Teaching Climate Change Through Storytelling
Create classrooms that link human stories to climate science.
Climate change is often explained using statistics, scientific data, and abstract concepts. This can make the problem seem distant, and overshadows the real-life stories of individuals and communities affected by climate change.
Storytelling can add a crucial human element to the conversation, making it more relatable and emotionally engaging. It can also amplify marginalized voices of those disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change.
How do we create classrooms that link human stories to climate science so that students understand what is happening, who is most affected, and who bears the responsibility for creating—and solving—these problems?
You don’t have to be a climate scientist to teach climate change, and you don’t have to be an experienced storyteller to infuse climate content with stories. Explore these educator resources for using storytelling as a powerful tool in teaching climate change.
Begin with Your Story
Personal storytelling can be a powerful catalyst for inspiring action in others due to its ability to create emotional connections, convey authenticity, and humanize abstract issues. There are endless ways to tell a personal story, but it can be challenging to know where to start.
“I found this to be a very humanizing experience. And when I think about climate change, when we don't think of other people's children as our children, that's when apathy can sink in. And I feel like this humanizing experience brings us to that personalization of our why; why to continue the work?”
—K–12 Educator
In this activity, you’ll work in groups, pairs, and individually to learn how to articulate the things you care about so that they become important to others. This activity is based on the work of Dr. Enrique Salmón.
Understand the Problem
In order to take action and build solutions, we need to understand the problem. One effective way to achieve this understanding is through engaging, educational activities that break down complex issues into manageable parts.
A Climate Fresk Workshop (fresk as in “fresco,” or mural) uses an interactive, card-based activity for grasping interrelated climate problems and solutions. It is accessible to anyone, from novice to expert, and can be scaled quickly within an organization or group.
As participants link the causes and effects of climate change, they are able to use their collective intelligence to understand the relationships involved. The workshop format promotes active participation, making it an effective educational tool for schools, organizations, and community groups.
For related resources, visit the Project Drawdown website.
Connect Learning to Place
Place-based education (PBE) is an approach that uses the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts across various subjects. It emphasizes the importance of connecting learning to the students' surroundings through relevant, interdisciplinary activities that promote curiosity and well-being, such as Single Spot Observations and Wondering Walks.
In PBE, students become knowledge creators, with educators acting as guides and fellow learners. By anchoring lessons in local phenomena, topics become more relevant and meaningful, helping students build relationships with their surroundings and inspiring joy, reflection, and a lasting appreciation for natural environments.
Envision a Sustainable Future
How can climate science education in your community support teachers and students in envisioning and building a more sustainable, just, and joyful future? What barriers exist to achieving this goal?
In this interactive activity, educators explore these questions by formulating them in the format of “How might we . . .?” This approach encourages creative and solution-oriented thinking.
First, educators individually create questions that are meaningful to them in the “How might we . . .?” format, prompting broad and innovative thinking. Questions are then grouped by common topics or themes. Participants then select a question to focus on—this doesn't have to be their original question.
By participating in this group activity, educators can gain new insights, share practices, and build a network of support that contributes to a more effective and inspiring climate science education framework.
Build a Support Network
In the context of social justice, pod mapping is a powerful tool used to create a network of support and accountability. It involves identifying individuals and resources that one can rely on for support, guidance, and intervention during times of crisis or conflict.
This concept can be effectively adapted to climate movements to establish systems of action and responsibility that go beyond traditional community organizing methods. By utilizing pod mapping, climate activists can:
- Identify key supporters and allies within their network.
- Allocate resources efficiently.
- Enhance communication and collaboration.
- Build a resilient and responsive support system.
Ready to create your own support network? Download a template to get started on pod mapping for your climate movement initiative.
This activity is based on the work of the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective.
