Lesson 2: Investigating Local Climate Impacts

Ask students: If someone from another planet visited [name of your city/town/region], what would you show or tell them to help them understand what the weather is like? 

• Have students write, draw, or discuss their answers in small groups, then share aloud with the class. 
• Then ask students, What if our visitor came back 30 years from now? What might be different about the weather?

Introduce today’s lesson: Climate change isn’t just something happening somewhere far away. It can change the places we live, play, go to school, and spend time outdoors. Today we’re going to investigate our own climate story.

Introduce the vocabulary: Today we will talk a lot about climate impacts. What is an impact?

• Have students discuss and share in partners or small groups. 
• In this lesson, an impact is a change or result caused by something. A climate impact is a change caused or influenced by climate change.
• Explain that there are many ways we can learn about climate impacts. Maps and data can show us patterns, but we can also learn from our own observations and from people who know a place well. Indigenous communities, Elders, families, farmers, fishers, and others may have important knowledge about changes in weather, water, plants, animals, and the land.

Explore impact trackers as a whole class or in small groups. Students should record their findings on LESSON 2: MY LOCAL CLIMATE CHANGE STORY in their CIC PRIMARY STUDENT WORKBOOK.

• Students located in the United States: Climate Central local climate impacts tool
• Students located OUTSIDE the United States: ThinkHazard climate impacts tool
• Search for your local city, region, or other available location, and explore the ways climate change is affecting your community.
• Ask the students:
  • What climate impacts are happening in our area?
  • What evidence does the website provide?
  • What does this impact actually mean for people who live here?
  • How could this affect something we care about?
  • Could this affect animals, plants, water, or other natural resources?
  • Who else could we learn from to understand this climate impact in our community?

• Students should record these observations in the first two columns of the table titled Local Climate Impact and What Evidence Can We Find? 

Next, connect these impacts to students’ entry points: Think back to your climate entry point from the last lesson. Is there a connection between something you care about and one or more of these local climate impacts?

• Students, especially younger students, may need explicit instruction on how to do this. Provide some examples such as:
  • I care about basketball → extreme heat → outdoor sports → keeping athletes safe
  • I care about animals → changing temperatures → wildlife habitat → protecting local species
• Students record these connections on their table in the column titled Connection to My Entry Point. They do not need to have a connection for every impact.

Introduce the idea of this activity to students: Even if people live in the same place, do they experience the impacts of climate change the same way?

Give each student a different-sized paper “pie” slice. Then ask: Imagine these are the slices of a pie you’re all going to share. How do you feel about the slice you received?

• Have students compare their slices.
• Ask students:
  • Does this seem fair? Why or why not?
  • How would you feel if someone received a much bigger slice?
  • Would giving everyone exactly the same amount always be the fairest choice?
  • Can you think of situations where someone might need more help or resources than someone else?

Then introduce this idea: Same Climate Change, Different Impacts

• Climate change affects everyone, but not everyone experiences its impacts in the same way. Some people and places are more exposed to climate hazards, and some have fewer resources to prepare, respond, or recover.
• Discuss as a class and define the concept of disproportionate impact: when something affects some people or places much more than others.

Ask students: If climate change affects everyone differently, who might experience some climate impacts more strongly than others?

• Have students brainstorm in pairs or small groups which people, communities, animals, or places might be affected.
• If students get stuck, give them these prompts:
  • Think about where people live:
    • Near rivers or coastlines? Near forests? In areas with lots of pavement?
  • Think about resources:
    • Who might have fewer resources to prepare or recover?
    • Who might not have access to cooling, transportation, or safe shelter?
  • Think about people’s needs:
    • Who might need extra help during an emergency?
    • Who might have difficulty getting to a safe place?
  • Think about nature:
    • Which plants and animals have limited places to move?
    • Which habitats are especially sensitive to changes in temperature or water?

Then bring the groups together and create a “Who or What?” class map on chart paper, a whiteboard, or a SmartBoard. See the example below. 

Ask students: Now that we understand that climate change does not affect everyone in the same way, let’s bring that idea closer to home. When we think about climate impacts in our community, who or what might be affected most, and why?

Students return to their work on LESSON 2: MY LOCAL CLIMATE CHANGE STORY in their CIC PRIMARY STUDENT WORKBOOK.

• For each climate impact they identified, students complete the final column on their table: Who or what in my community might be most affected and why?

Ask students to look at:

1. Something they care about from their mind map
2. A local climate impact
3. Someone or something affected by that impact

Students complete the sentences on LESSON 2: WRAP UP in their CIC PRIMARY STUDENT WORKBOOK.

• I care about _____________________________.
• A climate impact connected to this is _________________________.
• This could affect ________________________ in my community.
• Someone who might help us take action is____________________________.
• A place where we might be able to take action is _____________________________.
• One thing I want to know more about is ___________________________________.

Explain that understanding local climate impacts, who or what is affected, and what they still want to know will help students identify meaningful questions to research and begin exploring possible solutions.