He aha rā te hirahira o te Āhuarangi Hurihuri? What’s the big deal about Climate change?
Three lessons that set the scene for teaching climate change, carbon emissions, the greenhouse effect and more. A series of hands-on lessons to capture the imagination of every student.
Teaching resource – lessons 1-3
About this resource
This resource contains three lessons.
The purpose of these lessons is for students to begin to understand the issue of our changing climate and how carbon from vehicles is a major contributor to this.
Your ākonga (students) will need the learning resources below.
(600 KB, Pdf)| Lesson | Description and resources required | Time |
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Lesson 1 – KWL chart and Balloons activity |
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60 mins |
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Lesson 2 – Greenhouse effect experiment |
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60-90 mins |
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Lesson 3 – Role play activity with expert interview and KWL chart |
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45 mins |
Learning resources – lesson 1
KWL chart
Ko te Āhuarangi Hurihuri me te Mahana Haere o te Ao: Ko taku mōhiotanga
KWL chart: Climate change and global warming
Fill out a KWL chart (Know – what I know now, Wonder – what I want to know, Learned – what I have learned) as a class, group or individually, about climate change and global warming.
Science experiment
He Ngohe Pūtaiao Kati Mahana: Ko te Whakamakoha Poihau ki te Hauhā
Science experiment: Blowing up balloons with CO2
Make carbon dioxide using baking soda and lemon juice.
Science Experiment Template
He Tauira Whakamātau Pūtaiao
Science Experiment template
Print out enough copies for each student or group and use alongside the activity.
(87 KB, Pdf)
(159 KB, Pdf)
(121 KB, Pdf)Learning resources – lesson 2
Science experiment
He Ngohe Pūtaiao Kati Mahana: Kati Mahana
Science Experiment: Greenhouse Effect
This shows the process that is causing global warming of the Earth. Instead of a plastic bottle keeping the heat in from the sun, greenhouse gases are. The main one is carbon dioxide.
Science Experiment Template
He Tauira Whakamātau Pūtaiao
Science Experiment template
Print out enough copies for each student or group and use alongside the activity.
(232 KB, Pdf)Learning resources – lesson 3
Role Play activity
Mātanga Āhuarangi Hurihuri
Climate change expert
Listen to a Climate Change Expert. A student or teacher can role play being the ‘expert’ using the Climate Change Expert Talk and Climate Change Slide Show [link to come] to help them.
KWL chart
Ko te Āhuarangi Hurihuri me te Mahana Haere o te Ao: Ko taku mōhiotanga
KWL chart: Climate change and global warming
Fill out a KWL chart (Know – what I know now, Wonder – what I want to know, Learned – what I have learned) as a class, group or individually, about climate change and global warming.
(1.1 MB, Pdf)Further activities, resources and links
Below are a number of extra activities, resources for teachers, and notes or links from the resources above.
See these resources for more detailed information about current global warming and local climate change:
- Te ine i ō tātou tukuwaro | Counting our Carbon Emissions (part 2)
- NASA Climate Website for Adultsopen_in_new
- Royal Society of NZ – Climate change implications for New Zealandopen_in_new
Teacher planning and development:
Visit our Ko te Kete Āhuarangi (Carbon Kete) for a wide range of relevant teacher resources.
Climate Change Team Challenge Quiz:
- In teams, develop a five-question quiz for another team to answer on Climate Change.
- Teams record their questions and answers, then quiz each other.
- Teams mark and give answers to the ones that were incorrect or missed.
National Geographic have a Kahoots quizopen_in_new you could use as an example.
Note, the quiz covers the following specific topics which students may need to learn about:
- The Keeling curveopen_in_new (US grade 9-12) and Climate Milestonesopen_in_new (grades 4-12)
- Charles David Keeling and the Mauna Loa Observatoryopen_in_new (grade 5-8)
- Sea level riseopen_in_new in Florida (grade 6-12+) video
- Learn more about the concept of the 'carbon bathtub' on Climate interactiveopen_in_new.
Climate change for students (Auckland Council, 1:12 mins)
For further research on the greenhouse effect – visit:
What Is the Greenhouse Effect? - NASA Scienceopen_in_new
Watch these videos to learn more about global warming and climate change:
What is the Greenhouse effect?open_in_new (2min 3sec, CC, Ads)
Climate change 101 with Bill Nyeopen_in_new – National Geographic (4min 9sec, CC, no Ads)
Bill Nye explains Climate Change using Emojiopen_in_new (1min 50sec, CC, Ads)
Climate Change according to a kidopen_in_new (2min 11sec, CC, no Ads)
The Next Generation Asks World Leaders at UN: Why Not Act on Climate Change?open_in_new (2min 26sec, CC, no Ads)
Active travel action, on our school travel webpage, contains classroom ideas and activities:
Active travel action webpageopen_in_new
Active travel action PDF resourceopen_in_new
Future Curiousopen_in_new – provides relevant resources about climate change developed by a registered teacher based in New Zealand.
NZASE has a guide on Teaching climate changopen_in_newe, including how to address student anxiety.
What's next?
Te ine i ō tātou tukuwaro Counting our carbon emissions
The final lesson in the series that measures carbon dioxide emissions in a way that makes sense to a student's everyday travel. Raise awareness of the carbon we create and what changes we can make.
Related lessons
Teacher planning and development
We have linked resources from trusted organisations to help you to develop a programme across a range of curriculum areas. More to come!
Kōrero miramira Inspiring stories
Articles and links that share experiences from school communities and showcase student voices and actions in Aotearoa.
On the go!
Auckland Transport has created six exciting lessons for years 7-8.
Ākonga will learn about climate change, road safety, and active travel.