Activity Proposals to Improve Children’s Climate Literacy and Environmental Literacy
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Description of the Activities
2.1.1. Activity 1: “Climate Action” Board Game
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- It stimulates students’ interest and motivation in the issue of climate change;
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- It provides a positive gaming experience, with an attractive graphic design;
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- It is adapted for various age groups;
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- It provides a broad overview of the problems, mechanisms, challenges, and opportu-nities related to climate change;
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- It introduces relevant basic terminology, including established terms used to discuss climate change [28].
2.1.2. Activity 2: Creating a Terrarium
2.1.3. Activity 3: “The Climate Change Game” Book
2.2. Data Collection Technique: Focus Group—Evaluation of Activities
3. Results
4. Discussion
4.1. Impact of the Activity on Students
4.2. The Activities Are Appropriate to the Age Range of the Students
4.3. Students Acquired Knowledge about Climate Change
4.4. Students Are Motivated to Adopt Pro-Environmental Behaviors in Relation to Climate Change
“I’m going to tell my grandparents and my cousins about the weather.” P16:S1
5. Conclusions
“I liked the activities and the different day; we learned a lot of new things, and from today on, I will take better care of the planet”, P:10: S1
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Sample | |||
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Schools | Grade | nº of Children | nº of Children per Session (2) |
Escola EB 2,3 Augusto Moreno, Bragança, Portugal | 4.º, 6.º grade (9–13 years old) | 30 | 14/16 |
Escola EB23 Paulo Quintela, Bragança, Portugal | 4.º, 6.º grade (9–13 years old) | 24 | 10/14 |
To Understand the Impact of the Activity | |
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1- What aspects of the activities caught your attention the most? | Answers (n = 5) |
P1:S1: I liked hearing about climate change and the things we buy that come by plane and boat and emit a lot of smoke. P2:S1: Today was a different lesson; I liked listening this scientist. P3:S1: There were things I did not know; I like science and these things. P4:S2: It was a different day; we learned lots of new things. P5:S1: We learned a lot of new things; it was a different lesson. | |
2- What were the two main contributions of these activities for you? |
To Understand if the Activities Were Appropriate for the Age Group of the Children Involved | |
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3- Did you experience any difficulties during the activity? Any concepts you did not know the meaning of? If you had any difficulty doing the activity, can you indicate what it was? | Answers (n = 5) |
P6:S1: I did not find it difficult. But I wanted my own terrarium. P7:S2: I did not find it difficult. P8:S1: I would like to stay longer; I did not find it difficult. P9:S1: I did not find it difficult. P10:S1: I liked the activities and the different day; we learned a lot of new things, and from today, I am going to take better care of the planet. |
To Check if the Students Acquired Knowledge about Climate Change | |
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4- After attending the sensitization session and doing these activities, can you tell me what contributes to (actions, behaviors, factors) or influences climate change? 5- After attending the sensitization session and doing these activities, can you identify the consequences of climate change? | Answers (n = 5) |
P11:S1: Climate change is caused by buying things we do not need and by eating too much animal meat. The bad things are the greenhouse effect and higher temperatures that melt the ice and increase the sea. P12:S1: The many factories that exist pollute the air a lot, as do cars and trucks. People can die from the heat, such as babies and the elderly. P13:S2: Volcanoes and the sun and people and factories. When the planet heats up, the bears run out of ice and the sea rises and the people on the islands become homeless. P14:S1: Every time we buy clothes that come from far away, and we drive around in cars; smoke helps to increase the temperature and brings problems for nature. P15:S1: When there are fires and when volcanoes explode. They burn the forest and increase the global temperature. |
To Understand the Motivation to Adopt Pro-Environmental Behaviors in Relation to Climate Change | |
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6- Do you think that, after these activities, you will change your behavior towards the environment? If so, what will (or what can) you do to mitigate (reduce the impact or effect of) this climate change problem? | Answers (n = 11) |
P16:S1: I am going to tell my grandparents and my cousins about the weather. If I were a ruler, I would arrest everyone who sets fires. P3:S1: When I am older, I will only use a car to go far. I will use my bike. If I were president, I would give bicycles to all the boys. P4:S1: Take a shower more quickly and turn off the lights in the sockets. If I were president, I would give money to scientists to solve the problem. P5:S1: Walking and talking about this to my brother and my cousins. Help with money to buy bicycles and electric cars. | |
7- If you were a government official, what laws (measures) could you propose to reduce the effect of climate change? | P16:S1: Prison for those who throw rubbish on the floor. P9:S1: Ban cars that emit smoke. P10:S1: Reduce the price of electric cars. P5:S1: Prohibit heating when not necessary. P3:S1: Put more guards on the street to monitor people who litter. P4:S1: Anyone who wastes water will be arrested. |
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Ramos, R.; Rodrigues, M.J.; Rodrigues, I. Activity Proposals to Improve Children’s Climate Literacy and Environmental Literacy. Educ. Sci. 2024, 14, 194. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14020194
Ramos R, Rodrigues MJ, Rodrigues I. Activity Proposals to Improve Children’s Climate Literacy and Environmental Literacy. Education Sciences. 2024; 14(2):194. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14020194
Chicago/Turabian StyleRamos, Ricardo, Maria José Rodrigues, and Isilda Rodrigues. 2024. "Activity Proposals to Improve Children’s Climate Literacy and Environmental Literacy" Education Sciences 14, no. 2: 194. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14020194
APA StyleRamos, R., Rodrigues, M. J., & Rodrigues, I. (2024). Activity Proposals to Improve Children’s Climate Literacy and Environmental Literacy. Education Sciences, 14(2), 194. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14020194