UPD8

Climate Futures is an exciting new creative and contemporary curriculum resource that focuses on unravelling the complexity of climate change and environmental issues for lower secondary and upper primary students (10-14 years old).

The resource comprises an introductory activity, which launches the series and provides opportunities for self review, and four main tasks relating to four key areas of activity that contribute to climate change:

The series includes:
- The Introductory Activity
- Green Biker, on transport
- Garbage Guru, on waste
- Food for thought, on food
- Smart Energy, on energy and electricity

Each Climate Futures activity follows an innovative format:

1. All of the activities are underpinned throughout by the development of personal capability skills promoting aspects of critical thinking, communication, self-belief, creativity and teamwork
2. Dilemma activities provide students with problems to solve by posing quandaries. They are designed to promote discussion amongst students and to encourage them to think of creative solutions.
3. Making a difference aims to focus students on how they can explore things further. It is a stimulus to further extended work and proactive involvement in engaging with the issues of climate change.
4. The review opportunity is based on a 'smart grid' where students can record their progress across a range of personal development skills.


The Climate Futures materials were developed by the Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University (http://www.shu.ac.uk/research/cse) with funding from the Comino Foundation (http://www.cominofoundation.org.uk)

The Comino Foundation seeks to help reduce global warming by researching and providing information on the environment which is not readily available. Environment news, information and new technology newsletters can be accessed at http://www.cominofoundation.org.uk/C2_Environment_News.html

Thank you to Neil Thomson (ReMaDe Essex) and Fiona Ellwood (Urban Mines) for their valuable input.