Conversing with Children about Climate Change

The musical alert jolts me awake before I ease back in a grateful calm reading the words to my phone. All schools in the district are on a two-hour delay. I now have more time about this icy morning to correct that stack of essays on climate change before heading off to instruct my 5th grade class. It will take that long for the snowplows in order to complete clearing the roads.

Climate change – global warming – a curious topic to be thinking about on such a frigid morning? Not at all. The scientific evidence is in. No matter what local weather we’re experiencing on a day-to-day basis, the planet is starting to warm up, with far-reaching implications for us all. The conversation in scientific circles now is how Earth will respond, how well the living things on Earth will be able to adapt, who can be the winners as well as the losers, and everything we may do to slow down our warming climate.

“Why Have We Started Having Fiercer Hurricanes in New York?”essay written by Ben, Dylan, Elisa, Greg.

Handwritten essay.

The reason why we are having fiercer hurricanes in New York is really because global warming is heating up our oceans. When our parents and grandparents were growing up here in New York, they didn’t have such hurricanes. Which is because way back then there clearly wasn’t as much carbon dioxide gas in the air. Scientific studies from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) have shown that carbon dioxide and temperature go together. When there is more carbon dioxide in the air, the average air temperature around the earth rises. This hot air warms our oceans. This causes more water to evaporate, which forms a lot of warm, moist air. This is the types of air that hurricanes need to start up, plus they need a steady supply of it to keep them going. Our warmer ocean this season and last kept the hurricanes alive most of the way up the coast to New York! We ought to slow down climate change. It really is fueling hurricanes like Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Irene.

Some think of climate change as an interest for grown-ups. However, even small children are able to understand the basic idea. More importantly, they are able to begin to take action to slow down global warming. It really is within their best interest to take action. Their future is dependent upon the actions we all take now. When we teachers, and their parents, don’t inform them the reality, plus don’t point just how toward a confident future, who can?

“Is Climate Change too Scary for Kids?”essay written by Christian, Isaiah, Shay, Lauren.

Handwritten essay.

Climate change is certainly not too scary for kids, but it is a challenge. Climate change is occurring now. We’ve started initially to see some changes on the planet. We understand when we don’t slow down global warming, bigger changes could come. That could be scary. We don’t want areas nearby the ocean to flood because we have friends and family living there. We don’t want innocent animals to lose their habitats. However, we’ve learned we could help slow down global warming, as well as the changes it really is causing, by putting less carbon dioxide in the air. That is why climate change isn’t scary for kids. When kids understand cause and effect they know very well what to accomplish. It just makes sense!

When talking with children about climate change, match the depth of conversation to the child’s age. Keep it honest. Children wish to know the reality. They wish to appreciate this world they’re residing in without getting overwhelmed by too much information. Explain the difference between day-to-day weather and “climate,” the average weather over a long time frame (a decade or more). Read a children’s book about climate change together. Assign pairs of students to read and discuss newspaper articles on climate. Watch a YouTube video together in regards to the difference between weather and climate, and just how to utilize a graph to predict future climate. Look at the Environmental Protection Agency’s website for the back ground basics of climate change. For lots more advanced information, see the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website, Climate.gov. You may have to translate sophisticated language, but your students may benefit by seeing the graphics, and you will certainly be given accurate information. In addition, older children may benefit by hearing such terms as mean, trend, and evidence, in real world contexts.

“How Can Adults Explain Climate Change to Kids?”essay written by Emilia, Chris, Gianluca, Sofia

Handwritten essay.

Climate change isn’t hard to understand. We obtain it! Our globe is warming since the carbon dioxide gas in the air is trapping the sunlight’s heat nearby the laurie shannon “friendship in as you like it” summary Earth. Evidence from scientific studies shows us that factories, power plants, and cars put the most carbon dioxide in the air. Global warming is a big problem and it must be solved. Unfortunately the problem is getting worse. The longer we overlook the problem the worse it gets. Fortunately, it is not too late to produce an alteration and turn things around. Which is why, you need to start talking about climate change NOW!

Complicated topics such as The Greenhouse Gas Effect, which describes why Earth is warming, may be explained at different levels, from basic understanding to complicated chemical equations. The important part is that children recognize that some gases, such as for example carbon dioxide, trap the sunlight’s warmth nearby the earth. We are in need of some of this warmth to sustain life about this planet, so some carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a good thing. However, the greater amount of carbon dioxide in the air, the warmer the planet becomes. Our quality of life is dependent on having fairly predictable weather and a livable climate. Adding more carbon dioxide to the air threatens that, because the additional warmth it causes upsets the balance of natural systems. Older children will appreciate the scientific evidence for climate change. In the short term (days gone by 200 years), it really is clear to see that the increased carbon dioxide in the air from factories, power plants, and cars has caused the planet to warm. For the older child, looking farther back in time (thousands, as well as scores of years), it really is interesting to consider the fossil evidence of climate shifts. Note that the shifting takes place over thousands of years, not the short time scale we’re seeing now considering that the Industrial Revolution.

“Is It True That folks are Causing the Climate to improve?”essay written by Luke, Jacob, Grace, Leah

Handwritten essay.

People donate to climate change every day. We release carbon dioxide in to the air, which traps the sunlight’s heat. We do this in many ways. When power companies burn coal, oil or gas to produce electricity, they put carbon dioxide in the air. When we use our cars, we put carbon dioxide in the air.

Some individuals do not think it really is true that folks are the problem, but respected scientists from NOAA and NASA have told us global warming is real, and that the carbon dioxide people placed into the air could be the main cause. They are also predicting more changes in the climate as people continue to pollute the air.

Scientists have equipment that measures how much carbon dioxide is in the air. They also glance at carbon dioxide bubbles which were trapped in ice for thousands of years to know what the climate was like a long time ago. They compare climates over time. We’ve seen the graphs.

Their evidence demonstrates that the majority of the carbon dioxide placed into the atmosphere is brought on by people, and as the carbon dioxide increases, the planet earth’s temperature increases. As you care able to see, folks are leading to climate change. We know it really is true because respected scientists have shown us the evidence.

To expose your young ones to first hand evidence, take them to a local science museum. Look for displays showing scientific evidence of Earth’s climate, thousands, as well as millions, of years ago: pollen grains in sediment cores, fossils, signs of changing sea level, etc. Contact a science department at your neighborhood university: geology, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, or environmental sciences. See if they give tours. Invite a scientist who focuses primarily on paleoclimate to your classroom. Ask her to bring physical evidence, and a slide show of evidence-gathering in the field. What a life-changing experience it is to engage with a real scientist, and hold fossils which can be scores of years old that have evidence of climate change.

“What can happen If We Ignore This Changing Climate?”essay written by Kavitha, Patrick, Bartosz, Mariel

Handwritten essay.

Global warming is a problem, and it’s really happening now. When we don’t do anything about any of it our lifestyles will alter. It really is already causing changes for us. As an example, sea level is rising, causing more flooding during storms. Since the Earth is warming, glaciers on land are melting in to the ocean, so high tide is now higher around the globe. When we don’t slow down the warming, we are going to do have more flooding in Manhattan, plus in other areas, like Piermont, New York, where many of us live. Weird weather has been happening throughout the world lately, and has been causing plenty of trouble for folks. Some places aren’t getting enough rain and others are receiving way too much!

Our lives were really disrupted as a result of Hurricane Sandy this school year. Our school was closed for a whole week! That meant that the regular vacation time was taken away from us. Everyone inside our area lost power for most days. Many houses were damaged. We couldn’t get gas for our cars. This might not happen again every year, but there’s no denying the evidence that our weather is becoming more extreme in New York, plus in other areas. As you care able to see, when we ignore global warming our lifestyles will alter.

Once children understand the difference between weather and climate, while the cause and effect between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global warming, they’ll wish to know why it matters. It really is all about keeping our earth in balance to maintain our quality of life.

Classroom conversations can empower them. As with all of this other scary 123helpme.me things in life we must check with our youngsters, such as for example stranger danger, they are able to handle it if they understand they usually have some control over the specific situation. It really is encouraging for them to learn they are not alone. You can find actions folks are taking now to cut back the amount of carbon dioxide going in to the air. And so they can too, even though they’re just kids. As our words turn into actions we become section of something bigger, something important. Even very young children will start learning that individuals need to take care of Planet Earth, even though they don’t really yet fully understand why.

“What Can Kids Do to Slow Down Climate Change?”essay written by Jessica, Shane, Kelly, Dan

Handwritten essay.

Kids will help slow down climate change. One way we could help is to use less electricity, because power plants put a lot of carbon dioxide in the air if they burn coal, oil, or gas to produce power. At home, we could turn fully off lights, the TV, as well as the computer when we’re not using them. We could also recycle paper, glass, plastics, metals, as well as other things. Once we recycle, factories don’t have to make so many new services, which means that less burning of fossil fuels, so less carbon dioxide in the air. We could also carpool with friends. Fewer cars on the road means less carbon dioxide in the air. A fun way to slow down climate change is always to plant things that grow. Plants absorb the carbon dioxide in the air. The bigger the plant, the greater amount of carbon dioxide it can take in! In conclusion, there are numerous ways kids will help slow down climate change.

Our educational system is beginning to know the obligation and power we teachers need certainly to move society forward. The second Generation Science Standards (NGSS) directs us to instruct Earth’s Systems, and ways in which people affect these systems. The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts that will require the reading and analysis of nonfictional texts, as well as the writing of expository essays, provides opportunities for students to use their emerging skills to know a concept which is crucial that you them. The Common Core State Standards for Math mandates that students spend class time analyzing data, and using graphs to acknowledge patterns so that you can predict the future. When your students put the Common Core to good use to understand important concepts that affect their lives, you are going to started to appreciate the accelerated academic rigor of these new standards, along with your important role in influencing society’s priorities.

Additionally, you can find programs for teachers to learn more about climate change. As a Climate Stewards Educator, I receive free information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA also provides opportunities to be involved in webinars, field trips, and collaborative projects with other Planet Stewards. This season, my students participated in “live lessons” with a class of 5th graders in South Africa, discussing climate change. The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program provides teachers the opportunity to work with significant academic issues, such as teaching climate change, in a foreign country. Through the 2011-12 academic year, I worked in South Africa researching environmental issues, consulting in the schools, and sharing the info with my school back in New York. When our students recognize that children and adults in other countries may also be helping the environment, they recognize that positive change is possible.

Kottie Christie-Blick and 5th Grade Students.

Don’t worry about not knowing most of the facts to start with. Plunge in by visiting the links in this specific article. They’ll cause you to other informative sites. The important thing is to start out dealing with our changing climate, also to begin modeling ways we could help slow down climate change. The quality of our youngsters’s lives, and THEIR children’s lives, is dependent on the actions we take today.

The two-hour gift of time all too rapidly consumed, I head off to school. I do believe about my students’ essays, the youngsters’s questions and concerns, their enthusiastic discussion yesterday about what they want to be if they grow up. The automobile radio diverts my attention. 2015 was the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States. Time and energy to start teaching.