At-home and at school learning resources from Learning for a Sustainable Future
Fall Week 9: Hot Topic - Focus on Climate Change
This week's LIO focuses on the Hot Topic of Climate Change. This Hot Topic normally aligns with the Conference of the Parties to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) which takes place every November and brings together world governments and other interested parties to assess progress in dealing with climate change. While this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP 26) has been postponed until November 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to witness on a daily basis the devastating effects of climate change. Climate change remains a very HOT TOPIC.

Climate change is increasingly affecting human health, species distribution and the ability of the earth’s ecosystems to sustain our economic, social and environmental needs. How we deal with the climate emergency is a crucial discussion that teachers and students should be actively engaged in. LSF and the Canadian Teachers' Federation, with support from the Ivey Foundation, launched a video competition in 2019 to hear from students and educators from all across Canada about the importance of climate change education and the steps they are taking to make a difference in their schools and community.

After a bit of a delay due to the pandemic, this week we are ready to share the winning videos! Along with each video, we are suggesting activities that build from the themes they highlight. Be sure to check out the videos and explore some of the activities suggested below!
To celebrate our Climate Change Video Competition winners, we're having a giveaway!

Follow @LSF_LST on Instagram for details and entry instructions.

1 lucky follower will win:
Reducing your Carbon Footprint 
Grades K-3

Activities
  • Learn all about reducing your carbon footprint in this What is Carbon Footprint video. Discuss ways you can reduce your carbon footprint at school and at home
  • Read Sandy’s Incredible Shrinking Footprint or listen to the story online. Discuss how Sandy’s efforts affect others around the world. Create a carbon footprint poster or a collage of reused, recycled and natural materials like in the book representing a way you can shrink your footprint
  • Have older students complete the carbon footprint worksheet to understand where emissions come from in their daily lives
  • Have younger students trace your foot and draw your footprint-reducing solutions (example here)
  • Try My Climate Actions to discover the actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint, according to your habits!
  • Get outdoors and play Racing for Resources students learn how they can make responsible choices with the natural resources
  • Learn more about Greening your schoolyard with Native Plants. This LSF resource will inspire you and your action team to revitalize your schoolyard by starting a greening project. You can transform your schoolyard by planting native trees, shrubs and wildflowers, and maintaining an outdoor learning space.
What did you think of Reducing your Carbon Footprint?
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What are you doing about Climate Change?
Grades 4-6

Activities
  • Watch Change the World in 5 minutes to become inspired by simple school activities that foster environment stewardship in the classroom
  • Become acquainted with the concept of reusing and create your own reusable bags using old clothing items
  • Reduce your carbon footprint by walking or riding a bike to school. Learn more about Getting There: Alternatives to the car (p.96 to 103); in this activity, students are provided with different travel scenarios and asked to determine the most appropriate mode of transportation based on environmental and health impacts
  • Encourage students to participate in a walk- or bike-to-school day. Use carbon calculators to measure the emissions they could save by choosing alternative transportation between their home and school
  • At least once a week, make a commitment with family to walk, bike, rollerblade, or skateboard to nearby locations instead of driving
  • Write letters to your principal, city councillor, or member of parliament about a transportation issue that the students would like to see change. Some examples include requesting more bike racks so that more students can bike to school or creating a carpool lane at the school drop-off zone. Encourage students to request things that will get more students walking or biking to school: more sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian-friendly intersections, and a walking school-bus program
  • Start a Walking Wednesday Club at your school to promote healthy lifestyle choices and reduce car trips to school. Here are some fun ideas to help you implement your WW Club
What did you think of What Are You Doing About Climate Change?
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Climate Change Strikes, Leadership and Campaigns
Grades 7-8
Activities
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Renewable Energy, Eco Design and Sustainable Fashion
Grades 9-12
Activities
  • Get outside and teach students about renewable resources by building working models. Students can learn how to build a wind turbine, solar oven, hydroelectric generator and a biogas generator. The hands-on learning resource allows students to be self-directed in their learning and model making
  • Have students investigate buildings or homes in their area that are "off the grid." Using the Off the Grid lesson plan students learn and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources
  • Have students design an eco-friendly home as a class. The concept of the lesson plan is to design an eco-friendly home and calculate what it would cost and which way would be the most cost efficient. As a class, map the first floor of one of the homes designed on the gym floor or outdoors, design an obstacle-course styled activity based on doing household movements for classmates to promote exercise
  • Complete the You Are What You Wear lesson plan to calculate the distance your clothes have travelled. Have students calculate the distance of the clothes they are wearing
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Eco Clubs and Single Use Plastic
Grades 9-12
Activities
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About Learning Inside Out

Above you will find a selection of activities, broken down by various grade levels. These guides will be released weekly and archived on our Learning Inside Out page, so you can always access the full catalogue.

All activities have been modified from resources on our R4R database, simplified and adapted for both outdoor learning in the school yard or at-home as needed. The activity descriptions should contain all the information and links that you need!

We want this guide to work for you, so your feedback is invaluable to us.
Use the feedback button at the bottom of this Guide, or email us at info@LSF-LST.ca. We would also love to see photos of students engaging in the activities, please e-mail us any pictures or videos you have!
Let us know how this helped your learning and teaching from home or at school indoors and (hopefully) outdoors and what you'd like to see more of by filling out our brief feedback form!
Follow us on social media for continued weekly highlights & other exciting opportunities through the school year!
Please share widely with any parents and teachers in your life!
Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) is a Canadian charity with over 25 years of experience working within the education system. Our Resources for Rethinking (R4R) database is an award-winning collection of resources that are peer-reviewed by certified teachers and connected to curriculum in all provinces and territories. R4R is recommended on many Ministry of Education websites.
Learning for a Sustainable Future
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