Lesson 3: Exploring Climate Change Solutions

Lesson 3

Jump to any section of this lesson plan:

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

Explore climate change solutions that are being used by people and communities.

Distinguish between mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change.

Connect a climate solution to a local climate impact and consider how it could be implemented in their community.

Develop initial ideas and research questions for their Climate Innovation Challenge project.

How can I use my voice and experiences to explore a meaningful climate solution that could help my community and support people who are most affected by climate change?

Lesson Preparation:

Lesson Preparation: It’s recommended that you complete these steps before leading the lesson with your students:

Print or digitally assign the CIC PRIMARY STUDENT WORKBOOK.
Familiarize yourself with the terms adaptation and mitigation. Consider how you will support students in developing their own definitions and examples.
Create signs for the “Slow It Down or Get Ready?” game.
Print and cut up sets of Climate Solution Cards for students to use in small groups.
Choose which, if any, of the optional extension activities you will complete.

Documenting Progress: Consider having students document their experience from the beginning of their project. Photos and videos from these early steps can become useful assets when students create their final CIC video. Students and teachers can add photos and videos to Canva or store them somewhere easy to access throughout the project.

CIC PRIMARY STUDENT WORKBOOK

Optional Extension Activities:

Supplemental Resources:

Write the following examples on the board or display this table for students:

I wear a helmet while biking.	I wear rain boots when it’s wet outside.
I wash my hands before eating.	I move my belongings when water starts leaking into my room.

Ask students: What is the outcome of each of these actions? What do the examples in the first column have in common? What about the examples in the second column?

Have students think-pair-share or brainstorm in small groups.
Explain that the actions in the first column are examples of preventing or reducing the consequences of a problem before it happens.
Explain that the actions in the second column are examples of adapting to new or changing circumstances.

Tell students that climate solutions can work in similar ways: some actions address the causes of climate change, while others help people, communities, and ecosystems prepare for and respond to its impacts.

Show the video Adaptation & Mitigation / Climate Wisconsin (2:47)

Share these definitions of adaptation & mitigation:

Adaptation is adjusting to climate change and its impacts.
- In relation to climate change, adaptation refers to adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to climate impacts. Examples include rainwater catchment, land-use changes, and community response protocols.
Mitigation means reducing the causes or severity of climate change.
- In relation to climate change, mitigation means reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, either by reducing emissions or removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Examples include using less fossil fuel energy, increasing energy efficiency, and storing carbon.

People and communities have many ways of responding to environmental change. Some solutions come from new technologies, while others come from knowledge and practices developed by communities over many generations.

Introduce another way of thinking about mitigation and adaptation:

Mitigation = SLOW IT DOWN. Actions that help reduce the causes of climate change.
Adaptation = GET READY. Actions that help people, plants, animals, and communities prepare for or respond to climate impacts that are already happening or may happen in the future.

Place two signs on opposite sides of the classroom:

SLOW IT DOWN: Mitigation
GET READY: Adaptation
Optional: Add a third space in the middle for BOTH.

Read an action aloud. Students move to the part of the room that represents whether they think it is mitigation, adaptation, or both. After each example, ask one or two students to explain their thinking.

Possible actions:

Walking or biking instead of taking a car → Mitigation
Turning off lights when you leave a room → Mitigation
Wearing a hat and bringing extra water on a very hot day → Adaptation
Collecting rainwater to use during dry periods → Adaptation
Planting trees that provide shade and also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere → Both
Using solar panels instead of electricity generated from fossil fuels → Mitigation
Growing plants that need less water during droughts → Adaptation