[Sidebar
To be active learners, students will need to know:
a) how to find information;
b) how to evaluate the sources and the quality of information; and
c) how to present information to others.]
The following activities are presented as ideas for focusing students on the global change issues related in the chapter. Whether you decide to develop one, or many, of these activities, they should always be introduced by relating them to major themes contained within the chapter.
Students should be encouraged to be creative in their choice of media: print in various forms, slides, audio-tapes, video-tapes, graphs, maps, Hypercard stacks and other computer programs, etc.
Activities for research should include the search of on-line and CD ROM databases (Internet, Dialog Classmate, Southam Infomart, Infoglobe) Statistics Canada's E-STAT, local and national newspapers, and whatever else the school, public, college or university libraries allow.
As well, interviews with long-time residents, First Nations elders, local museum curators, business people, provincial and national Ministry of the Environment staff, local naturalists, etc. provide valuable resource material.
2.0 YOUR LOCAL ECOSYSTEM
Divide the class into three groups. Each group will participate in one of the following three activities, so that information about the past, the present, and the relation of the local area to the larger Canadian economy and environment can be developed simultaneously. Each group will work together to interview, research, and prepare information to present to the rest of the class.
2.1 SNAPSHOTS: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
In this activity, students will develop a sense of the history of the economic, demographic, and environmental state of their local ecosystem. With this sense of history they will develop an understanding of the impact of human activity on their own community and natural environment (see Appendix 1-Sample Lesson Plans for a detailed description of this activity).
Through investigation and interviews, they will create a scenario (written, oral, video, or other presentation medium) of what their local region was like:
- before European settlement
- in the early years of European settlement
- 100 years ago
- 50 years ago
- 20 years ago
2.2 TAKING INVENTORY
What is your local ecosystem like now? Students will take an inventory of local resources and attempt to define the state of the local ecosystem. Items for inventory may include planned green space, watershed, demographic information, temperature, precipitation, climate, local wildlife, etc. This information will be used to help students relate the state of the local ecosystem at the present time with the state of the ecosystem in the past (see previous activity). Students will also be able to use this information to relate their local ecosystem and economy with other regions in Canada.
2.3 A CROSS-CANADA GLIMPSE
Students will compare their local ecosystem (biome) with a variety of ecosystems across Canada. Create a large wall map of Canada (an enlargement of Figure 3, Global Change and Canadians, p 5). Outline the various ecosystems in Canada, and use colour or a variety of design "fills" to differentiate them. Indicate your local region on the map. A small paper "flag" or brighter colour would work. In groups, pairs, or individually, students investigate different ecosystems. Information can be displayed around the map, on paper, with pictures, maps, graphs, etc. Colored string connects the information displayed to the ecosystem areas on the map. (See Appendix 1-Sample Lesson Plans for a detailed description of this activity.)
2.4 OUR ECONOMY
Students will investigate the local economic resource base. This could include commercial (inner city), agricultural (be specific), tourism, mining, forestry, fishing, hunting, manufacturing, etc. This information should be factual, but also discuss ways in which the local economy affects the environment, locally and globally. Another important focus for research into the local resource base is to determine where the resource fits into the world economy. What are the local resources and where is the market for those resources? What does the future of the resource industry look like? Is the local resource industry involved in developing appropriate environmental practices?
2.5 DISCUSSION AND DEBATE
Discussion and debate topics assist students to better understand the consequences of diminishing resources for the Canadian economy, quality of life, and future of our wildlife and environment. Debate and discussion can also help students to begin to formulate action plans for sustainable development and for enhancing the local, national, and global environments. Topics for debate could include:
- How does your local resource-based economy affect global ecosystems?
- How does global environmental degradation affect your local economy, and natural environment?
- What are the consequences of continued development for Canada and the rest of the world?
- What can students do to enhance the local ecosystem, and what consequences does that have for the local economy? For the people dependent on the resource-based economy?
2.6 ACTION
Global change research is concerned with providing the basis for well-reasoned global action. Students can begin to "think globally, act locally" by investigating local environmental action and research projects. With that information available, students can assess the need to develop a plan of action to enhance the environment in their school, their home, and their community. The plan of action could include becoming involved in local environmental enhancement projects, as well as developing an action plan for "cleaning up" the school, the home, and the community.
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