World-WideTeach-In: Our Models

#MakeClimateAClass: the idea is simple. During Education Week, NON-CLIMATE faculty teaching NON-CLIMATE courses like European History, Intro to Physics, Anthropology 101, Romantic Literature or Adolescent Psychology talk for 30 minutes how their discipline is engaging with climate change. If 20 faculty on a campus make climate a class in just one of their classes each, 400+ students will be talking about climate change that week.

Our curricular partner, Subject To Climate, makes finding a climate lesson plan easy.

Use their resources database to find a lesson plan that’s right for you and your class.

You can search by grade level, subject, language, and more.

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Teacher Vesta Namiranianbe read the book, "We are Water Protectors,” to her 3rd grade dual-language Spanish class. The students were then tasked with analyzing the symbolism portrayed in the story, which sparked a conversation about the impact of the "black snake" and oil pipelines on historically marginalized communities.

How To Make Climate A Class

Pledge

Pledge to Make Climate a Class here!

Plan

Use at least 30 min in a class session to talk about the connections between your subject and climate change, solutions or justice during the first week of April 2024.

Our curricular partner, Subject To Climate, makes finding a climate lesson-plan easy. Use their resource database to find a lesson plan that’s right for you and your class. You can search lesson plans by grade level, subject, language, region and more. And see the rest of our in-class climate resources here.

Teach

Spend at least 15 min talking with your students about one connection (or have the students brainstorm about the connections). Spend another 15 min on how your discipline can help prepare students for climate careers (and possibly have a professional as a guest speaker).

Share

Document your class by taking photos so we can share you Make Climate A Class success with our network!

Step 1: Pledge Today to Make Climate an Event

Make Climate an Event is our extracurricular initiative. Our event models engage students in new ways and spark cross-disciplinary dialogue on the climate crisis within your institution.

The core model we recommend is the Three-Hour Teach-In. This is an all-school event held in the evening that is grounded in participation by climate-concerned faculty from multiple disciplines. It is an easy way to create interdisciplinary dialogue about climate solutions across your campus and engage hundreds of students.

But you don’t need to plan a Teach-in to Make Climate an Event, see below for other inspiring event examples!

University of Nebraska-Omaha Students reading “When Birds Fly Away”

An Inspiring Example:

University of the Philippines Los Baños , UP Ecosystems Society (UP ECOSS), Angat Kalikasan Pilipinas (AKap) and Greenpeace Philippines

A community teach-in took place on May 6th, 2023 in one of the most controversial places in the

Philippines, Tanay, Rizal, home of the Dumagat Indigenous Groups who are protesting environmentally destructive hydroelectric dam projects along their mountain ranges. The purpose of the teach-in is to engage the local Indigenous farmers about climate change and explore their ideas regarding climate mitigation and adaptation.

Teach-in with the community leaders of Dumagat Remontado

UP Los Baños’ UP ECOSYSTEMS Society student members (in black)

Indigenous leader, Perak introducing their farmers’ movement

How To Make Climate An Event

Pledge

Pledge to Make Climate an Event during Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week. Just click "Host an Event" and input your initial event information. You can always edit your event later once you have more details!

Get Inspired

Review inspiring examples of Climate Education Events from 2023 here! See how organizers connected the arts, the humanities and sciences for a wide variety of climate education programming for students of all ages.

Organize Your Team

Identify 3-5 people from across your institution to help organize your event. Think about professors who teach environmental classes, student leaders of climate groups on campus, and the sustainability office of your institution. These will be your key-organizing-partners.

Recruit

Along with your organizing team, send an email to department heads or individual faculty you recognize as climate-concerned from each division of your school. Gauge their interest in participating in your climate education event.

Plan

Pick a time during Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week and find a space, based upon how attendees you expect.

Review our extensive list of discipline-specific climate justice education resources you can use during your event. This involves curricula, videos and activities that can be incorporated on top of your panels.

Engage Your Community

Engage student leaders and promote your event using our resources.

A strategy to consider: Ask students to moderate your faculty panels and to speak on panels of their own— this is an easy way to involve student leadership and increase campus participation.

And promote your event using our brand guide. Our poster templates make promotion easy.

Make It Happen + Document

You’re all set + make sure you document your event and tag __ so we can share. Look out for our follow-up communications so we can share your event’s success with our global network of climate educators.

Plan Your Week

Plan Your Week

How can you participate in

Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week?

Step 1: Pledge Today To Make Climate a Class

An Inspiring Example:

Rice Elementary - Rosemead, California

Step 1: Pledge Today to Make Climate an Event

An Inspiring Example:

University of Nebraska-Omaha and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University in Peshawar, Pakistan

An Inspiring Example:

University of the Philippines Los Baños , UP Ecosystems Society (UP ECOSS), Angat Kalikasan Pilipinas (AKap) and Greenpeace Philippines

Looking to host a Climate Education Event at your Faith Congregation?