Educational material

"It is clear that a failure to address climate change is a failure to protect children."

—David Bull, UNICEF UK Director

Thank you for your interest in talking with your students about climate change!

Luckily there are many resources on this subject for teachers. On this page you will get an overview over some of the more interesting and important websites.

Global Climate Change Websites at ClimateChangeNorth.

Alliance for Climate Eduaction. The Alliance for Climate Education is working with students around the country to deepen their awareness about climate change and promote strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate Action Center. Climate change is a serious and real threat to children's well being. In many areas of the world children's lives are being disrupted by the shifts in temperatures and increasingly severe weather conditions. Today, they are few areas of the world that are not being impacted by climate change and these changes can also have a significant impact on a child's ability to attend school. Very sadly severe climate changes may also support conditions that impact a child's ability to survive.

Climate Choices. Climate Choices - Children's Voices is aimed at teachers of children aged 9-11 years ( UK years 5 and 6) who want to help children begin to understand the challenging and complex issue of climate change. Action to tackle climate change is urgent; the world's poorest people are suffering. This is not inevitable, and through this site children can discover that personal action can make a difference. In addition to introducing climate change, the site looks at how food choices impact on climate change and how climate change is affecting food supply. A range of resources, including video clips, presentations, games and worksheet-based activities are provided for you to use as appropriate.

Climate classrom. ClimateClassroom.org helps educate children about global climate change in accurate, developmentally appropriate, and hopeful ways. Sections designed for parents and K-12 educators provide talking points, attractive visuals, instructional guidelines, and helpful resource links for investigating the topic with children. An additional section for school-age children offers quality learning experiences and realistic suggestions for becoming part of the global-warming solution. Links to webpages for teachers: National Wildlife Federation

Cloud Institute. The Cloud Institute equips school systems K-12 and their communities with the core content, competencies and habits of mind that characterize education for a sustainable future. We do this by inspiring teachers and engaging students through meaningful content and student-centered instruction.

CO2Connect. Pupils need wide competencies to meet the challenges of sustainable development - including climate change. The CO₂nnect activities are designed to support learning that can provide pupils with abilities, skills, attitudes and awareness as well as knowledge and understanding of the issues.

Cool the Earth. Cool The Earth is a ready-to-run program that educates K-8 students and their families about global warming and inspires them to take simple actions to reduce their carbon emissions. The program is successful because it's fun and empowering for the kids, and their enthusiasm is contagious!

Council on Foreign Affairs. Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.

Ecokids. Started in 1994, EcoKids is a free, environmental education program that offers curriculum-linked materials and activities for Canadian elementary schools to engage in environmental action. Our award-winning EcoKids web site -- the centrepiece of the program -- is an interactive environmental web site for children, their families, and educators in Canada and around the world. It offers topical information about the environment through interactive, fun, educational games and activities that utilize participants' willingness to learn. Children are encouraged to form their own opinions, make decisions, get involved and understand the impact their own actions have on the environment. Designed to inspire children to become life-long environmental stewards, EcoKids is an invaluable resource for educators, youth group leaders and parents.

Ecological Society of America. Educational information by the ecological society

Globe. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE's vision promotes and supports students, teachers and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system working in close partnership with NASA and NSF Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs) in study and research about the dynamics of Earth's environment.

Go Green Initiative. The Go Green Initiative is a simple, comprehensive program designed to create a culture of environmental responsibility on school campuses across the nation. Founded in 2002, the Go Green Initiative unites parents, students, teachers and school administrators in an effort to make real and lasting changes in their campus communities that will protect children and the environment for years to come.

How we know what we know about climate change. A wonderful book for kids and adults on climate change. "This is a necessary book. It treats kids with respect--they deserve to know what's going on. But they also deserve to know that there's much that can be done and much that is being done. In a word, It's empowering!" Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

Global Warming Discovery Demo -- a favorite at science centers and museums, in K 12 schools, UC classes, and at large community events. Much of our work is bridge-building, encouraging partnerships in education. The California Catalog is a web version of this.

NOAA Education..

Green Hour. Discover the wonders of nature - a project from the National Wildlife federation

IEcology. This has nothing directly to do with climate change. But it's a great site to inspire kids about the amazing world of plants.

The Keystone Center. The Keystone Center is a non-profit organization founded in 1975 to ensure that present and future generations approach environmental and scientific dilemmas and disagreements creatively and proactively. By way of its education and public policy programs, The Keystone Center improves decisions about long-term issues by helping thought-leaders, teachers, students, and decision-makers effectively address technically complex and politically uncertain situations.

Kids Gardening. Help kids learn about and love nature by promoting gardening.

Kids Global Climate Change Institute. An online learning community designed to bring scientists, students and teachers from around the world together to communicate, collaborate, and contribute towards solutions to global climate change.

Kids Growing Strong. We are on a journey to inspire children and their families to discover and adopt healthy lifestyles through proper nutrition and exercise while motivating them to actively learn about themselves and the environment. Through hands-on, science-based activities, we encourage kids to become energetic & engaged, build a strong knowledge-base and develop the measurable lifetime skills necessary to lead healthy lives and make informed decisions. By introducing children to the joy and wonders of nature in an informal and entertaining academic environment, we strive to enable children to internalize the knowledge, skills and values they need to build confidence in themselves and become contributing members of their community.

Global Education. The objective of the Global Education Website is to increase the amount and quality of teaching of global education in Australian primary and secondary schools. The site supports the AusAID Global Education Program which aims to raise awareness and understanding among Australian school students of international issues, development and poverty, and to prepare them to live in an increasingly globalised world and to be active citizens shaping better futures.

Met-Office. Educational materials on climate change.

My wonderful world. Give kids the power of knowledge about their world. My Wonderful World is a National Geographic-led campaign to expand geographic learning in school, at home, and in communities. We want to give kids the power of global knowledge.

NASA - Matrerial for educators. NASA's Education Materials Finder will help teachers locate resources that can be used in the classroom. Users may search by keywords, grade level, product type and subject. With hundreds of publications and Web sites indexed, the finder is the best way to locate NASA educational resources.

The Global Education Project. There are currently 3 areas being covered - the earth, Middle East, and Acient Egypt.

Tide Global learning. Tide~ global learning … a network of teachers and educators coming together to respond to the educational challenges of global dimensions, development perspectives and human rights principles.

The Prince's Rainforest Project. Resources for schools on rainforest protection with videos, life webcams, fun activities and much more.