Teaching the Language of Climate Change Science

Book extras - resources and Teacher PL

PETAA Book Extras — Supplementary Resources

Teaching the language of climate chnage science book feature linked ot membership

Julie Hayes and Bronwyn Parkin

We are seeing how climate change is strengthening our storms, wildfires and heatwaves. We need to join with others globally to take action and teachers have an important role to play in preparing students to act. Teaching the language of climate change science will support you in facilitating the big conversations in the classroom — demonstrating how scientific concepts are developed through the language you use in class, and strategically handing over agency to your students.

Buy the book    New Title Information (.pdf 1.4 MB)

Watch a webinar with co-author Julie Hayes in which Julie shares tips for introducing scientific language to young people, and classroom examples of best practice.

Chapter 1

Sites and links for Chapter 1 originally accessed 24 January 2021

Chapter 2

Sites and links for Chapter 2 originally accessed 26 January 2021

Chapter 4







Sites, videos and links for Chapter 4 originally accessed 26 January 2021

Chapter 5



Rose M (2013) How paper is made


Sites, videos and links for Chapter 5 originally accessed 26 January 2021

Chapter 6







Sites videos and links for Chapter 6 originally accessed between 4 December 2020 and 28 January 2021

Chapter 7








 


Sites, videos and links for Chapter 7 originally accessed between 17 December 2020 and 3 February 2021

Chapter 8



















Sites, videos and links for Chapter 8 originally accessed between 28 December 2020 and 5 February 2021

Chapter 9






Sites, videos and links for Chapter 8 originally accessed between 24 January and 9 February 2021

Recommended books to support teaching about climate change and sustainability

Recommended books with PETAA classroom units of work

Fire illustration on book cover for Fire

A fiction picture book with rhyming text, by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley about the devastating effects of a fire on people, animals and environment. An Australian story about courage, kindness and resilience.

Unit of work for Primary Years 4–5

Flood cover with a dig looking out a window to flood

A fiction picture book by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley about a flood, which leads to destruction. An Australian story about bravery during a natural disaster, and communities helping each other.

Unit of work for Upper Primary Years 5–6

Young Dark Emu cover, with colours of ochre and black

The young readers version of the award-winning text by Bruce Pasco that gives an insight into the sustainable culture of Aboriginal Australians pre-European settlement, through use of historical documents from early Australian settlers.

Unit of work for Upper Primary Years 5–6

Recommended books for Early Years

  • Be an Active Citizen in Your Community (2017) by Helen Mason discusses communities and different ways to be an active citizen, including looking after the environment.
  • Big Rain Coming (1999) by Katrina Germein and illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft is picture book set in an indigenous community, and highlights the importance of rain.
  • I Can Make a Difference: Helping the environment (2012) by Vic Parker has suggestions for positive actions kids can take to volunteer and help the environment.
  • I Care About ... My Planet (2020) by Liz Lennon has clear, positive ideas about why things like saving energy and not wasting food, are important. Gives practical suggestions (like taking rubbish home with you, if there isn’t a bin nearby when you’re out).
  • Lily Learns about Wants and Needs (2014) by Lisa Bullard is a fiction about a girl called Lily and her Dad discussing the difference between wants and needs. Could be used to discuss sustainable choices.
  • Nya’s Long Walk: A step at a time (2019) by Linda Sue Park and Brian Pinkney is a picture book companion to A Long Walk to Water. Nya helps her sick sister to return home from the waterhole, one step at a time. Raising awareness that water is not ‘on tap’ for everyone. An afterword contains information about projects to supply clean water wells in South Sudan to reduce waterborne illness.
  • Sustainable Living (Protecting Our Planet series) (2018) by Harriet Brundle is a book is about making choices which can help look after our planet.
  • The Lorax: 50th Anniversary edition (2021) by Dr Seuss. In this classic rhyming text with the signature humor of Dr Seuss the Lorax works to save the trees from being destroyed.
  • The World That We Want (2004) by Kim Michelle Toft is a beautifully illustrated picture book, exploring different habitats and the animals that live in them.
  • Think of an Eel (2001) by Karen Wallace and Mike Bostock is poetic narrative and scientific information text about eels in the publisher's Read and wonder series.
  • Turtle’s Song (2001) by Kim Michelle Toft and Alan Brown is a Beautifully illustrated picture book, about the life of a green turtle.
  • Uno’s Garden (2013) by Graham Base is the story about fictional forest animals, and what happens when more and more people come to live in their forest home. A gentle introduction to concepts of habitat destruction, and extinction. Also a ‘look and find’ book.
  • Waterlilies (2007) by Diane Lucas and Colwyn Campbell is an information book about water lilies as a rich indigenous food source in the Northern Territory.
  • Starfish, where are you? (2016) by Barroux is an almost wordless picture book about rubbish accumulating in the ocean, and the effects on the environment of the creatures who live there.

Recommended books for Early Years and Primary

  • Climate Change (Protecting Our Planet series) (2018) by Harriet Brundle is an information book that provides a simple explanation of weather, climate, climate change and its causes.
  • Living Green at Home (2014) by Molly Aloine suggests ways to be more environmentally friendly at home.
  • Recycling Materials (2016) by Gemma McMullen is a simple text looking at different materials which can be recycled, and how they can then be reused.
  • The Watcher (2011) by Jeanette Winter is a simply written, illustrated biography of the naturalist and environmentalist, Jane Goodall, and her observations about chimpanzees. Describes her lifelong interest in wildlife conservation. A book about perseverance, the power of observation, trust, and quietly making a difference.
  • Walking with the Seasons in Kakadu (2003) by Diane Lucas and Ken Searle follows the seasonal calendar of the Gundjeihmi speaking people in northern Australia, through changes in the bird, animal and plant life.

Recommended books for Primary

  • Cyclone (2016) by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley is a rhyming picture book about Cyclone Tracy and its effects on the people of Darwin in 1974. Earth has always had extreme weather, but it’s becoming more frequent, so we have to learn how to look after each other during these events.
  • Drought (2016) by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley is a picture book and fiction about the devastating effect of drought on many Australians and their farms.
  • If the World Were a Village second edition (2011) by David J Smith describes percentages of the world’s population in a way that is accessible to children — for example, if the world was a village of 100 people, 88 have easy access to clean water, but 12 do not.
  • My Wounded Island (2017) Jacques Pasquet and Marion Arbona is a picture book addressing the topic of rising sea levels, climate refugees, and the effects on indigenous cultures. Based on the challenges faced by the Inupiat people who live on the small islands north of the Bering Strait near the Arctic Circle.
  • Planet Greta: How Greta Thunberg wants you to help her save our planet (2020) by Emily Stead and Laura Baker has information text about Greta Thunberg and her actions to fight climate change (it is an unofficial publication). Includes 50 suggestions for actions that children and families can take to help reduce environmental impacts.
  • The Giant and the Sea (2020) by Trent Jamieson and Rovina Cai is a picture book about a giant who warns the people about rising sea levels.

Recommended books for Upper Primary

  • Blueback (2009) by Tim Winton is a story about a boy who lives in harmony with creatures of the sea, the interconnection of all living things, and challenges faced when this is compromised.
  • You are Eating Plastic Every Day: What's in our food? (2020) by Danielle Smith-Llera discusses issues of plastic pollution, microplastics, and how these enter the food chain.
  • Your Planet Needs You! (2020) by Philip Bunting has information about environmental issues, presented with a quirky sense of humour appealing to young independent readers, for example, when talking about food waste: ‘Very little icecream seems to get wasted. No idea why‘.

Books lists provided by Vicki Newton.

Find more resources including units of work on our Resources for Sustainability page

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Interactive and downloadable classroom resources

Year 8 Science assessment task

Download the interactive form for the Year 8 Science assessment task (.pdf 73 kB)

Year 8 Science assessment task exemplar

Download the interactive form for the Year 8 Science assessments exemplar (.pdf 79 kB)

Understanding paragraphs in factual texts

A paragraph has two or three parts.

Structure

Paragraph example:
Non-renewable fuel sources

 What the writer is thinking

Topic sentence
(what this is about)

Coal, crude oil and gas are non-renewable fossil fuels.

I’m putting the three fossil fuels into the theme position so they’re right up front.

Tell us more
(what is important to share)

They were formed over millions of years, from the remains of dead organisms. Coal was largely formed … while oil and gas were formed … Over millions of years this organic material was … (Geoscience Australia 2000).

I want the reader to know just how long it takes for fossil fuels to be produced, so that they understand why they are called ‘non-renewable’.

So what?
(useful but not always necessary) Segue to next paragraph

Burning fossil fuels is one of the most significant causes of climate change (NASA 2020a). It produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat inside the atmosphere. Many alternative renewable and non-polluting energy sources are now being investigated and harnessed.

I want the reader to know the reason that we cannot continue using fossil fuels.
I want to link this information to the next paragraph, when I give the reader alternative fuel sources and
make them feel hopeful

The topic sentence

The topic sentence should be strong but not too long: don’t tell us everything in one sentence, just flag what the paragraph is going to be about.

Try to avoid using ‘there are …’. Sometimes you need to begin a paragraph with these words, but see if you can put the topic closer to the front to give it more punch. Compare …

  • There are these fuels called fossil fuels and they are coal, crude oil and gas.
  • Coal, crude oil and gas are non-renewable fossil fuels.

Tell us more

Next is the body of the paragraph. It develops the idea that was flagged in the topic sentence. It can include:

  • a more detailed description
  • a sequence of events (Coal was formed from decaying plants …; Over millions of years …)
  • the idea expanded with other words (In other words …; that is to say …)
  • examples (for example …; one example is …; this is exemplified by …)
  • compare and contrast (Unlike renewable fuel sources …)
  • a challenge (While some claim that … )
  • proof: back up what you say with evidence or authority (Geoscience Australia 2000, NASA 2020; research shows that …; this is evident in the way that …).

So what?

This part is sometimes useful but not essential. It could be:

  • a summary of the paragraph (All of these have one characteristic in common: they are nocturnal)
  • a comment (Burning fossil fuels is one of the most significant causes of climate change.)
  • a segue to the next paragraph (Many alternative renewable and non-polluting energy sources …).

Whatever you choose, it has to be relevant to, and elaborate on, the topic sentence of the paragraph, support the purpose of the text as a whole, and make sense to your intended audience.

You can also download a one-page hard copy of this text (.pdf 52 kB)

Chapter 5

The first three stages of the paper making process

Diagram with three final stages of paper making

Figure 5.4: Making paper from trees. Physical changes from tree to paper. Source: M Goldsmith. Used with permission

Stages of recycling paper

Figure 5.5: Physical changes when recycling paper. Source: M Goldsmith. Used with permission

Chapter 7

Labelled drawing of the albedo effect

Figure 7.17: The albedo effect: reflection from different surfaces. Source: J Hayes. Used with permission

Labelled illustration of the enhanced greenhouse effect

Figure 7.4: The enhanced greenhouse effect. Source: M Goldsmith. Used with permission

Chapter 8

Labelled drawing of a hydro-electric turbine

Figure 8.10: How a hydro-powered turbine works. Source: M Goldsmith. Used with permission

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Text analyses

 Text analyses for Chapters 3-8

The language resources included in the text analyses provided here are not intended for explicit teaching in the class. They are included to show that the language the authors have chosen for texts is intentional and carefully selected: to gradually apprentice students into the world and language of science.


Chapter 3: climate change science for pre-school

Download the text analyses (.pdf 1.2 MB)
Consider the environment before printing

Chapter 4: climate change science for Foundation

Download the text analyses (.pdf 1.2 MB)
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Chapter 5: climate change science for Years 1-2

Download the text analyses (.pdf 1.2 MB)
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Chapter 6: climate change science forYears 3-4

Download the text analyses (.pdf 1.2 MB)
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Chapter 7: climate change science for Years 7-8

Download the text analyses (.pdf 1.2 MB)
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Chapter 8: climate change science for pre-school

Download the text analyses (.pdf 1.2 MB)
Consider the environment before printing