Last updated: May 8, 2024
Lesson Plan
Climate Change Scavenger Hunt
A teacher leads their students along a trail through a meadow.
NPS staff Whitney Gilliam
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- Lesson Duration:
- 30 Minutes
- Thinking Skills:
- Remembering: Recalling or recognizing information ideas, and principles. Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.
Essential Question
What innovations did Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument take to make an environmental friendly visitor center? What are some more ways we can reduce our carbon footprint?
Objective
Students will learn about the National Park Service’s stance on climate change. They will become familiar with the steps Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument has taken to reduce its carbon footprint. Lastly, students will brainstorm ways they can reduce their carbon footprint in their home and/or communities.
Background
Scientific studies have shown that the rate of climate change (a natural phenomenon) is being accelerated by human activity. Since the late 19th century (late 1800’s), the rise in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans has increased drastically. The warming of the Earth is the result of the greenhouse effect, which is a process where heat from the planet’s surface is trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon monoxide). These greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere through the burning of fossils fuels (gasoline engines), agricultural production (methane), etc. As a result of global warming, Earth is seeing an increase in natural hazards and disasters (e.g., hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, etc.)
Many companies and agencies across the world are making adaptions and changes to reduce their carbon footprint. In recent years, the National Park Service has developed a Climate Change Response Program that works towards addressing key issues pertaining to the warming of our planet. The program’s key messages are: 1) human activities are changing the Earth’s climate, 2) climate change affects national parks and the treasures they protect, 3) the National Park Service is addressing climate change, and 4) the choices we make today do make a difference.
In 2012, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument had a sustainably designed visitor center built to reduce the use of non-renewable resources, in turn, reducing its carbon footprint. When you walk in and around the visitor center, you can see many green (sustainable) building techniques implemented. With global warming and rapid climate change, it is now more important than ever for humans to make changes/adaptations in their lifestyles to reduce their carbon footprint.
Preparation
Materials Needed:
- Scavenger hunt worksheet
- Scavenger hunt clues worksheet
- Small clipboards
- Pencils
- Prizes (optional)
Materials
This is the sheet the students have to fill out.
Download Climate Change Scavenger Hunt Worksheet
For the instructors eyes only, this contains the answers to the Climate Change Scavenger Hunt Worksheet
Download Climate Change Scavenger Hunt Worksheet Key
This part is optional for the students. It's a guide as to where each item is and a description of what each item does.
Procedure
Procedure:
- Have the students find a partner or small group to work with.
- Hand out a clipboard, pencil, worksheet and set of clues to each group.
- Inform the students that they are conducting an inspection of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument’s visitor center building to determine what steps the monument has taken to reduce its carbon footprint.
- Tell the students that their task is to complete the scavenger hunt as quickly as possible while being mindful of other visitors in the building. NO RUNNING!
- The clues have images of sustainable features implemented in the visitor center. Inform the students that these cards contain close-up images of the features and they must find the location of the sustainable features. The features can be found both inside and outside of the visitor center building. Remind students to stay off the black top and only walk on the pavement.
- Use the answer key (in the activity folder) to check the students’ answers.
- The first group to finish will earn a prize (optional).
- Want to make the activity more challenging? Do not give them the clues sheet and have the students find each item and give their best guess.
Vocabulary
- Climate Change - a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
- Global Warming - a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.
- Greenhouse effect - the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.
- Pollution - the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.
- Sustainability - the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
- Carbon Footprint - the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group, etc.
Assessment Materials
Reflection/DiscussionHave the students/participant talk about this as a group that you as teacher/chaperone can facilitate.
First go over their answers and make sure they know what they wrote down.
Ask the students if they are aware of any energy-saving techniques implemented in their homes. Have them discuss amongst each other what types of techniques they would like to see implemented in their home(s) and why.
What other types of techniques could Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument implement to further reduce its carbon footprint? What are some low-cost but highly effective methods for us as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint? Answer examples: ride a bicycle, carpool, turn off lights when a room is not in use, etc.