Climate Solutions

Climate Change Civic-minded Solutions

Overall Introduction Objectives:

Students will:

• • Describe the difference between adaptation and mitigation in regards to sea level rise

  • Describe ways to mitigate/adapt to global climate change on the individual, community, city, state, and national levels

  • Collaborate with one another to come to an overall agreement on an ideal solution 

Overall Activity Information:

• • Prep Discussion (below) (Grade: 5+; Time: 30 min)

• Activity 1 (Grade: 5th+; Time: 60 min) - Sea Level Rise Role Playing Game

  • Activity 2 (Grade: 5th+; Time: 45 min) - Civic-minded Solution Matrix

Overall Vocabulary 

• Adaptation - the action or process of adapting or being adapted 

• Civic-minded - Concerned with civic interests or active in community affairs 

• Community - a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common 

• Consumerism - the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers 

• Matrix - a rectangular array of quantities or expressions in rows and columns that is treated as a single entity and manipulated according to particular rules 

• Mitigation - the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something 

• Sea Level Rise - The rise in sea levels is linked to three primary factors, all induced by this ongoing global climate change: Thermal expansion, Melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica 

• Stewardship - is an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources

• Sustainable - able to be maintained at a certain rate or level

Guiding Questions for this section:

• 1. What is adaptation versus mitigation?

  2. What are some civic-minded solutions we can implement at the individual, community, city, state, and national levels?

  3. Can students make a difference regarding the effects of global climate change?

Prep Discussion

Watch the video below. Ask students the following guiding questions before and after watching the video:

• 1. Based on the video, where do the "Save the Planet" books tell people to start if they want to help the planet?

  2. What are some of the shortcomings of "going green"?

  3. Are we doing our part if we go out and purchase greener items?

  4. Real change happens when ________ come together to demand rules that work.

  5. What did Ghandi mean by "be the change"?

  6. What are the three things that actually change the world?

  7. Do we have the big idea and the commitment to make a change regarding environmental protection?

  8. What kind of change-maker do you think you are?