Climate Change Metaphors and Advertisements

(Adapted from Wetland Metaphors, Project WILD)

Lesson at a glance: A variety of objects provide students with metaphors for how we effect coral reefs and how we impact coral reefs.

Goal: Students will demonstrate ability to interpret metaphors, describe the factors changing conditions around coral reefs and make connections between human behavior and environmental changes.

Guiding Questions:

Making personal connections to one's impact on distant environments can be challenging. It is hard to understand how turning off a light switch in Oregon could affect the residents of a small island in the Pacific Ocean. This activity provides students with an easy entry into understanding the science behind climate change and other environmental hazards and how they can be part of the solution.

Oregon Content Standards:

Science

7.2E.2 Describe the composition of Earth’s atmosphere, how it has changed over time, and implications for the future.

7.2E.1 Describe and evaluate the environmental and societal effects of obtaining, using and managing waste of renewable and non-renewable resources.

7.2E.3 Evaluate natural processes and human activities that affect global environmental change and suggest and evaluate possible solutions to the problems.

7.3S.3 Evaluate the validity of scientific explanations and conclusions based on the amount and quality of the evidence cited.

8.2E.4 Analyze evidence for geologic, climatic, environmental, and life form changes over time.

Ocean Literacy Principles

3. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.

6. The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.

Materials:

Grab bag - a collection of assorted objects to represent or relate to climate change. Try to have enough for every student or at least one item for every group of four.

Estimated Time: 2 Class periods

Activity:

Engage (25 minutes):

Ask students how coral reefs impact our lives? How do we impact the plants and animals in coral reefs? What is causing climate change? What can stop it? Tell students that you have many of the causes and many of the solutions to changes in coral reef conditions in your grab bag.

Explain (30 minutes):

1. Gather students to stand in a circle. Explain to them that you will invite certain people to take an item out of the bag. They may not look in the bag before they put their hand it (this adds to the anticipation and excitement). When they have taken their object out they are to look at it, hold it up and state what it is.

2. When all the items are out of the bag, quickly review all of them.

3. Ask the students holding the objects if they have any thoughts on how their particular object might be connected to coral reefs. If a student has no idea, ask other members of the group/class to contribute their ideas.

Explore (25 minutes):

1. When all the metaphors have been identified, group them into causes of change in coral reef conditions and solutions for changes in coral reef conditions. Try to reconstruct the story – humans and over-consumption are causing changes to coral reefs, what’s being affected, what can be done to solve the problem.

2. Ask students to contribute any other knowledge they may have about the reasons changes are occurring to coral reefs. Invite them to offer more ideas on ways to slow or halt negative impacts.

Explain (40 minutes):

Have students Create an advertisement like the one below:

"The Climate Change- Priority Challenge" Ad Competition is calling on professionals and non-professionals to design a newspaper advertisement that inspires others to draw attention to global warming, now and for future generations.

Ads should contain the coral reef problems and solutions or consequences for man and nature brought by changes in coral reef conditions or could show what people can do in their daily lives to generate innovative thinking regarding actions required to accelerate measures for fighting consequences, to what we can do as communities, countries, and as global citizens.

http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/effective-global-warming-ads/

Extension:

  • Select and write about one metaphor from each category – causes, what’s being affected and solutions.
  • Create a skit or short play about the causes, effects and solutions of climate change.
  • Give three examples of actions that could be taken at school to reduce their individual carbon contribution.
  • Explain why a tree is good symbol of all three sides of climate change – causes, what’s affected and solutions.