Ways To Use COP28 In The Classroom

COP28 is the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference. It is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30th November to 12th December 2023 and aims to accelerate global action to tackle climate change.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Make a glossary of environmental terms with definitions (and diagrams, if possible), e.g. net-zero, climate change, renewables.
• Write a persuasive letter to encourage the UN to host the next climate change conference in your village, town or city.
• Write a letter to the leaders taking part in COP28. What would you like them to achieve at the conference?
• Write a letter to your teacher / headteacher / parents / MP to ask them to tackle a particular environmental issue in your local area.
• Download the resources in our Environment Pack.

• Organise a fund-raising event to raise money for an environmental charity. Make posters and write letters to encourage people to get involved.
• Write to a business to ask them to get involved in the Race to Zero by achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the very latest.
• Can you think of different books that have an environmental theme (e.g. Somebody Swallowed Stanley, Greta and the Giants, and There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom)? Make a display in your library or reading area.
• Write a review of a book with an environmental theme to encourage others to read it.
• Write an email newsletter that is full of things that people can do to help the environment.
• Write a biography of Greta Thunberg, David Attenborough or another person who works to help the environment.
• COP28 gets its name because it is the 28th time this annual event has taken place (It did not happen in 2020 due to the pandemic.). What kind of issues do you think will be discussed at COP40 or COP100? Make a list.
• Write a story set in a place that has been affected by climate change; for example, somewhere that has been flooded or is suffering from drought.

Maths

• Imagine that you were given the task of allocating $100bn to tackle climate change issues. How would you spend the money? Make a spreadsheet to show how much you would allocate to different environmental projects.

Science

• What is climate change? Write a report to teach younger children about the environment and what we can do to improve things.
• Use this resource from WWF to teach key terms about climate change and discuss its causes and impact.
• Download these resources from ypte to use with older children (9+) who are studying climate change.
• Learn about greenhouse gases with these information cards from NASA.

Computing

• Make a presentation or website about Expo City Dubai, where the event will be held.
• Write a series of social media posts to encourage people to get involved in environmental issues in their local area.
• Design a logo for the next climate conference.

Design Technology

• Reuse ‘waste’ materials to make a sculpture that represents an environmental issue (e.g. a turtle in the ocean or a wind turbine generating renewable energy).

Art

• Imagine that you could visit Dubai during the conference. Design a poster or banner to display at the event.
• Create a drawing / painting / sculpture to represent the environment. Could you display this in a prominent area with information about climate change and how people can help?

Music

• Write the lyrics to a song about an environmental issue. Can you compose a melody to accompany it?

Geography

• COP28 is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Find the city on a map. How is it similar / different to where you live?
• Make a route to show how you could travel to the United Arab Emirates. How long would the journey take?
• Watch The OceanMaker and discuss the difficulties caused by drought.

History

• Climate Change has been brought about by human activity, but the climate of the Earth has changed many times in the past. Use this interactive timeline to see how the Ice Ages affected the geography of Britain (scroll down to Changing Geography).

Languages

• Research words related to climate change in the language you are studying.

PSHE

• Discuss what actions we can take to fight climate change, such as walking or riding a bike rather than taking the car or using reusable water bottles. What gets in the way of doing these things? How can we encourage our friends and family to help? Make a poster of things that we can all do.
• Greta Thunberg started her campaign by leading school strikes. Initially, she did this on her own, but it grew into a worldwide movement, with millions of people taking part. Make a list of other leaders, such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, who have taken part in protests. What qualities do you think they had? How can we inspire other people to take action?