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Climate Change - Curriculum Context

Students understand and appreciate the physical, biological and technological world and have the knowledge and skills to make decisions in relation to it.
Overarching Learning Outcome 7

Burning Earth
Image©CorelDRAW 11


Definitions
Climate Change represents a change in long-term weather patterns. These can become warmer or colder. Annual amounts of rainfall or snowfall can increase or decrease. A major contributor to Climate change and the consequent warming of the Earth is believed by the scientific community to be the result of man's interactions, use of fossil fuels and carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Concentrations of these emissions in the lower atmosphere are recognised as a factor in changes in the Greenhouse Effect.
 
Global Warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists discuss the issue of climate change, their concern is about global warming caused by human activities.
 
Key Websites
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Key Resources
  • Global Warming - Cool It! -
    Australian home guide to reducing energy costs greenhouse gases.
  • An Inconvenient Truth -A website which supports the film of Al Gore's "wake up" call to the world. [DVD]. Also available - A downloadable Study Guide and a young person's guide to the film.
  • Cool Aid - ATOM and Network Ten have produced downloadable education kits for both primary and secondary teachers and students to accompany the program COOL AID.
  • Just Hot Air?- Activities on the Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change and Active Citizenship. [Download from Murdoch University WA]
  • Exploring the environment Earth on Fire
  • ACT NOW - Western Australian Government's web portal for sustainable living.
Alternative viewpoints
Resources Note:
With the emergence of Climate Change and Global Warming as popular topics for study and discussion, many websites dealing with the issues have been developed. While these sites may contain basic information, teachers and students need to be alerted to check the authority of each website carefully and decide whether the information is sufficiently reliable to be used as a basis for their own work.
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What can I do?
  • Sustainable Schools Initiative WA
    The AuSSI - WA provides information for and supports schools in the development of a whole-school approach to Education for Sustainability.
  • CMIS support - page for the Sustainable Schools Initiative.
  • Plant for the Planet - The United Nations Billion Tree Campaign.
  • Global Footprints - The Global Footprints project provides primary schools with ideas and activities which are aimed at empowering all participants to take steps towards a sustainable future. Contains useful activities for classrooms
  • Cool Globes Project- “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet,” an innovative project that uses the medium of public art to inspire individuals and organizations to take action against global warming.
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Climate Change Webquests
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Starting Points
Climate Change Resources in the CMIS Resource Bank
Resources based on this topic can be searched using the following headings
 
Phases of Development
 
DETWA Collaborative Project
EdNA Search