Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Hear from young changemakers

20 minutes

Find Out: Explore barriers to action

25 minutes

Take Action: Change your world

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

recognise barriers that prevent climate action and explore strategies to overcome them
design and communicate a personal, values-based action that contributes to positive environmental change.

Success criteria

Students can:

identify common barriers to climate action and explain how these can be challenged or reframed
present a creative and achievable micro-action proposal using a chosen format.

Tune In: Hear from young changemakers

Step 1

Explain to students that throughout the unit, they have learnt stories about how people connect with the environment and maintain hope for the future of our planet. In contrast, they have examined how and why we experience eco-anxiety. Outline to students that they will now hear from young changemakers who are taking action to care for our environment.

Step 2

As a class, watch the following video.

Cool.org x Blue Minds | Stories from Young Changemakers (https://vimeo.com/1125034400/1765a763f5)

Step 3

After viewing, ask students to use the Think, Pair, Share thinking routine to consider: ‘Which story inspired you most and why?’. Once students have discussed in pairs, ask for volunteers to share their responses and discuss as a class.

Find Out: Explore barriers to action

Step 1

Arrange the class in a circle. Use the prepared list of common barriers (myths) that people might believe about taking climate action.

Barrier	Reality
‘I’m too young to make a difference.’	Young people have a powerful voice, influence and unique superpower! Young people haven't been on this planet as long as other generations so have unique and innovative ways of thinking that can solve these problems.
‘It’s too late to do anything now.’	It’s never too late to make a positive impact. The planet can recover, and every action taken now helps slow climate change and create a more sustainable future.
‘One person can’t change the world.’	No one can change the world. Use your focus to change your own world by figuring out what is in your control and what needs to be focused on. Watch this TEDx to learn more about what this can look like.
‘It’s too expensive to make environmentally-friendly changes.’	While some eco-friendly choices may cost more upfront, many sustainable actions, such as using less energy, using reusable products, and shopping at the op shop, are alternatives that can save money in the long run. Plus, the cost of inaction is much greater.
‘Climate change is not my problem, it’s a problem for scientists or governments to solve.’	Climate change affects everyone, and everyone can take action. Individual choices, such as reducing waste or advocating for policy change, play a key role in combating climate change.
‘Everyone else is doing more than me, so it doesn’t matter if I do anything.’	Your actions matter, and they inspire others. If everyone thought their efforts didn’t matter, no progress would be made. Every small change counts!
‘I’m not an expert in climate science, so I don’t know how to help.’	You don’t need to be an expert to take action. Educate yourself, advocate for change, and make sustainable choices. Everyone can contribute, no matter their knowledge level.
‘Climate change is an issue for future generations, not mine.’	Climate change is happening now, and its effects are already being felt. Future generations will face greater challenges if we don’t act now, but we can make a difference today.
‘Climate change doesn’t affect me directly.’	Climate change affects everyone, whether through extreme weather, food insecurity, or health risks. The impacts are already being felt globally, and everyone has a role to play in solving the crisis.
‘Climate change doesn’t exist.’	There is a small group of people who don’t believe climate change exists. However, the climate has always been changing, but never this quickly. You won't change a climate denier's views overnight, but keep chipping away!

Step 2

Present each barrier one by one and ask students to discuss or respond. For each barrier, invite students to think critically and debunk the barrier. You could ask questions like:

Why do people feel this way?
What actions can we take to break down these barriers?
What examples do we know of young people, or individuals, making a real difference?

Step 3

After discussing each barrier, summarise the group’s responses and reinforce that small actions matter, youth have power, and there are always solutions to problems. Encourage students to think with a growth mindset where the more we believe we can make a difference, the more likely we are to act.

Step 4

Ask students to return to their desks and introduce the Hope Scale to the class. Explain that different climate actions can feel more or less hopeful depending on how effective or achievable they seem. The goal is to rank actions from least hopeful to most hopeful based on students’ personal feelings about them.

Familiarise yourself with Cool.org's Hope Framework, which is informed by evidence from positive psychology. It has been designed into 3 drivers with 8 tactics, each with its own explanation and suggested applications.

Step 5

Write a list of climate actions on the board. For example:

reduce single-use plastics
participate in beach clean-ups
plant trees or support reforestation
raise awareness about climate change on social media
reduce personal carbon footprint (for example, walk instead of drive)
support policies and politicians who prioritise the environment
meet with your local council, state or federal politician
volunteer for environmental organisations
look at an op shop or clothes swap to reduce textile waste
talk to friends and family about your feelings
drive change in your sporting club, workplace, school or other touchpoint
change your diet (for example, eat less meat).

Step 6

Ask students to individually rate each action on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being ‘Not Hopeful at All’ and 5 being ‘Very Hopeful.’ After they’ve rated the actions, discuss as a class which actions feel more hopeful than others.

Outline to students that understanding the barriers and debunking them, along with feeling hopeful about taking action, are key to believing in our ability to make a positive impact on the planet. Every small step we take adds up!

‘We shouldn’t lose hope. It can be tempting to give up when confronted with the scale of humanity’s consumption and the speed with which we are changing the climate and losing the natural world. But nature is our greatest ally. Wherever we have given nature the space to recover, it’s done so, and, as a result of its recovery, our own lives are improved. The solutions aren’t all about sacrifices and aren’t all decades away’ - David Attenborough (Source: nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/ocean-david-attenborough-marine-conservation).

Take Action: Change your own world

Step 1

Introduce the concept of a circle of influence to students. Ask students to imagine a circle with 3 concentric rings around it. They may like to visualise this on a piece of paper or on the whiteboard. Explain to students that these rings can represent what we know about their different levels of influence:

The ring in the centre represents the people closest to them, such as friends and family.
The middle ring represents their local community, such as sporting groups, school and neighbourhood.
The outer ring represents the global community.

Step 2

Reflect on this concept with students as you introduce the next task. Students must choose 1 small, realistic action they can take that aligns with something they care deeply about (such as reducing plastic use, educating others, protecting a local species, or volunteering).

The Cool.org Act Framework supports strategies for enabling action at various levels and configurations. You could encourage students to grab an approach to take action quickly or work towards taking action on a greater scale.

Encourage students to personalise their response and focus on why their action matters to them. Students will create and document their plan digitally on a device to develop their ‘Change Your Own World’ Plan that includes:

what their action is
why they chose it (what issue or value it connects to)
how will they carry it out
how they think it will help them or others feel more hopeful.

Students can present their plan in 1 of the following formats:

a visual (for example poster, drawing, storyboard, or comic strip)
a written story (for example blog post, a short article, a journal entry).

Step 2

Give students time to finalise, rehearse, or refine their plan. Once complete, they will present their ‘Change Your Own World’ plan to the class in a short presentation or gallery walk format.

Options for presentation could include:

speaking to the class (1–2 mins)
displaying their visual work with a written explanation
playing their podcast recording or reading their story aloud.

Step 3

As students share, encourage active listening and celebrate the diversity of ideas. After all presentations, hold a class discussion:

What common themes or hopes emerged?
What actions are students most excited to try?
How could we support each other in following through?

Learning extension: Students record a short podcast episode interviewing a peer, teacher, or community member about their feelings on climate change, how they stay hopeful and the small personal actions they are taking to change their world.

Reflection

Step 1

Explain to students that they will collaboratively create a Climate Curiosity Corner in the classroom, a space dedicated to sharing hopeful, inspiring, and creative responses to climate change. As a class, brainstorm what could be included, such as:

hope-based news stories
action stories or interviews with local changemakers
student reflections on gratitude and climate hope
student-created media (such as drawings, zines, posters, podcasts, infographics).

Encourage students to work in small groups to plan and create 1 contribution for the corner, choosing a format that plays to their strengths and interests over the course of the term.

Blue Minds has developed a unique safe space for you and your students to share your work and insights, straight from your classrooms. Access this website to learn from and share with students and teachers all over the country. To access, use the password blueminds, make an account, log in and join the community!

From Fear to Flow - Changing Your World

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