Climate change is increasingly becoming a topic laden with anxiety, grief, anger, and other emotions, especially for today’s youth (Marks et al., 2021), leading to a need for educator resources that can help address these emotions. To support the whole student, the following activities explore the relationship between climate and mental health, focusing on accessible, youth-friendly resources that aid teachers in approaching complex and sensitive topics in the classroom.
We recognize that teaching about climate change may give rise to controversy in some classrooms. For strategies to help facilitate difficult discussions, please see the CLEAN teaching support pages on managing climate change discourse. The activities in this set are structured by objectives, overview, and delivery method. They are also aligned with a social-emotional learning focus and the strategies listed in the graphic on the next page.
Context for Use
In this climate solutions lesson, students will participate in a short scavenger hunt to familiarize themselves with climate change mitigation strategies and solutions for decreasing heat-trapping emissions.
Soul Fire Farm Youth and Intergenerational Education on Farm.
Goals Header
What Students Will Do
- To be able to consider and identify different personal strategies for mitigating climate change effects within one’s own family and community.
- To be able to encourage conversations within one’s family and community about effective and concrete strategies for decreasing climate change effects.
Teaching Materials
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