Have you heard? There’s a new board game about climate change solutions! Mrs. Archibald’s grade 5’s got a chance to try their hands at understanding climate solutions this week by playing a game.
First, we had a lesson about what climate is and how its changing. We dressed up Mrs. Archi then Meia, as the warming Earth, to embody how problematic extra greenhouse gases in our atmosphere can be. We talked about natural and human-caused sources of carbon dioxide, before exploring natural and human-caused carbon dioxide sinks. One highlight of the day was tossing the Earth ball around the room as we brainstormed ways to reduce carbon emissions at individual, community, provincial, national, and international scales.
During a second climate lesson, the students got to test out the new Climate Change Solutions board game. In groups of 5 or 6, they looked at real world solutions that have been researched and tested all across the globe. The goal of lowering the global temperature before time runs out, not only got them thinking outside the box, but they were comparing and evaluating the effectiveness of different strategies.
The game was a fun, interactive, and hopeful way to think about a big, often scary topic. Who wouldn’t want to play games to find solutions?
