Project Based Learning: Climate Change

Introduction:

My name is John Pappas and I am a science teacher at Carleton Washburne School in Winnetka, Illinois. The ELA teacher (Maureen Etter), the social studies teacher (Brad Rice), and I combine our classes periodically and come up with an integrated unit using the PBL approach for the 7th and 8th grade classes we teach. What motivated us to teach this topic was the fact that this is the number one problem these children will be facing in their lifetime and their is not a lot of focus on this topic in school. In addition, we are motivated to teach our students to be leaders, and involved in their community.

The unit I am explaining using instructables is a unit we did on Global warming. The scheduling aspect was complex as we did this unit with both our 7th and 8th graders, but the timing of the unit was 10 days, where students had about 2.5 hours of work time or mini lessons. Teachers can use that to modify for their schedule. In the instructions I will go over the sequence of lessons and project work time.

Overview of project: The goal of the project was the understand and address climate change. The standards for all four core subjects (ELA, Social Studies, Math, and Science) are listed on slide 3&4 of the project overview slide. The project was broken down into 3 phases.

Phase 1 was the research phase. Students were put into groups and asked to research a factor (this can be differentiated on groups ability) that contributes or is affected by climate change. At the end of their research, groups will put together a video documenting the groups work in their research pods. During their research we gave mini lessons on the following topics: facts vs. opinion, credible sources, interpreting data/charts/graphs/, correlation vs. causation, anecdotal research, and connecting causes-effects-results.

Phase 2 was the action plan. One student from each research group was put into an action plan group. The action plan group had at least one expert from each factor that is contributing or is being affected by climate change. This new group had to develop a sense of direction and decide on what mattered to them most about climate change and agree on on topic or project idea to run with. Each group was responsible for developing an action step and promoting their action step in some manner. In addition, students created websites to host and document all of their work. This took the most time during the unit because students had a great deal of planning, and logistics that took time to iron out.

Phase 3 was the student presentations to their parents, admin and other community members.

Lesson plans and details, and student examples of each phase can be found below for each step.

The only supplies your students will absolutely need is a device, access to the internet, and access to form sharing platform such as google drive. Group projects are student generated and thus materials are hard to predict. Because this unit is about climate change, we encouraged our students that their projects should 1) create zero waste, and 2) Should recycle materials as much as possible.

We used the project overview slides to present the project idea to the students. I doubt this needs to be a step but I will lay this out as we did. Teachers can use this and modify it as they want. You will find the standards for each subject covered in this unit, the different research groups we formed, and the topics of the mini lessons we taught.

We wrote out 10 factors: 1) Fire & Drought, 2) Water use, capacity, poisoning 3) Land use, erosion 4) Air quality 5)Animals and mass extinction 6)Energy 7) Waste disposal 8) Hurricanes and Flooding 9)Global Temperature Rise 10) Melting Polar Ice and put all the students into one of these research groups. We differentiated the groups because some topics were much easier to research and understand than others.

We gave the groups 3 days so about 7 hours to research and make a video of their research. During this 7 hours we did deliver mini-lessons that focused on different aspects we asked them to research. Here is a sequence and resource list of this step.

1. Fact vs Opinion mini-lesson: this kicked everything off for the research. We presented each side and had activities built into the slides. Use how you want. (25 mins)
2. Student researched their topics: After the mini lesson students were given 50 minutes to do some preliminary research on their topic using teacher gathered sites and a research organizer. Here are the two student resources for this part. 1) Climate change topics with intro articles and 2) Overview Research Organizer
3. Credible sources mini-lesson: as students are about to use their own sites and sources for their research we wanted to remind them or educate them about using credible sources and how to find them. In this slideshow is an activity for them to practice. We presented each side and had activities built into the slides. Use how you want.(25-30 minutes)
4. Student research: Next, students were asked to use this research template and find more information about their topic. Each group member had to fill out that same template so it kept track of who was using what sites and what information they found. We gave groups about 45-50 minutes to research.

We gave the groups 3 days so about 7 hours to research and make a video of their research. During this 7 hours we did deliver mini-lessons that focused on different aspects we asked them to research. Here is a sequence and resource list of this step.

1. Interpreting charts, graphs, and maps mini-lesson: Today we wanted the students research to focus on data and using charts, graphs, and maps as resources. We presented each side and had activities built into the slides. Use how you want. (25 mins)
2. Student researched their topics: After the mini lesson students were given 50 minutes to fill in a graphic organizer for any tables, charts, graphs or maps they have seen or used their research. Here is a copy of the Interpreting Graphs, Charts, and Maps Organizer the students used during this 50 minutes. If the students did not have a graph, chart or map they were asked to find one to use for this activity.
3. Correlation vs. Causation and the Science of Climate Change mini lesson: We thought at this point we wanted to explain some of the science behind climate change and explain the difference between causation and correlation. Use how you want.(25-30 minutes)
4. Student research: Next, students were asked to finish up their research on their topic. Groups divided topics and work load here in the finial 45-50 mins. Groups leaders synthesized notes to determine what people should focus on in their research. Did the group need more data using graphs, tables, and maps? Or did the group need more information of their research topic? We gave groups about 45-50 minutes to research.

We gave the groups 3 days so about 7 hours to research and make a video of their research. During this 7 hours we did deliver mini-lessons that focused on different aspects we asked them to research. Here is a sequence and resource list of this step. This is the last part of their research.

1. Researching the Human Perspective min-lesson: Today we wanted the students research to focus on the human perspective of climate change and directly capture how people have been affected by the factor they are researching. We presented each side and had activities built into the slides. Use how you want. (25 mins)
2. Student researched their topics: After the mini lesson students were given 50 minutes to fill in a graphic organizer where they were looking for human stories of the impact climate change has had on their lives as it related to their topic. Student were asked to use this template when researching Human Stories Note-taking Document.

Groups next took all of their research and synthesized it down to a 3-5 informational video. Since each group had a video tailored to a specific factor, we assigned each video (10 in total) for homework. The students were asked to watch all 10 videos and take notes. We wanted the students to be knowledgable on all the factors not juts the one they researched. We had the students use Flipgrid to post and watch each others videos. I thought the platform worked really well and did not require the teacher to get all the links and post them for each video. This also could be accomplished using a google drive folder and sharing it. Here is the sequence for step 6.

1. Storyline and Script mini-lesson: To create a 3-5 minute video, students would have to come up with a storyline for the video (sequence of topics), and use a script to ensure their video fit the guidelines. (20 minutes)
2. Student work time: Students had about 2 hours of work time to plan, script, record, and edit their videos. We could have given them another 30-60 minutes but we had a long weekend coming up and knew students were traveling so we had to cram it into 2 hours. Here is a student example.

Next we took one member from each research group and formed them into a new group: the action group. This new group is the group of kids they will spend the most time with. We formed group leaders since there was 10 kids per group. The group leaders consisted of one 7th grader and one 8th grader. These students were the point people for the teachers and were responsible for their group. We wanted the group to become a cohesive group so we started them out by building spaghetti towers with marshmallows and noodles. Next, we showed the students our school vision statement, and asked them to think about what mattered to them or interested them in climate change. Next students used each others ideas and interest to develop a vision board, which included 1) A succinct and clear vision statement 2) 2-4 identified areas of priority and interest within that larger vision 3) A visual/artistic representation of your vision.

Below find the detailed instructions.

1. Vision statement: here is the slideshow and instructions for groups to make their vision statement.
2. Student example can be found in the media above

We wanted a component of the project to entail interviews and we thought we could accomplish this by forming 2 different panels. The first interview panel consisted of district and school admin because a lot of students wanted to focus on what their school could do about climate change. Some of these ideas were practical and some were not, but instead of hearing that from their teachers we thought it would be more beneficial to hear that from the people that actually make the decisions. The admin really loved being part of this project, and to be honest, they helped get a lot of things done for our kids that might not have gotten done without their involvement. The next panel was of school, community, and national experts in different fields surrounding climate change. We found some great people but honestly took anyone we could get. The purpose of the panels were so the students could: 1) Get an understanding of what is possible and what is not 2) Get an understanding of the ‘red tape’ you might have to deal with 3) Get an understanding of timelines and costs 4) Get information about what has been tried before or things that are currently being planned by others 5) Get introduced to a wide range of ideas and options.

1. Preparation for interview: Here is the slideshow and work we did with the students to prepare for the interview panel. In the slideshow is also an activity we did with the students to help them formulate questions and follow-up questions. We spent 45-50 minutes on this.
2. Interview. Each panel lasted about 30 minutes, so 60 minutes total.

Next students had a mini-lesson on action plans and were asked to fill out a template to help plan their climate change action plan. The action plan had to incorporate a political action step, a PR action step, and a direction action step. In the slideshow are examples ideas and activities to do with the students.

1. Action plan mini-lesson: Here the 3 different action plans are presented to students and what they could look like in a practical sense. Include in the slideshow are example questions for students to practice. (20 mins)
2. Action plan template: After the min lesson, groups got together and worked on filling out their action plan template. (60 minutes)
3. Student example of action plan template

In our desire to incorporate all fields and school personnel we asked a lot of favors from people that worked in the building. Some said yes and some said no but I feel like I do have to add these details. After groups finished their action plans we had our school tech person come in and help groups making websites to document their progress using google sites. He made no slideshow or content, so I have nothing to share but wanted to include this information. He basically helped every group set up a website and showed each group the different tools in google sites. There are good YouTube videos on how to do this. Second, we had our district PR staff member come in and give a mini-lesson on public relations and political action steps. Again, we had this luxury and a person willing to help and give their time so we took it. She did not create a slideshow or content so I have nothing to share.

We gave students the next 4-5 days to carryout the action plan they developed. That accumulated to about 10-12 hours of school time to carryout their plan, with some additional time spent outside of class. In the beginning of their work time and about half way through their work time we set up each group with a mentor. The mentor was a school/district admin or parent volunteer. The mentors and groups met twice, which was an opportunity for another adult (other than the 3 of us) to provide the group with feedback and help them move forward. As teachers, we tried to secure interviews, gather materials (tape, glue, hand saw, etc.), help troubleshoot, brainstorm, act as mentors for our children. Because we are asking students to get community members involved and write to local political leaders a lot of challenges arise since they are waiting on other peoples. We did do a brainstorming session about half way through about possible solutions to these problems. Here is the slide show we used.

Here are a couple of the action steps that groups came up with and carried out (link to their website)

1. Developing a lesson on climate change and teaching it to the elementary schools
2. Working with the district to develop an earth week calendar and different activities to accompany each day of earth week. Included were incentives for students to participate.
3. Used bottles from the trash bins at school to create bird feeders, and organized a trash pick up event at a local forest preserve
4. Developed a water filtration system using a bucket and common items for areas that do not have clean drinking water
5. Developed a sculpture from recycled items found in the school cafeteria garbage and put the sculpture on display at a community organization to raise money for Team Seas

The last step of this project based learning unit was group presentations. Each group had to come up with a 5 minute presentation with some type of visual aid to accompany the presentations. The presentations were done in the school auditorium where parents, admin, and local leaders came together to listen to the student presentations. I do not have any of the presentations recorded but if I do find them, I will share them.

1. Instructions for student presentation