Climate change: Lights, camera, action 12 - 16 years old - Activities - Activities and ideas - Teaching and learning - wwflearning home

Climate change: Lights, camera, action 12 - 16 years old

Taking action

Summary information

Age range:	12 - 16 year olds
Curriculum links:	English, PSHE/Citizenship
Time needed:	40 minutes
Group size:	Pairs or groups of 4
Setting:	Indoors
Key vocabulary:	Fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, CO2, carbon dioxide, emissions, greenhouse effect, global warming, climate change.
Sustainability learning outcome(s):	Pupils will: understand the links between human activity and climate change; recognise opportunities for tackling climate change; understand that there is a range of methods of communication.

Preparation:

This activity is designed for pupils who have already developed some understanding of the causes and consequences of global warming. Teachers need to think about the range of techniques that are used to communicate a persuasive message, e.g. logical argument, fact, fear, humour, glamour, conformity.

Resources needed:

Digital video cameras or computers and cartoon making software.

Procedure:

1.Ask the pupils to watch each of the listed videos three times:

with sound but with the screen covered;
with vision but without sound; and
with both sound and vision.

L. DiCaprio:
www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_feature.asp?id=7

Greenpeace:
www.greenpeace.org.uk/fridaythe13th/

2.Ask them to make notes about the messages contained in each film and about the techniques used to convey these messages.
3.As a class, discuss the messages and techniques. Which was the most instructive/ persuasive/ effective?

Extensions:

Ask the pupils to review some more films from the US organisation www.stopglobalwarming.org or ask them to plan and make their own short film about this issue.

More films to review:
Blue Man Group:
www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_feature.asp?id=0

Futureflix:
www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_feature.asp?id=12

The Inconvenient Truth:
www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_feature.asp?id=11

Evaluation:

Pupils discuss the following questions in pairs:
“What sorts of persuasive methods are used by politicians, advertisers and filmmakers?”
“Which of these methods work best on me?”
“What do people need to know about global warming?”
“Why do they need to know it?”
“Would I be able to get these messages across? “
“How?”

Back to A - Z list
Back to age range
Back to themes