Monday, January 25, 2016

Teaching Children About Climate Change Through Gregg Kleiner's unique picture book


Teaching Children About Climate Change Through Gregg Kleiner's amazing picture book titled "Please Don't Paint Our Planet Pink!"

     
Have you ever wondered how to address climate change and CO2, or even just fossil fuels and energy, with young students? A complex and potentially heated topic, many people have argued that elementary school is too early to talk about these issues. Some teachers might even try to avoid the potential controversy by skipping over energy altogether, which is a lost opportunity for their students.

A unique and captivating and kid-friendly picture book by Gregg Kleiner in Oregon titled "Please Don't Paint Our Planet Pink!" (see Amazon for details)   could provide just the path you need to talk about these tricky topics with your young students.

This illustrated children’s book asks readers: since co2 is a colorless and ordorless gas, and we cannot see it, what if someone painted all co2 on Earth as PINK so we all could SEE it? Would that be a wake up call or what?

Although the book is geared towards students in third through sixth grades, there is quite a bit of useful information for older students. For example, if you teach high school biology you could see using this book when introducing global warming to my students, due to its clear illustrations and adherence to the science. Global warming, fossil fuels, and energy usage are some of the most important concepts of our times. What students learn at a young age has the potential to influence them for the rest of their lives. This book isn’t an answer to all of the problems regarding energy education, but it’s a start. It's a great way to get students thinking about co2 and climate change.

 

No comments: