THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE ONTARIO – GRADES 6 TO 8

EcOlympics - Global Warming and the Winter Olympics

Lesson Overview

The lesson uses the Winter Olympics to focus student attention on the issue of climate change – global warming: causes, effects, and what actions individuals can take to reduce their impact.

Grade Level

Middle School (Grades 6 - 8)

Time Required

90 minutes (1 - 2 lessons)

Curriculum Connection

  • The Ontario Curriculum for Social Studies (Grade 6) - Canada’s Links to the World
  • The Ontario Curriculum for History and Geography (Grade 7 - 8) - Themes of Geographic Inquiry

Link to Canadian National Geography Standards

Essential Element # 5 (Grade 6-8) - Environment and Society

  • Effects of human modification of the physical environment (e.g. global warming)

Geographic Skill # 1 (Grade 6-8) - Asking Geographic Questions

  • Identify geographic issues, define geographic problems and pose geographic questions.

Geographic Skill # 5 (Grade 6-8) - Answering Geographic Questions

  • Develop and present combinations of geographic information to answer geographic questions

The Canadian Atlas Online (CAOL)

  • The Canadian Atlas Online> The Issues> Climate Change> The Basics
  • The Canadian Atlas Online> The Issues> Climate Change> Changing Landscapes> British Columbia

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment

  • High speed internet connection, ideally in a computer lab setting
  • Booklet “Look for Energy Star” - Natural Resources Canada (to obtain free copies, call toll free - 1 800 387 2000 CAT. NO M144-12/2003E ISBN - 0 - 662 - 34842 – 7)
  • See attached Student Activity Sheet, Teacher Website Reference and Teacher Resource Sheet.

Main Objective

To identify “global warming” as an event created in part by burning fossil fuelsthat can be addressed through individual actions.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• state what global warming is and what causes it

• understand that burning less fossil fuels is necessary to reducing global warming

• identify individual actions that can help to reduce the effects of global warming

• commit to individual actions to reduce human impact on climate change

Lesson

Teacher Activity / Student Activity
Introduction /
  • Open the lesson by discussing the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver as outlined on Teachers’ Resource Sheet.
  • Place definition of “global warming” on board or overhead.
/
  • Students attempt to list the seven major sports in the Winter Olympics.
  • Reorganize list by the amount of energy required to compete successfully.
  • Define “Global warming”

Lesson Development /
  • Review if necessary - the burning of fossil fuels / increase in green house gas emissions / global warming connection
  • Distribute Student Activity Sheet – Green EcOlympics Challenge in Action.
  • Cite Canadian Atlas Online reference links. Also – “Look for Energy Star” booklet
  • Provide teams with list of URLs where information on actions to assist the reduction of global warming may be found – see Teacher Website Reference sheet
/
  • Place students in team groups.
  • Groups view reference material from Canadian Atlas Online to complete Student Activity Sheet “Green EcOlympics Challenge”
  • When all groups have finished, reconvene to review answers and share results.
  • Teams list five doable actions and individuals keep personal inventory of actions by check-marking sheet.

Conclusion /
  • List on the board or use an overhead, the actions that individuals could do to help prevent global warming.
  • Discussion – How might the Winter Olympics be different in the year 2050 if global warming continues?
/
  • Complete the EcOlympian sheet and submit for evaluation.
  • Complete Extension Activities if possible.

Lesson Extensions

Encourage students to collect and discuss articles from the newspaper or other sources that relate to the topic of global warming.

  • The Olympics can be planned to reduce the negative impacts on the environment. investigate what the Olympic Committee has done to ensure that the Olympics are environmentally benign. Explore these sites

- Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics: (link - Championing Environmental Legacies; link – Sustainability)

- Official Website of the Olympic Movement:

  • Encourage students to read or watch An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
  • Encourage students to read We Are the Weathermakers by Timothy Flannery
  • View and discuss any of the several movies which address the topic of global warming:

- Happy Feet

- Ice Age: The Meltdown

- March of the Penguins

Teacher’s Website References

Direct the students to find examples of individual actions that may help to reduce the effects of global warming. The sites listed below are excellent sources. They may also use the booklet “Look for Energy Star” cited in the Additional Resources section.

  • CBC - great site for background
  • Saskatchewan Outdoor and Environmental Education Association
  • AOL - 12 ways to stop global warming
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -Global Warming - What You Can Do?

- Home -

- School -

- Office -

- On the Road -

Teacher’s Resource Sheet #1

Introduction:

“In 2010, Vancouver B.C., will host the Winter Olympic Games. Although there are numerous events, there are only seven main winter sports. Please list as many of the winter sports as you can.”

Expected responses (in alphabetical order):

1. Biathlon

2. Bobsleigh

3. Curling

4. Ice Hockey

5. Luge

6. Skating

7. Skiing

Obviously, some sports are more strenuous than others. Revise the list to begin with the sports that require the most energy to compete. Be prepared to support your choices.

Lists and reasons will vary. Discuss results.

In the future, it may not be the energy of the athletes that determines the success of the Winter Olympics but the energy (heat and gases) created by burning fossil fuels. Experts agree that we face the prospects of a global climate change, called “global warming”. Discuss which sports require the most fossil fuels.

What happens to the Winter Olympics if “global warming” continues?

Note - “Global warming” is the gradual increase in the Earth’s mean temperature likely caused by human activity.

Place the definition of “global warming” on the board or overhead.

Student Work Sheet:

Green EcOlympics Challenge

Your team is trying for a berth on the Canadian EcOlympics Team.

Complete this sheet individually and submit all sheets as a team to compete in the Green EcOlympics challenge.

1. Define global warming.

2. What is one of the major causes of global warming?

3. What are three effects that global warming has had (or could have) on the Earth?

A.

B.

C.

4. List five things that individuals can do to prevent global warming. Beside each action, explain how each action will reduce hydrocarbon emissions.

A.

B.

Student Activity Sheet: Green EcOlympics Challenge

Question 4 (cont’d)

C.

D.

E.

Be prepared to discuss your five items with the EcOlympians on your team.

5. In the table below, select five realistic actions that your team will be willing to do to combat global warming. Then place a checkmark beside an action each time you perform it over the next week. (Please be honest!)

Action / Completed
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

1

Canadian Council for Geographic Education