Climate Change: How It Impacts Canadians and What We Can Do to Slow It Down

THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE ALBERTA – GRADES 10 AND 11

Climate Change: How it impacts Canadians and what we can do to slow it down.

Lesson Overview

This lesson takes stock of how climate change has already affected Canadians in geographic, economic, and cultural terms. It asks pertinent questions about what can be done to change human behaviour to reduce climate change by focussing on selected problems and solutions.

Grade Level

Grades 10-11 (Secondary)

Time Required

80 minutes

Curriculum Connection (Province and course)

Alberta Social Studies 10/ 11

Link to Canadian National Geography Standards

Essential Element #1 (Grades 9-12) -The World in Spatial Terms

Geography studies the spatial relationships among people, places and environments.
Maps reveal the complex spatial interactions that touch the lives of all citizens.

Essential Element #2 (Grades 9-12) -Places and Regions

The identities and lives of individuals and peoples are rooted in particular places and regions, each of which has distinctive human and physical characteristics.

Essential Element #3 (Grades 9-12) -Physical Systems

Physical processes shape Earth’s surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain and modify the cultural and natural environment.
Physical systems include such things as wind and ocean currents, plate tectonics, erosion, deposition and the water.

Essential Element #5 (Grades 9-12) -Environment and Society

The physical environment has been modified by human activities. In a traditional sense, early settlers cleared the land to plant crops and graze livestock. Today, air and water pollution and the management of solid waste and hazardous materials are a serious problem.
The physical environment affects human activity as well. Soil types and water availability help to determine which crops will prosper. More dramatically, natural hazards (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes and floods) have resulted in substantial loss of life and property.

Principal Resource

The primary lesson is based on the section Explore by themes, The Issues, Climate Change of The Canadian Atlas Online website at

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required

Prairies black line outline map available at:

Main Objective

The primary goal of the lesson is to take stock of how climate change has affected selected Canadian regions in geographic, economic, and cultural terms and provides a discussion forum for action on an individual, regional, and national level.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Define the term climate change;

Provide clear examples of how climate change impacts the Canadian landscape, its economy, and its cultural activities;

Extract data from reading selections and take notes;
Generalize the data;
Interpret images in contextual terms;
Apply geographic skills to maps, such as measuring distances;
Navigate the internet;
Make decisions regarding their own behaviour and social responsibility

This lesson satisfies learning outcomes as described by the Alberta Social Studies Curriculum for Senior Grades, specifically:

Social Studies 10: Canada In The Modern World

Topic A: Challenges for Canada - The 20th Century and Today

a. geographic factors influence a nation’s sovereignty

d. a nation’s foreign policy must be balanced between its interests and the interests of other nations

e. the consequences of foreign policy can result in conflict or cooperation with other nations

Theme II: Regionalism

a. Canada is composed ofgeographic regions with diversepolitical, economic and culturalinterests

b. Canada’s political, economic and social fabric is influenced by geographic factors

c. regional differences both strengthen and challenge Canadian unity

Theme III: Identity

a. Canadians identify withcommunity, region and nation

b. the Canadian identity is shaped by our values, attitudes and cultures as they have emerged from our history and geography

Social Studies 10–20–30: The Growth Of The Global Perspective

Topic B: Interdependence in the Global Environment

Theme III: Quality Of Life

c. quality of life is increasingly affected by issues of global concern

Theme IV: Alternative Futures: Possibilities For Change

b. solutions to global concerns often require international dialogue

c. there are potential solutions to global concerns

Social Studies 23: The Growth Of The Global Perspective

Topic B: Challenges in the Global Environment

Theme II: Global Interdependence And Quality Of Life

b. environmental situations affect quality of life

The Lesson

TEACHER ACTIVITY / STUDENT ACTIVITY

Introduction

The teacher will begin the lesson by asking students how they came to school this day and tally the responses by the number of students who came by car and by public transport.
The teacher will ask students how many of them will likely buy their first car by the time they are twenty-five years of age. The teacher will then ask students if they can think about disadvantages of owning a car and record some of their responses.
The teacher will ask students if they have ever heard about climate change and if they know what it is. A short discussion will follow.
The teacher will then explain that students will examine a series of readings that describe how climate change has already affected Canada and that students will learn about the geographic, economic and cultural implications of climate change.

Students will participate in a short discussion on the subject and be given their worksheet.
The teacher will decide on pairing students depending on the availability of computer equipment.

Lesson Development

The teacher will monitor student progress as the students are working through the activities and will help slower students stay on task by asking them to provide feedback on their progress.
The teacher refers to the factoids at the end of the student worksheet to summarize the data students have collected and how they put the information down in the table.

Students complete the worksheet in pairs or individually depending on the availability of computers.

Students participate in the class discussion on the factoids and their implications.

The Lesson (cont’d)

TEACHER ACTIVITY / STUDENT ACTIVITY

Lesson Development

(cont’d) /

Depending on the progress of the class, the teacher may wish to group the class for the case studies in sections E, F, and G to maximize time and have students report to the class when finished.
This report can be summed up with a discussion of a map showing the extent of permafrost in Canada and subsequent damage to building structures. This information is available at:

Sections E, F, and G can also be done by different class teams who will report back to the class.

Conclusion

The teacher asks students what they can do to reduce climate change or ask them what they may have to do to adapt to the effects of climate change in form of a brainstorming activity.

Students work in pairs to brainstorm changes in behaviour to reduce climate change or adapt to the effects of climate change.

Lesson Extension

Students can summarize their findings from this lesson and do research on how climate change affects selected groups of people, such as Inuit hunters, farmers in western Canada, oil workers in northern Alberta.

Assessment of Student Learning

Students can be assessed on the following:

Level of participation during class discussion.
Amount and accuracy of data collected.
Written Summary of research findings
Research and role-taking activity

Teachers to use appropriate rubrics for their classes.