Lesson plan for lower secondary (double lesson)
You may use and adapt this lesson plan as you please for non-commercial purposes (CC BY-NC). Please, credit Lenka Garshol & Line Reichelt Føreland if publishing. The activities in this lesson plan add to more than 90 minutes. Pick and use what suits your class best. The game can be downloaded for free here: https://www.theclimatetrail.com/
Introduction: (5 min)
Today’s lesson is about sustainable development, more specifically about climate change. We will use both English and Norwegian today and do several activities connected to the cross-curricular topic and we will also play a game called The Climate Trail. But before we get to the game, we need to know what you already know about this topic. You have already started working on the topic of sustainable development in your English and natural science classes. Today, we will look more into the future.
Show a gif image of global warming from 1850 to 2020: Is climate change real?
Copyright: Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist in the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Padlet (10 minutes)
Which topics/issues do you think of when you think of climate change? What is climate change? How does it manifest itself?
- Elicit 3-4 topics
- Divide the class into smaller groups and assign the topics – each group needs to come up with 2-3 sub-points to their topic
- Either the pupils or the teacher writes the results into a Padlet
Video about climate change (10 mintues)
(Available in five languages)
Group activity (10-15 minutes)
Can you notice any signs of climate change in your own environment? Which signs did you notice? Discuss with your group.
Use your Chromebooks to find 3 news articles related to climate change. What are they about? Which one of them is the most worrying one for you? Present your choice to the rest of the class.
Game: It all hangs together (10 minutes)
Each pupil receives one or two cards which include a concept and a definition, but they do not correspond to each other. The teacher starts with one card reading the concept (top of the card) and the pupil who has the corresponding definition on their card (bottom of the card) reads it. If correct, then the same pupil proceedes to read the concept on their card and another pupil with the correct definition reads theirs. The game continues until the whole loop is finished. (Game cards can be downloaded here in Norwegian: https://www.fn.no/undervisning/undervisningsopplegg/5-7-trinn/ressursbank-baerekraft-5.-7.trinn/loop-begrepsoevelse-om-baerekraft)
Video about changing ecosystems: Where does this lead us? (10 minutes)
The Climate Trail (20-30 minutes playtime in pairs)
The teacher introduces the game and goes through the background of the story on the projector screen. Discuss the options the players have: Should all survive? Risk taking strategies: speed vs. safety.
Pairs play together on one device (iPad/Android) and should make decisions together. Multiple rounds should be possible in 30 minutes.
Summary (10-15 minutes)
Repeat the learning goals + watch video: What can I do? Oppdrag Bærekraft – en film om verdens viktigste kunde Pupils can pitch their ideas in a Mentimeter or Padlet.