As a summation to ED 398 in the spring of 2012 we completed an Invitation for students to engage in critical literacy in our classroom. 

Global Warming And Climate Change: Is the Earth really getting too hot to handle? 

 8th Grade Science: An Invitation to Critical Literacy

 

Created by: Shelbi Burnett

ED 398 • Professor Adams • May 1, 2012

 

Overview

 

In recent history, since the publishing of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the subsequent making of a documentary, the issue of global warming and sustainability has surfaced in heated political contestation. As a science teacher with a vested interest in the future of science, I wish to invite my students to more critically consider the contemporary discussion surrounding climate change and the adverse health effects which are caused by this phenomena through considering the multiple stories of climate change and environmental health rights. As we have come to learn through ED 398, there is danger in knowing only one story or one side of  a situation. Here, through these activities, I aim to interrupt the one or two stories of climate change causing a paradigm shift and resulting in my students decisive action.

In the first activity, students will be invited to consider whether environmental health is a basic human right. They will be provided with articles to read including  At Risk: 1,000,000,000 of the World’s Children by Stephen Khan  and  the Earth Justice Presents 2004 “Human Rights and the Environment” Report to UN, in addition to being invited to explore around the Resources for the Future website at http://www.rff.org/Pages/default.aspx. These articles provide the multiple international perspectives of global environmental health issues which are preemptive of global warming. After this engagement, students are invited to have a critical discussion considering whether or not they believe environmental health is a human right.

Moving the second engagement, students will be invited to read articles from the Environmental Health Perspectives and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.  These articles detail various health concerns from different places all over the world which are the result of global warming. This engagement serves the critical purpose of disrupting the commonplace-many individuals do not/have not considered or read documented evidences of the direct health concerns caused by global warming. There are many assumptions about what global warming looks like, but this engagement provides contextual examples for students. After reading the articles students will draw concept maps outlining the change in climate which lead to the environmental impact, which lead to the environmental hazard, which resulted in the health effect. The group will then jigsaw these various articles in a mass web on the board to demonstrate the size, significance, and interrelatedness of each of these examples. Through this engagement, students will come to understand climate changes have direct and lasting impacts on human health.

Finally in the third engagement, students will be asked to create a strategic plan  for the school and public service announcement  which can be submitted to the school media groups or local television or radio stations, concerning environmental health as a human right and the effects of  climate change on human health. This continues our trend of disrupting the commonplace because if the students decide to complete the invitation to action, they can enact a ripple effect throughout the school and community at large increasing critical awareness and concern for climate health and sustainability.

Ultimately this invitation is relevant to my students because of its significance as sociopolitical issue dominating many critical conversations from presidential debates to city-wide green initiatives. In order for students to be able to participate in these discussions, it is important they are intelligent and well versed in many facets and perspectives of this issue. This activity also provides a gateway, or provocation, for further investigation into the multiple standards in Earth science regarding water, weather, sun energy, atmospheric composition, and the effects of pollution. These three activities described above also involve multiple intelligences to promote well-rounded learning engagements with the material.

To conclude, this invitation to investigate environmental health and climate change allows students to look into the different national and political views surrounding this topic. Furthermore by encouraging students to consider multiple viewpoints, it becomes commonplace that differences in opinions and ultimately culture are accepted in the classroom, and promoted for balanced learning and critical discussion. As Howard noted in As Diversity Grows, So must We, as diversity grows in our schools it critical for instructors to demonstrate their openness to all ideas, opinions, and views. Through this challenging invitation I hope my students will develop further commitment to their personal values and being able to express those values and reflect what Shelly Zion and Elizabeth Kolzeski (2005) note in Understanding Culture, “cultural identity development is an ongoing process as we are exposed to more and different sets of beliefs and values, and may choose to adopt ones that were not part of our original upbringing.” And finally, in regard to ELL students specifically, through this type of activity, we can create a welcoming environment which will promotes students comfort in sharing their own viewpoint and participating fully in class, whether it is regarding science, school, or their cultural identity.

 

Indiana Core Standards

 

SCI.8.2 2010 

Earth and Space Systems

• Explain how the sun’s energy heats the air, land and water and drives the processes that result in wind, ocean currents and the water cycle. (8.2.1, 8.2.2, 8.2.3, 8.2.4, 8.2.5)
• Describe how human activities have changed the land, water, and atmosphere. (8.2.6, 8.2.7)
• SCI.8.2.1 2010
• Recognize and demonstrate how the sun’s energy drives convection in the atmosphere and in bodies of water, which results in ocean currents and weather patterns.
• SCI.8.2.2 2010
• Describe and model how water moves through the earth’s crust, atmosphere and oceans in a cyclic way as a liquid vapor and solid.
• SCI.8.2.3 2010
• Describe the characteristics of ocean currents and identify their effects on weather patterns.
• SCI.8.2.4 2010
• Describe the physical and chemical composition of the atmosphere at different elevations.
• SCI.8.2.5 2010
• Describe the conditions that cause Indiana weather and weather-related events such as tornadoes, lake effect snow, blizzards, thunderstorms and flooding.
• SCI.8.2.6 2010
• Identify, explain and discuss some effects human activities (e.g., air, soil, light, noise and water pollution) have on the biosphere.
• SCI.8.2.7 2010
• Recognize that some of Earth’s resources are finite and describe how recycling, reducing consumption and the development of alternatives can reduce the rate of their depletion.
• SCI.8.2.8 2010
• Explain that human activities, beginning with the earliest herding and agricultural activities, have drastically changed the environment and have affected the capacity of the environment to support native species. Explain current efforts to reduce and eliminate these impacts and encourage sustainability

 

Goals of the Invitation

The goals of this invitation are to encourage students to actively participate in the critical discussion surrounding the controversial effects of climate change. After completing the invitation they should have developed their own opinions surrounding the topic in addition to feeling more committed to their personal values and beliefs about the world. Students can continue their investigation by following through on their strategic plan of action and PSA. Through the students’ taking action, we could ultimately achieve a ripple effect where other students feel invited to explore this topic and begin to critically consider the multiple perspectives of global warming and climate change.

 

 

You Are Invited To Consider…

 

“Global warming, along with the cutting and burning of forests and other critical habitats, is causing the loss of living species at a level comparable to the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. That event was believed to have been caused by a giant asteroid. This time it is not an asteroid colliding with the Earth and wreaking havoc: it is us.”  –Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It

 

Global warming and climate change are complicated issues, but before we can really consider them, you are invited to consider this: Is Environmental Health a human right? I invite you to explore the various resources and engagements provided here representing the multiple view points surrounding these topics. As you begin, please contemplate the following questions….

• What is a human right? Can you think of examples?
• Who is responsible for ensure our rights are protected?
• What is environmental health?
• Do we have environmental rights?
• What does an environment which is healthy look like?
• What does an unhealthy environment look like?
• What is climate change?
• What is global warming? Is this the same as climate change?

Engagement One

Explore in a group the two articles provided (Resources A and B). As well as an actual copy of the Human Rights and the Environment report submitted to the United Nations. Then investigate the online site http://www.rff.org/Pages/default.aspx  and choose one article which interests you. Consider and discuss the following ideas after reviewing these resources.

• What do the authors present as a basic human right?
• What do they define as an environmental right?
• Do these conflict with your definitions or thoughts on these issues?
• What is the authors point of view?
• What other perspectives are identified in these resources?
• What do the articles identify as the responsibilities of the government, corporations, and individuals in protecting our environmental health?
• What do you believe are the responsibilities of these parties?

Engagement Two

Using the articles provided (Resources C- G), select one article to read. Read the information provided about a type of disease (or related diseases) and the potential increase of that disease type as a result of climate change. As you read, underline or identify examples of the following :

• change in climate
• environmental impact
• environmental hazard
• health effect

On the board or colored paper, write an example from your reading of a change in climate, its associated environmental impact, a resulting environmental hazard, and potential health effect.

Get pieces of yarn that you will place on the wall with your colored paper to visually depict the connections between a potential environmental impact of climate change, the resulting environmental health hazard, and the potential associated health effect(s). As you are completing this activity, consider these questions: How does the environment effect health? What relationships maintain the balance between the environment and health? How can we prevent some of the health consequences of climate change? Who should have this responsibility?

 

Engagement Three

Use the following questions to guide your thinking and research in this engagement.

• What is sustainability?
• What does this imply for the way we live today?
• Do we live sustainable lives today?
• Will we be able to live sustainably the future?

Investigate the following websites http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/index.htm , http://www.climate.gov/#education and http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/home.action for initiatives in sustainability.

Now using this new information as well as other resources to create a strategic plan for our school concerning environmental initiatives we could be taking. Outline this plan in detail with your reasoning for adopting/not adopting certain initiatives as well as specific short term and long term goals for the school. Next create a radio or television PSA outlining environmental health as a human right and the effects of climate change on human health.

 

Bibliography And Resources

 

Climate Services.  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Retrieved April 23, 2o12, from http://www.climate.gov/#education.

<This website provided student and teacher resources about climate change with many videos and maps of changes in biodiversity. The particular site is a pilot through NOAA which actively documents changes in biodiversity. It highlights the collaborative work in classrooms and laboratories around the world.>

Earthjustice Presents 2004 ‘Human Rights and the Environment’ Report to the UN.  Earthjustice. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=812

<This article links readers to the actual document which was submitted to the United Nations concerning human rights and the environment. The article itself provides as short summary of the major points in the  larger document drafted for the UN.>

EHP Science Education Program.  Environmental Health Perspectives.  Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/static/scied.action.

<This website provided information, lesson plans, and classroom resources for planning lessons and investigating climate change and environmental health. The lessons provided here were extensive and linked to standards in the content area.>

Focus Areas.  Resources for the Future.  Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http://www.rff.org/ focus_areas/Pages/default.aspx

<This website provides information about 5 focus areas including energy, climate, health and environment, and the natural world.The goal of the organization is to improve and inform policy and publish academic writing concerning sustainability initiatives.>

Howard, G. R. (2007).  As diversity grows, so must we.  Educational Leadership, 64(6), 16

<This article provides a perspective into diversity in the classroom and how some educators do not always take advantage of diversity as a valued resources.>

Khan S.  (2004). At risk: 1,000,000,000 of the world’s children. The Independent. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=591676

<This article provides great insight into how and why environmental health is a human right. It is a newspaper article from the UK which outlines the story of children around the world suffering from adverse effects of their environment.>

Sustainability.  United States Environmental Protection Agency.  Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http:// www.epa.gov/sustainability/index.htm.

<This website defined sustainability  and provided many other resources for planning sustainable industries. It also provided links to current work being completed by the EPA in this area.>

Zion, S., Kozleski, E. (2005). Understanding Culture. Denver, Co. National Institute for Urban School Improvement.

<This article provides excellent support for teaching in a multi-perspective and multi-cultural classroom. It highlights what culture is and what it looks like in the classrooms as well as effective methods to engage cultures for the benefit of all students.>

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