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What Do You Know--Climate?

Donnetta Elsasser

In Big History Project we have a fun activity called “What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?”

It’s about looking at an issue from multiple perspectives, using multiple disciplines. It’s not only a super way to examine any event, but it is also a great way to introduce learners to professionals and fields of study they might not be familiar with. I created this activity a while back, patterned after a WDYK.

It’s about serious drought conditions reducing the volume of the Colorado River and how that affects the livelihood of several US states, multiple Tribes, and billions of crops. 

This could be a short lesson inserted into any discussion about climate change. 

Do you think you might try it? How would you use it?

What feedback could you give me for making this lesson better? 

What kind of an introduction would you give it?

CNN video clip to explain the issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmeWydWm2MU

Who Knows What? worksheet I designed: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17X4cmC6IxHEBIbT4lHLMy_k8C69lPZ02Gk7ZG4MPmhc/edit

Parents

  • I really like the discipline/expertise part of that page you created.  I like the real connection to people in the field. Even if fictitious it's still "real" and this makes great sense to give to students.  My Contemporary World Problems class starts in a week and I'm soaking up the good stuff for some nice climate work. 

  • in reply to Bryan Dibble

     , In the example I built, these are the actual people involved in a real-life environmental event.

    But to make sure I understand, are you saying that as teachers we could make up simulations that mimic real events, and the process would still be valuable?

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  • in reply to Donnetta Elsasser

    Sure!  Authentic learning is about the activity or lesson be as equal to an experience found in the work place.  However, it's best if that authentic learning is legit- especially when names and jobs and scenarios can be readily found that fit our purposes.  It might have been 20 years ago that "authentic learning" was the catch phrase of the day.  But that's one priority pushed that has held up well to time.  Can't say that about all the jargon we've seen come and go!  I just didn't know if they were real or not, but they looked authentic to me.