TEACHERS NOTES Our Environment Unit 1: Understanding Climate Change Level 1

Transcription

1 Our Environment Unit 1: Understanding Climate Change This Unit is based on CSWE I

2 Contents & Learning Outcomes. Activity Sheet AS 1: Our Environment CSWE Level Skills Supported Learning Activities Page # 1 Writing, Spoken English, Label an image, discussion, drawing, describe 3-4 Reading, Listening. a drawing. AS 2: The First Australians AS 3: Greenhouse Gases 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading, Listening. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading, Listening. Cloze activity, discussion, writing dot points. 5-6 Discussion, label a diagram. 7-8 AS 4: Climate 1 Writing, Spoken English Reading. Word search, complete the sentences. 9 AS 5: Human Activity AS 6: Climate Change AS 7: Too Many Greenhouse Gases AS 8: Human Activity - Warming the Earth AS 9: What Could We Do? AS 10: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint. AS 11: Our Carbon Footprint. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading, Listening. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading, Listening. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading, Listening. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading, Listening. 1 Writing, Spoken English, Reading, Listening. Label an image, discussion, writing dot points. 10 Discussion, cloze activity Discussion, label a diagram Cloze activity. 15 Discussion, use of flash cards, writing dot points. Discussion, identify key information. 17 Recount, forecasting This Unit is based on certificates II and III in Spoken and Written English (CSWE) and can be adapted for similar curriculum frameworks and other levels. For AMEP Teachers- This Unit supports the delivery of the CSWE through the topic of Environment. Skills Key: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening 123 Numeracy Technology LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 2/20

3 Our Environment Activity Sheet 1 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: atmosphere house countryside workplace beach environment neighbourhood earth To understand the words we may use to describe the different environments we find ourselves in e.g. the workplace, our neighbourhood, our school. To understand that the word environment does not just describe our natural surroundings. Suggestions- An environment describes the conditions surrounding someone or something. Therefore an environment can be any surrounding area. Activity 1.3- Discussion Students could be asked to choose their favourite environment and discuss in class why this is their favourite environment, using the key word above. Activity Three more environments Teachers could be equipped with pictures of different environments for the students to use when identifying thee more environments. Answers Activity 1.1 Earth Q1. Planet, world, globe. Activity 1.2- Types of Environments 1. our neighbourhood 2. the workplace 3. our atmosphere 4. the countryside 5. our house 6. the beach Activity 1.3- Discussion Encourage students to discuss all the environments identified in Activity 1.2. This could be a class discussion or a partner discussion. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 3/ 20

4 Our Environment Activity Sheet 1 Activity 1.4- Three More Environments Students are asked to draw three more environments. Examples include: the park, the shopping centre, the school, inside a plane, inside a car, in the garden. Teachers could be equipped with pictures of different environments for the students to paste into the squares provided and to support the student s drawings. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 4/20

5 The First Australians Activity Sheet 2 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: Aboriginal connection live territory hunter gatherer First Australians To understand and acknowledge that the Australian Aboriginals were the First Australians, having lived in Australia for over 40,000 years. Aboriginals survived for thousands of years in Australia by connecting with the resources that were available around them. They had, and still have, a deep connection with the natural environment which can be seen in their stories, art and dance. You could say that they lived in harmony with the land and their surroundings. Explore the website suggested below to get a deeper understanding about how our First Australians lived. SBS website: The First Australians. Visit this website to get a deeper understanding about how our First Australians lived and survived for thousands of years. You could also visit several of the videos, look at the photography and listen to the people being interviewed. Suggestions- Activity 2.2- How did the First Australians live? Students may wish to highlight vocabulary they don t know whilst they are reading and discuss the meaning of these words with the class or with a partner. Answers Activity 2.1- The First Australians 1. The first people to inhabit and care for the Australian environment were the Australian Aborigines. 2. Australian Aborigines are often called the First Australians. 3. A clan territory or country refers to a specific area where the First Australians lived. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 5/ 20

6 The First Australians Activity Sheet 2 4. The First Australians survived for thousands of years by gathering food and hunting animals that were available in the natural environment. 5. The First Australians had and still have, a deep connection with the natural environment. This connection can be seen in their stories, art and dance. Activity 2.2- How did the First Australians Live? Encourage students to discuss the text provided and explore the images. This discussion could be a class or partner discussion. Students could write dot points or new words on the lines provided. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 6/20

7 Greenhouse Gases Activity Sheet 3 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: atmosphere radiation trap reflected normal greenhouse gases blanket For students to understand that a certain amount of greenhouse gases (Drawing One: Normal amount of greenhouse gases) are required so that the temperature on earth can stay at a comfortable level. For students to understand three specific greenhouse gases and begin to explore how these gases affect the earth. Suggestionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas In your search engine on the computer search for more images and diagrams of greenhouse gases and their affects on earth. Answers Activity Keeping our Earth Livable Encourage students to discuss Drawing One: Understanding Climate Change. This Drawing is showing that the temperature on earth is comfortable when there are a normal amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and that we need these gases to ensure a livable temperature on earth. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 7/ 20

8 Greenhouse Gases Activity Sheet 3 Activity 3.2- Drawing One: Normal amount of greenhouse gases. Nitrous Oxide Atmosphere Methane Carbon dioxide Sun s radiation- some is absorbed & some is reflected by the - earth. Atmosphere Sun s Radiation LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 8/20

9 Climate Activity Sheet 4 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Vocabulary: climate summer winter weather pattern tropical desert search For students to understand what a climate is. For students to briefly explore the different weather patterns in Australia and then compare these weather patterns with those from their country of birth. - Australia may need extra seasons Climate and Weather, What s the difference? Answers Activity 4.1- What is a Climate? Q A Z W S X E D C R C T G V D G D G J U I J N F D O S C R Y B T D J I G N V G O L E D S Q P A T T E R N D F B D I O B D E F T H B E Q U R C Z M B N I L O R A I N F B J T D I W O P C B V R G H J U W E A T H E R D Q S X V F H K M I A V T Y M H N G B C E Y J O L S W A F D O D E H I T R O P I C A L H E T G H G V B E I O P X A W T S G B H E D G Y N J W E C F H E G N B E T Q W S X I I O K H R C Z V H G W N C L N Y D Y B T A C L I M A T E V D I E P U M Activity 4.2- Different Climates in Different Places Encourage students to describe the weather patterns in their country of birth and compare them with the weather patterns they are familiar with, in Australia. Some students may have knowledge of other climates in parts of Australia that they have visited. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 9/ 20

10 Human Activity Activity Sheet 5 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Vocabulary: humans environment building cutting making changing unhealthy activity For the student to understand that everyday human activities, like building houses, making roads and cutting down forests (or using lots of paper products) are having a negative impact on our environment and the sustainability of our environment. The Unheralded polluter: cement industry comes clean on its impact. The article titled: The article claims that: cement producers were in Brussels to discuss climate change. They represented a business that produces more than 5% of mankind s carbon dioxide emissions. Cement is the key ingredient in concrete, and one that is rapidly emerging as a major obstacle on the world's path to a low-carbon economy. No company will make carbon-neutral cement any time soon. David Adam in Brussels, The Guardian, Friday 12 October, What is a Sustainable Forest? - V. Ryan This website shows a sustainable forest life cycle using a cartoon style to describe this cycle. Human activity- How are these human activities affecting the environment? Building a new house can be harmful to the environment in many ways. When a house is built it requires materials, processes and transport to complete it, e.g. the wood used to create the structure of the house in the picture had to be harvested from a forest, treated with chemicals and transported to the supplier and then to the construction site. Each step in this process creates more greenhouse gases. Every home that is built also takes up space that was previously part of the local natural environment. New houses are generally larger and have higher energy usage than older houses. Although newer houses may have more energy efficient appliances such as air conditioners and heaters, these appliances are often used more in newer houses as the houses are bigger and often require more heating and cooling. Answers Activity 5.1- Human Activity: Changing the Environment 1. a. making roads b. cutting down forests c. building houses 2. These human activities affect the environment because they require materials, transport and processes which are harmful to the environment. (See ). LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 10/20

11 Climate Change Activity Sheet 6 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Vocabulary: hotter less more bushfire weather pattern climate change For students to understand when a change in our climate becomes climate change and the affect that climate change may have on our earth. Record La Nina Linked to Climate Change - Type into your search engine: record La Nina climate change Australian. You will find an article by Sid Maher: in The Australian Newspaper, titled: Record La Nina linked to climate change, March 15, This article claims that three leading climate scientists have linked the past two years of record wet weather to climate change. More Droughts and Floods to Come. A summary of this article is provided on the following page and was written by Environment Victoria. The Climate Commission has also written an analysis about this same article in the Australian titled: Droughts, Floods and Climate Change. This can be found at the web address: Answers Activity 6.1- Our Changing Climate 1. When the weather patterns change, we call it climate change. 2. Victoria has less rain than it used to. 3. It also has more bushfires because the weather is generally hotter in summer than it used to be. 4. This change in the weather pattern is called climate change. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 11/ 20

12 Climate Change Activity Sheet More Drought and Floods to Come Main messages: Environment Victoria, ebulletin, Wednesday, 28 March 2012 More Droughts and Floods to Come THREE of the nation's leading climate scientists have linked the past two years of record wet weather to climate change in their strongest findings yet on the impact of global warming on the nation's climate. Professors Will Steffen, Matthew England and David Karoly find that global warming may have contributed to the strength of the La Nina event and the heavy rainfall and flooding. They also believe that the heavy rains do not contradict the trend towards drier weather for southern and eastern areas of Australia and find that despite two years of above average rains, southeast Australia continues to suffer from a cumulative rainfall deficit. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 12/20

13 Too Many Greenhouse Gases Activity Sheet 7 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: methane industry trap thicker carbon dioxideradiation global warming trapped Students to understand that human activities are causing an increase in greenhouse gases which is causing our earth to warm. If nothing is done about this increase in greenhouse gases, we may experience in Australia, more heat waves and fewer cold spells. Globally we may experience higher global rainfall, rising sea levels and the melting of arctic ice. Arctic Sea Ice is Melting at its Fastest Pace in Almost 40 Years. ttp:// This article says that The Northwest Passage was, again, free of ice this summer and the polar region may be ice-free within 30 years. Also, scientists warn that the melting arctic ice is releasing banned toxins. John Vidal, Environment Editor, Guardian.co.uk, Sunday 11 September Sea Level Rise: Wikipedia, This article explains that the level of the sea is steadily rising. Answers Activity 7.1- Understanding Greenhouse Gases Work with the students to understand the concept of Too many greenhouse gases. Activity 7.2- Discussion This drawing shows what happens when too many greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. There is a thicker blanket of greenhouse gases, which is trapping heat in the atmosphere. This is because the greenhouse gases stop heat from the sun from exiting the atmosphere, therefore heating the earth. Methane: Industry: Trapped: Thicker: Carbon Dioxide: Radiation: Global Warming: A greenhouse gas that is released from human activity and helps to trap heat in the atmosphere. Human activities such as making clothing, building materials and other everyday items which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. An increased amount of greenhouse gases are blocking the suns heat from exiting the earth s atmosphere. Increased human activity is causing a larger than normal amount of greenhouse gases to accumulate in the atmosphere making the layer of greenhouse gases thicker. A greenhouse gas that is released from human activity. The heat that the sun gives off. The warming of the earth s atmosphere due to human activity. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 13/ 20

14 Too Many Greenhouse Gases Activity Sheet 7 Activity 7.3- Drawing Two: NOW! Too many greenhouse gases Here are the missing words inserted into the diagram. Methane Nitrous Oxide Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Too much heat is trapped by the thicker blanket- causing global warming! Sun s Radiation Atmosphere LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 14/20

15 Human Activity- Warming The Earth Activity Sheet 8 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: burn coal power station electricity permanently release create trapping Students to understand how our everyday activities contribute to increases in greenhouse gases, which in turn, leads to the warming up our earth. Students could watch the 6 minute video at the NASA website titled: Piecing Together the Temperature Puzzle located at the web address below. Suggestions- Activity 8.1- Warming Up Our Earth This activity is designed so students can fill in the gaps by directly copying across the missing words. However, to increase difficulty, encourage students to cover up the completed sentences on the left and fill in the missing words without copying them. Piecing Together the Temperature Puzzle. Visit this site to see the 6 minute video on the NASA website (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) under Global Climate Change. This video uses great photography to explain how and why the earth is warming. Further articles on this website include: Our Warmest Decade, Just 5 Questions, Sea Change and It s Snow Joke. Most of the information in the videos In the Balance and Global Temperature Update 2009, repeat what is said in the Piecing Together video. Answers Activity 8.1- Warming Up Our Earth Sentence 1- Humans are warming up the earth by building houses, driving their car or turning the heater on at home. Sentence 2- Nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases. They trap the heat in the atmosphere. Sentence 3- When we burn coal gases. in a power station we create electricity but also release greenhouse Sentence 4- Global warming is when there are too many greenhouse gases in our atmosphere causing our planet to permanently warm. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 15/ 20

16 What Could We Do? Activity Sheet 9 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: reduce comfortable temperature petrol waste continue grand children There are many actions we could take to live more sustainably and to have a lower carbon footprint. The Flash Cards What Can We Do to Live More Sustainably? offer many ideas for us to adopt across many aspects of our lives. Suggestions- Activity 9.1- What Could We Do to Live More Sustainably? Flash Cards: Living More Sustainably - Use the flash cards to work with students to understand the many things we could do to live more sustainably. You may wish to encourage class or partner discussion around the suggestions on the flash cards. The Little Shop of Big Ideas. Students could search on the internet to find out more ideas about living more sustainably e.g.go to Sustainability Victoria s Resource Smart website. To get there type in: click on the tab called Take Action, select At Home in the drop down box, click on Resource Smart, find the column For Households and then click on Tell Me More, then click on Ideas at Home and you will get to The Little Shop of Big Ideas. Explore this site to find out more ideas about living more sustainably. Answers Activity 9.1- What Could We Do to Live More Sustainably? Answers will depend on the actions students choose from the Living More Sustainably Flash Cards and the ideas they get from The Little Shop of Big Ideas. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 16/20

17 Reducing Your Carbon Footprint Activity Sheet 10 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: sustainable carbon footprint going green living greener saving biggest solar For students to understand what the four phrases mean: to live more sustainably, to reduce your carbon footprint and going green or living greener. For students to be able to recognise these phrases as they hear about them in everyday life on the news, in the newspaper, in magazines etc. Living more sustainably So what does it actually mean to live more sustainably? Living sustainably means to incorporate sustainable or environmentally friendly concepts and practices into your everyday life. These practices can be hard to maintain, however it is important to remember that by making these changes, you can save money as well as protecting the environment. Reducing your carbon footprint Basically, by reducing your carbon footprint, you are reducing the amount of carbon-based energy you require to live your life. Everything we do requires energy, which generally comes from things that have stored carbon. The paper we write on comes from trees (organic material), which is full of carbon and is consequently released into the environment when we break this organic material down. Therefore, if we use more solar energy we reduce the amount of fossil fuels that are burnt and therefore reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the environment. National Geographic Article Going green or living greener To live a greener lifestyle or go green, essentially means to incorporate everyday methods to protect the environment. This includes the smallest actions such as turning off lights when you are not using them, to large lifestyle changes such as installing solar panels or building a more sustainable home. What does Going Green mean? - advantages and disadvantages, going green at home, going green tips. Answers Activity Common Words There is no correct answer. Encourage students to discuss the meanings of these words and phrases. Activity Who is Saving More Energy? a. Debra & Joe LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 17/ 20

18 b. Debra & Joe c. Ron Our Environment Unit 1: Understanding Climate Change Carbon Footprint Activity Sheet 11 Skills: Writing Spoken English Reading Listening Vocabulary: differently reduce footprint display carbon The aim is to develop the student s awareness of their own carbon footprint and to find ways of reducing it. To understand that everything we do has an impact on our carbon footprint even reading in bed at night before going to sleep! Suggestions- Activity 11.1 Your Carbon Footprint Ensure students understand what a carbon footprint is before undertaking this activity. This exercise is designed to encourage students to rethink their daily activities in a greener way, or a more sustainable way. Answers Activity 11.1 Your Carbon Footprint There is no correct answer. Answer will depend on the students daily activities. LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 18/20

19 LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 19/ 20

20 LLLC, City of Whittlesea & Sustainability Victoria 20/20