Introduction
Can you remember that you made a presentation about the different countries involved in our school exchange program? Yes. Thats great, because in this lesson we are going to find out more about the different countries and their opinion about climate change.
Task
1. What is the public opinion about climate change in general in the different countries?
Each group has to go to the use the given links in order to find out the public opinion about climate change in group’s specific country. You work in the same groups as before.
At the end of the working process, the groups should be able to summarise the public opinion in a few sentence, which they then share with the rest of the class.
2. What could be the reason for the specific public opinion in your country?
Use your prior knowledge as well as your imagination to find possible reasons why the people in our country think about climate change the way they do.
Is there something like a environmental culture, which might vary from country to country?
Write down your ideas in form of a mind-map.
Process
Step 1: Use the links to get information about the public opinion in 'your' country.
India
a) Climate Change in Indian Minds
http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/climate-change-indian-mind/
b) Ipsos Mori: Global Trends 2014 http://www.ipsosglobaltrends.com/environment.html
Japan
a) Gallup, 2008: Climate change: read part: Japanese, Americans, and Russians Generally Aware but Mixed on the Threat
http://www.gallup.com/poll/124595/Top-Emitting-Countries-Differ-Climate-Change-Threat.aspx#2
b) Ipsos Mori: Global Trends 2014 http://www.ipsosglobaltrends.com/environment.html
Germany
a) Eurobarometer 2011: Read page 10-11
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_372_en.pdf
b) Ipsos Mori: Global Trends 2014 http://www.ipsosglobaltrends.com/environment.html
United Kingdom
a) Eurobarometer 2011: Read page 10-11
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_372_en.pdf
b) The guardian:
c) Ipsos Mori: Global Trends 2014 http://www.ipsosglobaltrends.com/environment.html
USA
a) Yale Climate Opinion Summary http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/american-opinions-on-global-warming-a-yale-gallup-clearvision-poll
b) Yale Climate Opinion Maps http://environment.yale.edu/poe/v2014/
c) Ipsos Mori: Global Trends 2014 http://www.ipsosglobaltrends.com/environment.html
Denmark
a) Eurobarometer 2011: Read page 10-11
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_372_en.pdf
Step 2: Write down a few sentences about your findings.
Step 3: Discuss the second question and make a mind-map.
Evaluation
There will be no formal evaluation as it is more important that the puipils engage themselves in a dicussuion about the differences between the countries and possible explanations for those differences.
Conclusion
When teaching aims at increasing pupils intercultural kowledge, it is important to use culture as an outlook on (social) issues and problems in a given society. In doing so, pupils can gain more and more critical awarness as regards the strength of culture in everyday life.
According to Byram it is essential that pupils learn to be critical, and more specific critical in a political sense. Climate change is both a political and a social/emotional topic. The topic is therefore suited to raise critical political awareness about differences between countries. Moreover, does it show that societal views on climate change also are framed by culture and an inner-country understanding of how things work and are supposed to be.