SERIES: Climate Activism

S4-S6 / Adult

60–90 minutes

The Science and the Stakes: Understanding the Climate Crisis

Climate change is discussed everywhere, but confident opinions are not the same as understanding the science. This challenge gives you a clear evidence-first foundation for the rest of the series. You will explain the greenhouse effect, distinguish weather from climate, verify a real climate claim and communicate what changes as warming increases. By the […]

The Science and the Stakes: Understanding the Climate Crisis

Your Mission

Explain the climate crisis clearly enough that someone else can understand both the science and the stakes.

You will build a simple model of the climate system, test a real claim against credible evidence, compare risks at different levels of warming and create a concise explainer for a non-specialist audience.

The Shape of This Challenge

Discover

✏️ ️ Notice & explain

Explore

️ Investigate & test

Create

✏️ Make & communicate

Reflect

️ Think & apply

Discover

Get the physical science straight before you start arguing about solutions.

Step 1

Build the Climate System in Five Moves

✏️ Paper first · 8–10 mins

We are learning to explain the basic mechanism behind human-caused climate change.

Climate science can feel huge. Start with the physical chain that connects energy from the Sun, greenhouse gases and warming.

Your Task

On paper, draw five boxes labelled Sunlight → Earth warms → Heat leaves Earth → Greenhouse gases absorb some heat → More greenhouse gases change the balance.
Add one short explanation beneath each box in your own words.
Mark where human activity enters the chain.
Write one question you still have about the mechanism.

Keep it precise: greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere. The climate problem is the additional warming caused by increasing their concentration.

I can explain the greenhouse effect without saying that greenhouse gases simply ‘trap all heat’.

→ This gives you the science backbone for your final explainer.

Critical ThinkingScience LiteracyCommunication

Step 2

Separate Weather, Climate and Evidence

️ Talk + sort · 8–10 mins

We are learning to distinguish individual weather events from long-term climate evidence.

A cold day does not disprove global warming, and one hot day does not prove it. Climate claims need patterns measured over time.

Your Task

Sort these into weather, climate evidence or needs more context: a heatwave, 30-year temperature trend, one snowy week, rising ocean heat, a single flood, long-term sea-level rise.
Choose two items and explain why you placed them there.
Write a rule you could use when judging a climate claim online.

I can distinguish short-term weather from long-term climate evidence and explain why the difference matters.

→ This gives you a credibility check for the evidence you use later.

ResearchInformation EvaluationCommunication

Explore

Move from explanation to evidence: check claims and connect warming to real-world risk.

Step 3

Verify One Climate Claim

Choose your route · 10–15 mins

We are learning to check a climate claim against a credible source rather than repeating it.

Your job is not to collect lots of facts. It is to take one important claim and test it properly.

Your Task

Choose one claim about global temperature, atmospheric carbon dioxide, sea level, ice loss or ocean heat.
Record the exact wording of the claim before you investigate it.
Complete either the Quick Track or Dig Deeper route below.
Write a verdict: supported, partly supported, misleading or unsupported.

⚡ Quick Track

Use one authoritative source such as the Met Office, NASA Climate, IPCC or Our World in Data. Record the source, date and one piece of evidence that supports or challenges the claim.

Dig Deeper

Compare two independent credible sources. Note where they agree, any difference in timeframe or measurement, and one limitation you should mention when communicating the claim.

I can verify one climate claim and explain what the evidence does and does not show.

→ This becomes the evidence example in your final explainer.

ResearchVerificationDigital Literacy

Step 4

What Changes at Different Levels of Warming?

️ Map consequences · 10–15 mins

We are learning to connect increasing warming with increasing risks without pretending every impact is certain or identical everywhere.

The stakes are not a single disaster that suddenly appears at one temperature. Risks generally grow as warming increases, and different places face different combinations of impacts.

Your Task

Create three columns: around 1.5°C, around 2°C and higher warming.
Using a credible summary source, add at least one risk under each heading.
Add one sentence explaining why risk is not distributed equally around the world.
Highlight the single comparison you think a non-specialist most needs to understand.

I can use evidence to explain why every fraction of a degree matters.

→ This gives your final piece a clear explanation of the stakes.

Critical ThinkingResearchSystems Thinking

Create & Share

Turn accurate science into communication that informs rather than overwhelms.

Step 5

Create a Climate Explainer People Can Actually Use

✏️ Plan · Create · 25–35 mins

We are learning to turn complex climate evidence into a clear, accurate explanation for a non-specialist.

Your audience should finish knowing three things: what is happening, why humans are driving it, and why the level of warming matters.

Build Your Final Piece

Choose a real audience: younger pupils, family members, a community group or people who say climate science is too confusing.
Use the science chain from Step 1, one verified claim from Step 3 and one warming-risk comparison from Step 4.
Avoid doom-heavy language, unexplained jargon and claims you cannot support.
Choose one output below and keep to its constraint.

One-Page Explainer

1 page · 60–90 words + visuals

⏱ 25–30 mins

Show the science chain, one verified data point and one clear comparison of future risk.

Mini Briefing

4 slides · maximum 30 words per slide

⏱ 30–35 mins

Build a concise briefing with a clear beginning, evidence and takeaway.

Video or Podcast

90 seconds final runtime

⏱ 30–35 mins

Explain the science as if answering someone who says, ‘I know the climate changes naturally, so what is different now?’

I can communicate climate science accurately, clearly and with evidence appropriate to a named audience.

→ This is your finished mission output.

CommunicationContent CreationResearch

Step 6

Reflect, Apply, Look Forward

️ Think, discuss or write · 5–8 mins

We are learning to reflect on how evidence changes the way we communicate climate science.

The challenge is complete when you can explain the science and judge claims more carefully than when you started.

Your Task

Read the three prompts below.
Answer each in one or two thoughtful sentences, or discuss them with someone else.
Choose one answer to add to your portfolio or learning record.

Reflect

Which idea or piece of evidence most changed or sharpened your understanding?

Apply

What will you now check before believing or sharing a climate claim?

Look Forward

What climate question do you think needs deeper investigation next?

I can identify how my understanding of climate evidence has changed and how I will use it.

→ You have built the evidence foundation for the rest of the Climate Activism series.

ReflectionCritical ThinkingDigital Citizenship

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TOOLKIT

Choose Your Tools

Use the tools available to you. The quality of the thinking matters more than the software.

Research

Use authoritative sources such as the IPCC, Met Office, NASA Climate, Our World in Data, government or university sources. Record the source beside every important claim.

Writing and notes

Use paper, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Apple Pages or another available document tool.

Create and share

Use the most suitable tool for your chosen final format: slides, poster/infographic, audio or video.

Educator / Parent Notes

Age, Stage and Prior Learning: Designed for S4–S6 learners and adults. No specialist climate-science knowledge is required.

Before You Start: Have access to at least one authoritative climate summary source. Avoid turning the activity into a lecture: learners should build and test the explanation themselves.

How to Open This: Ask: “What is the strongest evidence you would use if someone said the climate has always changed?” Collect answers without judging them, then revisit at the end.

Scheduling: Steps 1–4 can fit a 35–45 minute investigation block. Step 5 needs 25–35 minutes. Step 6 takes 5–8 minutes.

If a Pupil Gets Stuck: Provide the five-box climate chain from Step 1 and one pre-selected credible source. Encourage the learner to verify one claim well rather than research many claims badly.

For Fast Finishers: Ask them to identify one common misleading climate claim and explain precisely what makes it misleading without ridiculing the person who might believe it.

Marking Guidance: Look for accurate mechanism, correct weather/climate distinction, traceable evidence, appropriate caveats and communication suited to the named audience. Do not reward dramatic language over accuracy.

The Science and the Stakes: Understanding the Climate Crisis

The Science and the Stakes: Understanding the Climate Crisis

Discover

Build the Climate System in Five Moves

Separate Weather, Climate and Evidence

Explore

Verify One Climate Claim

What Changes at Different Levels of Warming?

Create & Share

Create a Climate Explainer People Can Actually Use

Reflect, Apply, Look Forward

Show What You Have Learned

Research

Writing and notes

Create and share

Show What You Have Learned

Research

Writing and notes

Create and share

TOOLKIT

Research

Writing and notes

Create and share

Educator / Parent Notes

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