times throughout history. In the past 650,000 years alone, there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat. Most of these changes are a natural part of Earth's 4.5 billion-year history. They are due to tiny variations in the Earth's orbit, which alter the amount of solar energy reaching the planet.

Scientists say that recent changes in Earth's climate are not due to natural causes. According to NASA, 97% of climate scientists agree there is a direct connection between human activity and the changes occurring on our planet.

TAYLOR WEIDMAN-BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

The Human Impact

Over the past 150 years, humans have used more and more engines, vehicles, and other machines. These devices burn through fossil fuels like coal and oil. Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases.

Normally, plants, trees, and the oceans absorb carbon dioxide and release it back into the atmosphere as oxygen. But an increase in fossil fuels has created more carbon dioxide than nature can take in. Adding to the problem are other human activities. Deforestation and the destruction of habitats also reduce the number of trees and plants. That makes it even harder to absorb all that carbon dioxide.

When too much carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere, it causes problems for Earth's climate. Sunlight can pass through those gases. But the heat the sun generates cannot escape back out into space. So the gases end up trapping that heat. This then turns the planet into a giant greenhouse.

This greenhouse effect leads to changes in the climate, like increased temperatures. Average temperatures across the planet have not been increasing uniformly. But scientists observe a clear upward trend. Sixteen of the 17 warmest years ever recorded have occurred since 2001.

Scientists believe that climate change will have an impact far greater than milder winters and warmer summers. A warmer planet melts glaciers and other large bodies of ice faster than usual. Earth's glaciers help cool the planet. This means that as ice melts, temperatures will continue to rise. Rising sea levels, flooding, and stronger weather events will occur. And as the planet gets hotter, some places will become uninhabitable for people and animals.

These effects are already being felt around the world. Melting polar ice caps are causing huge chunks of ice to fall into the oceans. The melting ice is causing sea levels to rise about an eighth of an inch per year. That's according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Many coastal areas are in danger of flooding. Some scientists predict that if sea levels continue to rise at current rates, entire cities may be submerged in the next 100 years.

In warm, dry regions, increased temperatures are causing severe drought. This leads to wildfires, food shortages, and water insecurity. Global warming has also led to coral bleaching of nearly two-thirds of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The corals provide a habitat for nearly 1,500 different species of fish. This loss of sea life also affects the hundreds of millions of humans who rely on marine creatures for food.

Climate change is also creating more extreme weather events. This puts people and in danger. Scientists believe that global warming is responsible for hurricanes of greater intensity. Other results of global warming include more frequent and severe heat waves, droughts, blizzards, and rainstorms.

CHRIS SEWARD-RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER/TNS/GETTY IMAGES

Taking Action

Governments, companies, and individuals are working to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. Countries are joining to fight climate change and its effects. Innovators are working to create Earth-friendly fuels and power sources. And more and more people are using electric and hybrid vehicles. They are also turning to wind and solar power for alternative energy sources.

But humans still need to deal with the large amount of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. One solution being tested is called carbon sequestration. Through this process, carbon dioxide can be captured and stored underground before it goes into the atmosphere. Another proposal is to store carbon by planting more trees-nature's carbon trap.

Time will tell the true impact that climate change has on Earth. But how humans respond and adapt to a warming planet will set the course for years to come.

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Earth's climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. As a result, storms and droughts are becoming more intense. Temperatures are rising. Polar ice caps are melting. This is causing oceans to rise. Low coastal areas are flooding. Animals are losing...

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Penguins in Your Fridge? These 7-Year-Olds Have Climate Solutions.

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New Jersey is the first state to require that climate change be taught at all grade levels. The focus is on problem solving, not doom and gloom.

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Try answer this question in our climate test:
How much of the excess heat from global warming is captured in the oceans?

Most people don't realise that almost all of the extra heat created by global warming ends up in the oceans!

This video explains why that is the case:

Most excess heat is hiding in the oceans!

Most people are unaware that most global warming is hiding in the seas. If you think global warming is all about air temperature, you don't realize the true size of the problem. Read more here.
(Follow us for more climate lessons coming soon: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - LinkedIn - TikTok)
About this misconception

Many of us look for global warming in our local weather but, so far, the weather changes that are caused by climate change are spread unevenly over the planet and you probably haven't experienced much of it first hand. A lot of heat is actually trapped inside the atmosphere every day, but you can't detect it by putting your finger in the air, because less than 1% of the excess heat stays in the air. Of the earth's total surface, 71% is covered by oceans and that's where 91% of the heat sneaks away. Over the last 50 years, the average temperature in the upper 75 meters of the oceans has increased by half a degree Celsius. That might sound like a small change, but the amount of energy needed to heat up that amount of water would be devastating if it had stayed in the air.

This also means that we should expect a very long delay when we finally manage to reduce the extra greenhouse gases we emit. When the same amount of heat enters and leaves the atmosphere every day, we will still be stuck with all the extra heat hiding in the oceans. From that moment it will probably take more than a century for the extra energy to eventually escape up into the atmosphere and out into space, where it should be. Not until that has happened can the average temperature in the air start sinking again.

Why is it a problem that people are wrong about this?

If you believe global warming is all about the air temperature, you're not realising how much heat is accumulated. The oceans serve as a huge heat reservoir delaying the changes to the air temperature. The enormous amount of heat accumulated in the oceans will continue warm up the air and land for hundreds of years, even after we stop our greenhouse gas emissions.

Why are people wrong about this?

Most people understand that the greenhouse effect is happening in the atmosphere, and that probably makes it counterintuitive to think that most of the excess heat it captures, ends up in the ocean. When media reports about climate change, it's almost always focusing on unusual weather phenomena and warmer air temperatures, which are things that the media consumer can feel and see and relate to. While the slow and steady increase of water temperature is almost impossible to make an engaging report about. Most people seem to think of the word "climate" almost as a synonym for "the weather" or "the atmosphere", while scientists who talk about the "climate system" are referring to the flows of energy, water and gasses moving between all parts of the system: oceans, land, plants, ice sheets and the air.

About this fact

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Report had "high confidence" in the calculations about where the excess heat goes. Air temperatures are estimated across the world and therefore the energy captured in air can be calculated. Temperatures at different ocean depths have always been trickier to gather. Historic data came mainly from Nansen bottles until the 1950s when bathythermographs started being used.

During the last 20 years, temperatures down to 2000 meters have been measured with small ARGO floats which have covered almost all parts of the oceans since 2005. The ARGO floats sink to 2000 meters depth and then return to the surface to report their measurements. You can see the latest data from almost 4000 of them in real time on the Argovis map. Ship-based stations still dominate when measuring below 2000 meters, but recently the Deep ARGO floats started collecting temperatures all the way down to 6000 meters, in really deep water basins where no historic measurements exist.

Download slides

Want to use the slides from the video in your teaching? You can download them here and use freely.

Behind the scenes...
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Want to try more questions? Go to our Worldview Upgrader.

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Try answer this question in our climate test: How much of the excess heat from global warming is captured in the oceans? Most people don't realise that almost all of the extra heat created by global warming ends up in the oceans!

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Gapminder | How much of the excess heat from global warming is captured in the oceans?

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https://www.gapminder.org/video/climate-change/

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Climate Change - The environment for Kids (Updated Version)

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Climate change - from one kid to another | Bandi Guan | TEDxYouth@GrandviewHeights

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Young People are the Solution to Climate Change | Vish Dhar | TEDxPhillipsAcademyAndover

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School strike for climate - save the world by changing the rules | Greta Thunberg | TEDxStockholm

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The disarming case to act right now on climate change | Greta Thunberg

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David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg's plea for the planet

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How can education really contribute to solving the climate crisis?

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Children Talk About Climate Change for Earth Hour

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Bill Nye tells us the fastest way to slow global warming

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What If All The Ice Melted On Earth? ft. Bill Nye

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How Will Earth Change If All the Ice Melts?

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United Nations | Education is key to addressing climate change

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https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-solutions/education-key-addressing-climate-change

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Operation Earth: How to Be Cool To A Planet That's Hot

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Coronavirus and Climate Change, with Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:43 - 37.3MB) | Embed

Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges of our era, demanding that educators take an active role in educating students about this global issue. Yet, delving into such a multifaceted and occasionally contentious topic can appear daunting.

In a recent episode of Class Dismissed (Episode 251), we had the privilege of speaking with Mark Windschitl, a distinguished Professor of Science Teaching and Learning at the University of Washington, who also boasts a background as a former middle school science teacher.

Windschitl, who has recently published a compelling book titled "Teaching Climate Change: Fostering Understanding, Resilience, and a Commitment to Justice," shared invaluable insights during our conversation. In particular, he discussed his strategies for addressing parental skepticism about climate change.

To effectively navigate potential concerns from parents while teaching about climate change, educators can employ several proven strategies:

1. Open and Transparent Communication: At the outset of the school year, initiate a transparent dialogue with parents. Clearly outline your curriculum and educational goals, explicitly mentioning your intention to teach about climate change. Provide parents with an informative overview of the topics you plan to cover.

2. Align with Educational Standards: Emphasize that your approach to teaching climate change adheres to established educational standards and guidelines. Demonstrating this alignment can help parents understand the pedagogical value of the subject matter.

3. Emphasize Reliable Sources: Share with parents the trusted sources and materials you will utilize for teaching climate change. Stress the importance of relying on reputable scientific sources and evidence-based information in the curriculum. Reassure parents that your commitment lies in presenting an accurate and balanced view of the subject.

4. Proactive Engagement: Anticipate potential concerns or objections by considering the possibility of holding parent-teacher meetings or informative sessions dedicated to discussing the content and approach of your climate change curriculum.

Furthermore, Windschitl provided a refreshing perspective on the methods we should employ when teaching students about climate change and how we can seamlessly integrate this critical subject into various academic disciplines. His expertise underscores the importance of informed and comprehensive climate change education in our schools today.

To delve deeper into Windschitl's insights and discover strategies for implementing similar approaches in your school, tune in to Episode 251 of the Class Dismissed Podcast, available on your preferred podcast platform or the Apple Podcasts App.
All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2017-2023

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Navigating the Classroom: Teaching Climate Change - Class Dismissed Podcast

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:43 - 37.3MB) | EmbedSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Email | RSS | MoreClimate change is one of the most urgent challenges of our era, demanding that educators take an active role in educating students about this global issue.

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NPR/Ipsos conducted a national poll recently and found that more than 8 in 10 teachers - and a similar majority of parents - support teaching kids about climate change.

But in reality, it's not always happening: Fewer than half of K-12 teachers told us that they talk about climate change with their children or students. Again, parents were about the same.

The top reason that teachers gave in our poll for not covering climate change? "It's not related to the subjects I teach," 65% said.

Yet at the same time, we also heard from teachers and education organizations who are introducing the topic in subjects from social studies to math to English language arts, and at every grade level, from preschool on up.

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That raises the question: Where does climate change belong in the curriculum, anyway?

The "reality of human-caused climate change" is mentioned in at least 36 state standards, according to an analysis done for NPR Ed by Glenn Branch, the deputy director at the National Center for Science Education. But it typically appears only briefly - and most likely just in earth science classes in middle and high school. And, Branch says, that doesn't even mean that every student in those states learns about it: Only two states require students to take earth or environmental science classes to graduate from high school.

Joseph Henderson teaches in the environmental studies department at Paul Smith's College in upstate New York. He studies how climate change is taught in schools and believes it needs to be taught across many subjects.

"For so long this has been seen as an issue that is solely within the domain of science," he says. "There needs to be a greater engagement across disciplines, particularly looking at the social dimensions," such as the displacement of populations by natural disasters.

At the same time, there's a tension in pushing more educators to take this on. "I worry a lot about asking schools to solve yet another problem that society refuses to deal with."

As a potential response to this criticism, the nonprofit Ten Strands follows an "incremental infusion" model in California. In other words, environmental literacy becomes part of subjects and activities that are already in the curriculum instead of, the organization says, "burdening educators" with another stand-alone and complex area to cover.

We also heard from teachers who say they are searching for more ideas and resources to take on the topic of climate change. Here are some thoughts about how to broach the subject with students, no matter what subject you teach:
1. Do a lab.
Lab activities can be one of the most effective ways to show children how global warming works on an accessible scale.

Ellie Schaffer is a sixth-grader at Alice Deal Middle School in Washington, D.C. In science class, she has done simulations on greenhouse effects, using plastic wrap to trap the sun's heat. And she has used charcoal to see how black carbon from air pollution can speed the melting of ice.

These lessons have raised her awareness - and concern. "We've ignored climate change for a long time and now it's getting to be, like, a real problem, so we've gotta do something."

Many teachers we talked with mentioned NASA as a resource for labs and activities. The ones in this outline can be done with everyday materials such as ice, tinfoil, plastic bottles, rubber, light bulbs and a thermometer.

On the Earth Science Week website, there's a list of activities and lesson plans aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. They range from simple to elaborate.
2. Show a movie.
Susan Fisher, a seventh-grade science teacher at South Woods Middle School in Syosset, N.Y., showed her students the 2016 documentary Before the Flood, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio journeying to five continents and the Arctic to see the effects of climate change. "It is our intention to make our students engaged citizens," Fisher says.

Before the Flood has an action page and an associated curriculum. Common Sense Media has a list of climate change-related movies for all ages.

The 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth and its 2017 sequel, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power, have curricular materials created in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation.
3. Assign a novel.
Rebecca Meyer is an eighth-grade English language arts teacher at Bronx Park Middle School in New York City.

She assigned her students a 2013 novel by Mindy McGinnis called Not a Drop to Drink.

"As we read the novel, kids made connections between what is happening today and the novel," Meyer says. "At the end of the unit, as a culminating project, students chose groups, researched current solutions for physical and economic water scarcity and created PSA videos using iMovie about the problem and how their solution could help to combat the issue."

She described the unit as a success. "They were very engaged; they loved it," she explains. "A lot of them shared this information with their families. When parents came in for parent-teacher conferences, they mentioned their kids had been talking to them about conserving water."

Not A Drop To Drink belongs to a subgenre of science fiction known as " cli-fi" (climate fiction) or sometimes eco-fiction. You can find lists of similar books at websites like Dragonfly.eco or at the Chicago Review of Books, which has a monthly Burning Worlds column about this kind of literature.

Looking for English topics for younger students? EL Education covers environmental topics, including water conservation and the impact of natural disasters, in its K-5 English language arts curriculum.
4. Do citizen science.
Terry Reed is the self-proclaimed "science guru" for seventh-graders at Prince David Kawananakoa Middle School in Honolulu. He has also spent a year sailing the Caribbean, and on his way, he collected water samples on behalf of a group called Adventure Scientists, to be tested for microplastics. (Spoiler: Even on remote, pristine beaches, all the samples had some.)

He has assigned his students to collect water samples from beaches near their homes to submit for the same project. He also has them take pictures of cloud formations and measure temperatures, to see changes in weather patterns over time. "One thing I stress to them, that in the next few years, they become the voting public," he says. "They need to be aware of the science."
5. Assign a research project, multimedia presentation or speech.
Gay Collins teaches public speaking at Waterford High School in Waterford, Conn. She is interested in "civil discourse" as a tool for problem-solving, so she encourages her students "to shape their speeches around critical topics, like the use of plastics, minimalism, and other environmental issues.
6. Talk about your personal experience.
Pamela Tarango teaches third grade at the Downtown Elementary School in Bakersfield, Calif. She tells her students about how the weather has changed there in her lifetime, getting hotter and drier: "In our Central Valley California city of Bakersfield, there has been a change in the winter climate. I told them about how, when I was growing up in the 1970s, we often had several two-and-three-hour delays to school starting because of dense tule fog, which affected visibility. We really never have those delays in the metropolitan area. It is only the outlying areas, which still have two-and-three-hour dense fog delays, and they are rare even for the rural areas."

(Although the Central Valley winter has indeed become hotter and drier because of climate change, recently a University of California, Berkeley study has attributed the reduction in tule fog specifically to declines in air pollution.)
7. Do a service project.
"I teach preschoolers and use the environment and our natural resources to highlight our everyday life," says Mercy Peña-Alevizos, who teaches at Holy Trinity Academy in Phoenix. "I stress the importance of appreciation and eliminating waste. My students understand and have fantastic ideas. We recycle and pick up around our neighborhood."

Environmental service projects can be simple, elaborate or just for fun. Check out the #trashtag challenge on social media, for example.
8. Start or work in a school garden.
Mairs Ryan teaches science at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School in San Diego. "The sixth-graders oversee the school garden, as well as our vermin composting bin, christened the 'Worm Hotel'. The garden is their lab and the students 'live and learn' soil carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture. Our school's compost bin is evidence that alternatives exist to methane-producing landfills. In looking for more solutions to reduce methane, students debate food reuse practices around the world."

Check out ThePermacultureStudent.com for resources on building school gardens with rainwater capture and compost systems to regenerate the soil. There are local and regional resources such as the Collective School Garden Network in California and Growing Minds in North Carolina, which offer basic plans for a school garden as well as lesson plans that connect gardening to Common Core standards.
Here are some more resources
After the publication of our climate poll story on Monday, we heard from people all over the country with dozens more resources for climate education.

Alliance for Climate Education has a multimedia resource called Our Climate Our Future, plus more resources for educators and several action programs for youth.

The American Association of Geographers has free online professional development resources for teachers.

American Reading Co. sells an English Language Arts curriculum called ARCCore that includes climate change themes.

Biointeractive, created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has hundreds of free online education resources, including many on education and the environment, and it offers professional development for teachers.

Climate Generation offers professional development for educators nationwide and a youth network in Minnesota.

CLEAN (Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network) has a collection of resources organized in part by the Next Generation Science Standard it is aligned with.

Global Oneness Project offers lesson plans that come with films and videos of climate impacts around the world.

Google offers free online environmental sustainability lesson plans for grades 5-8.

The Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility has a group of 19 lessons for K-12.

"We believe that the social and emotional skills we help strengthen in young people and adults are sorely needed to combat the fear and avoidance we and students experience around climate change," spokesperson Laura McClure told NPR.

The National Center for Science Education has free climate change lessons that focus on combating misinformation. They also have a "scientist in the classroom" program.

The National Science Teachers Association has a comprehensive curriculum.

The Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, N.Y., has a book called the Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change.

Ripple Effect "creates STEM curriculum" for K-6 "about real people and places impacted by climate change," starting with New Orleans.

Ten Strands offers professional learning to educators in California in partnership with the state's recycling authority and an outdoor-education program, among others.

Think Earth offers 9 environmental education units from preschool through middle school.

The Zinn Education Project (based on the work of Howard Zinn, the author of A People's History Of The United States) has launched a group of 18 lessons aimed specifically at climate justice. Some are drawn from this book: A People's Curriculum For The Earth: Teaching Climate Change And The Environmental Crisis.

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8 Ways To Teach Climate Change In Almost Any Classroom

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NPR/Ipsos conducted a national poll recently and found that more than 8 in 10 teachers - and a similar majority of parents - support teaching kids about climate change. But in reality, it's not always happening: Fewer than half of K-12 teachers told us that they talk about climate change with their children or students.

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Introducing Students to Climate Science using the Kids Against Climate Change Website

Not sure how to begin teaching about climate change?

Use these Essential Questions as your guide:

How is air pollution changing Earth and all living things?

How do scientists know what they know about climate change?

Why is it important for people to know about climate change?

What can kids and adults do to help slow down climate change?

(Teachers in the USA: See NGSS Earth and Human Activity for enduring understandings.)

Lesson #1: Introduce and Engage

Objectives. By the end of this lesson, learners will understand that Earth is warming because carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere are keeping the sun's heat near Earth. Power plants, factories, and modes of transportation (cars, planes, etc.) are the biggest producers of these gases. Earth's warming is causing climates to change, creating unusual and severe weather in many places. Kids can feel hopeful because people are beginning to take steps to slow down climate change, and they can help as well.

Introduction. Tell the learners that lots of kids are concerned about climate change. Ask them what they've heard about it already. Tell them you're going to play a short video (2 mins.) to give them more background information, and then they'll write about the scientific information.

Whole Class. Show the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency's video, Climate Change Basics (OLD) video (below).

Group Work. Divide students into small groups. Give each group a large piece of paper and some markers. Have them divide the top half into two columns, labeling one column, KNOW, and the other column WONDER. Ask the groups to list the facts they remember from the video in the first column, and what else they wonder about climate change in the second column. Re-play the video after 10 minutes to see if the learners can catch more facts to write down.

Whole Class. Ask each group to share three important facts they learned with the entire class. Once a fact has been shared, it should not be repeated by another group, so everyone needs to listen carefully. As groups are sharing, individuals should feel free to continue to add to the WONDER column as they think of more ideas.

Next, have each group draw a model of the greenhouse effect on the bottom half of the paper, making sure to include labels, and writing a short explanation below the model. Replay video at 0.13 - 0.21 mins. to show the model.

Display the students' work in the classroom to refer to during the following lessons.

Conclusion. Summarize the class by emphasizing that the science is clear. Planet Earth is warming up. The warming is caused by people putting carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere. The gases are holding the sun's heat near Earth. Power plants (that make electricity), factories (that make products), and various modes of transportation (cars, airplanes, etc.), put the most carbon dioxide into the air. This is causing climates to change, affecting the lifestyles of many people as they try to deal with severe drought in some areas, massive flooding in other areas, and wild dangerous weather.

More and more people are concerned about it, so it's important that we all know what's causing it, what the effects are, and what we can do about it. Let the learners know that they'll have the chance to discuss this important topic with other kids on the Kids Against Climate Change website.

Lesson #2: Motivate and Explore

Objectives. By the end of this lesson, learners will understand the causes and effects of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They'll see that Earth's systems (air, water, land, and living things) are all linked - a change in one is going to have an impact on the others. They'll understand how scientists know that climate change is caused by people putting carbon dioxide in the air. They'll also have a reason to be hopeful about their future.

Introduction. Introduce your learners to the Kids Against Climate Change homepage and give them a quick look at the other website pages. Explain that this interactive website allows them to discuss climate change with other kids. (If they're anything like my students, they LOVE to talk!) The site provides an opportunity to be both consumers and producers of knowledge. Remind them of the Climate Change Basics video. Why might they want to talk with other kids about climate change? Why would it be a good idea to get more background information before talking to others about climate change?

Whole Class. Introduce them to Information for Kids section of the Start Learning page. (Note that there's also a section for advanced research for older students.) Here they'll gather additional information about climate change to add to their background knowledge.

Give your learners focus questions to research to help them understand the causes and effects of climate change. Depending on the background knowledge of your learners, you may want to use the Essential Questions above.

Alternatively, you might want to begin with smaller, more specific, questions to guide their research, such as, What is carbon dioxide? Where does it come from? How does it get into the air? Why is that a problem?

Another option is to have them complete this Climate Change Basics Worksheet (here as a download with Answer Key) to get started learning about climate change. Students can find all answers for the worksheet on the U.S. EPA website and NASA Climate Kids website on the Information for Kids Start Learning page.)

Individual/Pair/Group Work. Children take notes and draw sketches in their science notebook, or complete the worksheet, as they gather important information about climate change. Remind learners that they'll be using this information in their discussions with other kids, so it's important that they have accurate information, and that they take accurate notes. Ask a volunteer from each group to add new information to yesterday's climate change charts.

Conclusion. Summarize the class by emphasizing that scientists have evidence that the rapidly warming Earth is caused by people. The carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that people are putting into the air are trapping Earth's heat close to the earth. This is causing the planet's air, water, and land to warm up, causing climates around the world to change.

Weather is what we experience on a daily basis. Climate is the average weather over decades. Earth is beginning to experience the effects of climate change: abnormal weather patterns, glaciers melting, sea level rising, changes inside the ocean, etc.

The good news is that people are beginning to take steps to slow down climate change. Assure your learners that they'll be joining the discussion on Kids Against Climate Change during the next class.

Lesson #3: Explore & Empower

Objectives. By the end of this lesson, students will understand that many kids are concerned about climate change, so they're learning as much as they can about it. Knowledge is power. Others want to hear what your students have to say. By joining the discussion, kids are encouraging societal change and feeling more hopeful about their future.

Whole Class. Point out that kids have submitted the pictures and videos for the Kids Against Climate Change website, and they can as well, once they've joined the discussion. Review the directions on the page for posting comments and replies. Note that all comments are moderated, to ensure that only appropriate comments are on the site, so they may not appear immediately.

Conclusion. Summarize by having partners or small groups discuss what they posted on the site. During whole class discussion, ask students what new information they learned from other children. Are there any comments they found confusing, or that they wondered about? Ask your students what they think the next step should be (taking steps to slow down climate change and talking to other kids about it).

Lesson #4: Explore and Empower

Objectives. By the end of this lesson, learners will know several ways they can help slow down climate change. They'll understand how actions such as recycling, turning off lights, unplugging chargers, and reducing food waste help reduce air pollution, and that reducing air pollution slows down climate change. They'll feel empowered to know there are steps they can take, and that they can share their ideas with other kids. They'll commit to taking at least one new step to slow down climate change. Learners will feel optimistic about their future.

Individual/Pair Work. Learners use the What Can Kids Do? section of the Start Learningpage to research ways kids can help slow down climate change. In their science notebooks, or on large chart paper, have learners write a list of climate actions kids can take, AND how each action reduces air pollution to slow down climate change. (Example: When you reduce your use of electricity the electric company doesn't need to burn as much fossil fuel to make the electricity, reducing the amount of pollution put in the air.)

Group Work. In a small groups, have learners each share at least one climate action they take today to reduce air pollution. Tell them they will be meeting again later in the week to discuss how it went.

Whole Class. Extend learner thinking by asking them why they should want to encourage other children to take steps to slow down climate change. How do the actions of people in other countries (e.g., creating lots of air pollution) affect the quality of life of all children around the world?

Conclusion. Summarize by asking a few volunteers what they posted on the website. Ask the class, as a whole, if they think they'll be able to follow through on their commitment to take action themselves because it's going to take more than just talk to slow down climate change.

Lesson #5: Explore and Extend

Objectives. By the end of this lesson, students will know several ways adults can help slow down climate change. Kids are an important part in creating societal change by taking action themselves, but they also need the help of adults who have more power than kids. In addition to their own actions, they can keep talking to adults, helping them to understand that scientists have evidence of human-caused climate change, and that we all need to work together to slow down climate change. Students will feel optimistic about their future.

Individual/Pair Work. Students use the What Should Adults Do? section of the Start Learning page to research ways adults can help slow down climate change. In their science notebooks, or on large chart paper, have students write a list of actions adults can take, and how each action reduces air pollution to slow down climate change.

Group Work. Students explain in their own words how different adult actions can make a difference. (For example, when a company builds a wind farm the turbines generate electricity when their blades are pushed by the wind. Creating energy this way is not creating air pollution, unlike old-fashioned power plants that have to burn air-polluting coal to create energy.)

Whole Class. Extend thinking by asking students how they could explain climate change to an adult who doesn't "believe" Earth's climate is changing (which really means the adult doesn't understand the science).

Conclusion. Summarize the class by emphasizing that climate change is a big problem, but kids AND adults are beginning to take steps to slow it down. Ask what new technology they think will have the largest effect. If we all take responsibility for taking care of Planet Earth we can have a significant impact. Encourage your students to keep talking about it to other kids and adults.

Lesson #6: Create and Empower

Objectives. By the end of this lesson, learners will have created a product to be shared with other children for the Kids Against Climate Change website that teaches others about one aspect of climate change, or gives an idea for slowing down climate change. Learners feel empowered by their ability to communicate and take action to make a difference.

Post originals in the school hallway, or other location, to share with as many people as possible!

Conclusion. Summarize the class by reminding your learners that if we all work together to slow down climate change, by talking about it, AND by taking action (by reducing waste, by recycling, etc.), we can make a significant difference.

Feeling a little unsure of your own background knowledge about climate change? Not to worry. Plunge in anyway. There's good background information on the For Older Students section of the Start Learning page. Teachers can have a profound societal impact by educating students about climate change, making sure they receive accurate science information from reliable sources. Time to start teaching climate change!

"We taught the lessons, but did we have an impact? Did we help the human race?"

Kottie Christie-Blick
Instructor, University of San Diego
Climate Change Education Consultant
www.kottiecb.com
kchristieblick@sandiego.edu

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Start learningWhat do kids know?What can kids do?What should adults do?Share! Climate Lessons for Teachers Ms. Christie-Blick and Class Introducing Students to Climate Science using the Kids Against Climate Change Website Not sure how to begin teaching about climate change? Use these Essential Questions as your guide: How is air pollution changing Earth and all...

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Make this big issue personal for young students by showing them how they can work toward solutions using community science.

Climate change is a complicated topic, especially for young students. I used to steer clear of the subject in my classes, terrified of traumatizing my young learners. Surely my own climate anxiety would make things worse-I'm not a climate scientist, and this wasn't part of my teacher training. Besides, climate change isn't in my state curriculum, and I thought my students' families would get upset with me for teaching it.

Then I heard the whispers in my classroom: "Humans are hurting the planet." "The world is ending." "We mess up everything we touch." I realized children were already being influenced by climate change-through direct experiences or the media-and they were starting off with a damaged foundation. Now I feel a responsibility to build climate hope and agency in my young students, and my most trusted tool is community science.

Community Science

Community science allows everyone to participate in scientific research. Projects are designed to crowdsource information, collecting data from volunteers across large areas and over long timescales-something a single researcher could never do on their own. As our climate changes, shifts in annual weather patterns change the timing of life-cycle patterns on a local scale. Phenology is the study of seasonal life-cycle patterns, and we see these changes around us all the time: flowers blooming, birds building nests, and insects that we didn't see the week before. Each observation we make is a snapshot of a life-cycle event happening in a certain place at a certain time, and when we look at these snapshots year over year, we can see phenological change firsthand.

So why use community science as a tool to address climate change in the classroom? In short, teachers can help meet the need for community-sourced data while building students' science skills, modeling community engagement, and empowering the next generation of scientists.

Building Science Skills

Community science is real science. Each time I tell my students that their observations could be included in ongoing scientific research, their eyes light up. In practice, it isn't that different from what we usually do in science class. By recording blossoms, bird sightings, or autumn leaves, students practice essential science skills like making observations, collecting data, and identifying patterns. But when students are able to share their observations with scientists and compare their data with past records, it becomes so much more than going through the motions of the scientific method.

Students build climate literacy and share essential data on the effects of climate change on their local environments. Existing community science projects like Nature's Notebook, I See Change, Budburst, and Seek by iNaturalist make it easy for participants to share phenological observations with scientists and to look through past data to identify local patterns over time. If technology is a barrier, teachers can build their own community science projects on a smaller scale, through either adding to a class phenology binder each year or simply practicing nature journaling-which is how the "father of phenology," Aldo Leopold, got his start.

Building Community

Community science is a mode of collective action, which helps classrooms to engage in climate solutions without feeling personally responsible for saving the planet. Through the lens of community science, students can tackle this heavy topic as a team, building connections with their local habitats and finding meaning in the patterns they observe. This includes my role as their teacher: Instead of being the climate authority in our classroom, I support my students in their own inquiries and facilitate information sharing among the team.

Engaging in solutions socially also helps students understand collective responsibility and paves the way for future civic engagement. Depending on how they're shared, student observations can be used directly in conservation research, management of natural resources, and policy changes. Modeling collective action and community support shows students that they aren't alone and that we can work together to protect our Earth.

Building Self-Efficacy

Young people feel helpless, worried, and pessimistic about the future of our planet, and they may feel that there's nothing they can do to help. When students are aware that their personal observations are helping scientists to understand the impacts of climate change, they're able to build agency in the issue. Community science is now my go-to when talking about challenging topics like climate change, and it's helped me turn that negative classroom narrative on its head. My students are hopeful about the future. Each time they submit their data, I can see on their faces that they feel empowered, included, and that their input means something.

Actively participating in the process of science also breaks down barriers to science as a whole, especially when students can engage in a way that is meaningful to them. They went from loudly proclaiming their dislike for science to asking my permission to do online community science projects on their breaks and even participating in other community science projects on their own time.

It turns out that my students' families were glad that I was teaching climate science and they were interested in community science too. Our youngest students will be most affected by climate change, so we have a responsibility to build them up to face these challenges. Community science cuts the anxiety of teaching climate change for me and my students, and it is more enriching than I ever imagined. Try it for yourself.

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Bringing Climate Change Into the Elementary Classroom

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Make this big issue personal for young students by showing them how they can work toward solutions using community science.

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Digital tools allow students to monitor changes in our environment over time and see the impact of climate change firsthand.

Allison Shelley for the Alliance for Excellent Education

When teaching a lesson on climate change, I was once approached by a student who was visibly upset about the state of our world. She asked me, "What gives you hope that things can change?" I was reminded of a quote by youth climate activist Greta Thunberg: "There is hope-I've seen it-but it does not come from the governments or corporations, it comes from the people. The people who have been unaware are now starting to wake up, and once we become aware we change. We can change and people are ready for change."

Our students will be the ones to protect the future of our planet, so how do we give them hope and help them take action? How do we equip them with the tools they'll need to take on this challenge while also maintaining optimism?

As educators, we can make a difference by teaching our students climate literacy, an understanding of how human activities influence the environment and how these changes in return have a direct impact on our society. Building climate literacy can help prepare students for their role as citizens and decision-makers so they can hopefully adapt to and mitigate the effects of global climate change. This begins with effective climate change education, which includes opportunities for students to engage cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally.

One way to achieve this is through community science projects, in which students can monitor the changes in our environment over time and see the impact of climate change firsthand.

Engaging Minds

Climate literacy starts with helping our students understand and appreciate the scientific process. Community science projects like Nature's Notebook and Project Budburst allow students to engage in scientific practices such as conducting research, classifying, measuring, predicting, systems thinking, and critical thinking, while simultaneously building knowledge of our climate.

These projects help model the scientific process for students. Scientists and community members are observing, uncovering comparative questions, exploring predictions, gathering data, analyzing data and sharing discoveries. In particular, Nature's Notebook focuses on observations, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making and recording regular observations in nature through time helps us "better understand how species in our ecosystems are responding to seasonal change and to long-term climatic changes."

These projects are designed specifically to help students build and apply 21st-century skills like making predictions, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions from evidence, and sharing and communicating information. For example, students can collect phenological data like bud and flower break, fruit harvest, or leaf fall. In addition, they can gather data on life cycle changes of native species like the monarch butterfly and its host plant milkweed, and the timing of flowering and leafing with insect emergence.

By participating in Project Budburst, students can help scientists answer research questions like "How is climate change affecting plant phenology?" or "How are pollinators affected by climate change?" Both Project Budburst and Nature's Notebook can help illustrate the phenological process, making them valuable tools to introduce students to climate change.

Engaging Hearts

By observing their community, students develop the desire to care for it. Fostering ownership of the local environment motivates climate literacy, and citizen science projects like the ones above and ISeeChange offer an opportunity for students to learn in their own communities.

ISeeChange encourages students to create posts that combine detailed stories and photos to show what they are seeing in their environment and how it is affecting them, such as how a pest species is affecting their schoolyard habitat. A community scientist here in Rhode Island, for instance, posted a photo of a bulb popping up in late January, and a cranberry farmer in neighboring Massachusetts posted about having to harvest her crop two weeks later than usual this past year.

In addition to helping improve local knowledge and research, the project helps students identify the effects of climate change in their backyards, neighborhoods, and cities, allowing students to build personal connections with their surroundings.

Engaging Hands

Our students can be active participants and agents of change in their communities, and effective climate change education empowers students to take action. Through community science projects, students can use the local data that they collect and their desire to protect what they love to inform their communities of potential solutions to local environmental issues.

For example, students might post photos of flooding events or the effects of extreme weather events in their neighborhoods, which are then shared widely by ISeeChange on social media, in newsletters, and in reports to local partners that are working on local solutions.

One of the things that I admire the most about young people is their resilience-they give me hope! We need to ensure that today's students, the next generation of citizens, have the foundation needed to grapple with and address the challenges of global climate change with their heads, hearts, and hands.

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Building Climate Literacy With Community Science Projects

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Digital tools allow students to monitor changes in our environment over time and see the impact of climate change firsthand. Allison Shelley for the Alliance for Excellent Education When teaching a lesson on climate change, I was once approached by a student who was visibly upset about the state of our world.

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The Essential Principles of Climate Literacy

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Climate and energy are complex topics. There are many ways to approach climate and energy depending on the grade level, course topics and instructional method.

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National Ocean Service | Education | Discover our resources and programs for educators, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about our ocean and coasts!

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https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/

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https://budburst.org/activities/for-educators

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In 2023, the Children's Environmental Literacy Foundation announced that it has added the Young Voices for the Planet's series of groundbreaking films featuring student environmental action to its educational resources. Associated curriculum resources will be absorbed into CELF's portfolio of educational tools soon. After more than a decade of innovation in youth voice empowerment and environmental education, over a dozen short films produced, workshops and film screenings hosted across North America, PBS broadcasts, National Geographic streaming, and numerous other creative partnerships, Young Voices for the Planet is entering its next phase of growth as a part of CELF.

Young Voices for the Planet films and curricula were originally developed as a project of Young Voices on Climate Change, a nonprofit organization. All associated copyrights and trademarks have now been assigned and transferred to CELF.

WORDS HAVE POWER

10-year-old Jaysa rallies the community with her speeches about how the power plant causes asthma and "so much suffering." When they succeed in shutting down the plant, Jaysa concludes that "words have power."

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Young Voices for the Planet - Children's Environmental Literacy Foundation

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In 2023, the Children's Environmental Literacy Foundation announced that it has added the Young Voices for the Planet's series of groundbreaking films featuring student environmental action to its educational resources. Associated curriculum resources will be absorbed into CELF's portfolio of educational tools soon.