Teachers' Guide

This guide aims to help teachers to guide their pupils when carrying out the Green Week Competitions activities. It gives suggestions for which subjects should be involved and how to introduce the topic of climate change.

Background

The climate on our planet is changeable, varying between warm and cool periods. In recent years scientists have proved that some human activities may increase climate change and influence the temperature on Earth. For example, burning fossil fuels and clearing forests have led to storing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at a much faster rate than with natural processes only.

Climate changes are variations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects of the Earth's climate. The United Nations Convention on Climate Change states that the change of climate "is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods."

The Green Week competition aims to raise awareness about climate change in primary and secondary schools.

Relevant curriculum subjects: sciences, art, civics, computer science (cross-curricular), geography

This activity could be organised by primary teachers, teachers of arts in collaboration with other colleagues such as teachers of science, civics, geography and computer science.

Preparing and organising the activities

• Introductory discussion about climate change
• Some questions to help lead the discussion:

  What is climate change?
  What are its effects?
  What might we expect?
  What are political leaders doing about it?
  What can we do about it?

• Discussing climate change in the local environment - effects and prevention: the greenhouse effect, alternative and renewable energy sources, environmentally-friendly transport, recycling, taking action inside and outside school;

Many teachers and students worldwide are involved in activities aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions: planting trees, replacing asphalt surfaces with plant gardens, conserving energy and water, reducing waste, walking or cycling to school instead of driving.

Some tips for helping pupils take part in the Green Week competition for schools:

• Help students to choose a suitable subject for their artwork or video;
• Encourage students to experiment with different techniques: oil, crayon, collage, pastels etc;
• Help students to scan their artwork or to transfer their video to a computer;
• Submit entries by uploading them to the website.

Related resources

Environment for young Europeans

Zoom website