Students interpret and identify ecological concepts related to global warming, through the use of pantomime.
Grades: 5 – 6
Time: 1 hour
Subjects: Language arts, earth science, meteorology
Materials:
- Vocabulary list (below) with definitions
- Small pieces of paper with vocabulary words printed on them container.
Procedure:
1. Give students handouts with words and definitions on them. Discuss and encourage students to give examples of definitions.
2. List all the words on small pieces of paper and put them in a container.
3. Divide the class into groups of four. Each group draws one word from the container, looks up the definition using the handout, and decides how to pantomime that word. Allow about five minutes for the groups to prepare their mimes.
4. Groups of students then take turns miming their words to the class. Set a time limit of one minute per group.
5. The rest of the class may use the handouts as a guideline for guessing the word being mimed.
6. Groups gain one point for a successful miming (having their word guessed within the one minute time limit) and one point for guessing another group’s mime correctly.
7. Continue drawing words as time permits, changing groups or having “star mimers” assist students who muddled their mimes.
Vocabulary:
15 words at a time seem to be manageable in one classroom period.
Climate:---the prevailing or average weather conditions of a place.
Models:---a copy or imitation of an existing object.
Atmosphere:---the body of gases surrounding the earth Greenhouse gas: a gas (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chloro-fluorocarbon) in the atmosphere which helps to regulate the temperature of the planet by trapping the sun’s heat -- part of the greenhouse cycle.
Greenhouse effect: Earth’s thermostat.
Thermostat: a device for regulating temperature.
Phytoplankton: the microscopic plant life found floating or drifting in the ocean, helps to regulate Earth’s temperature by absorbing excess carbon from the atmosphere--part of the greenhouse cycle.
Photosynthesis: the process by which plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to form sugars and emit oxygen--part of the greenhouse cycle.
Infrared energy: the invisible radiation that carries Earth’s excess heat into space--part of the greenhouse cycle.
Carbon emissions: the amount of carbon sent out into the atmosphere when a fossil fuel is burned.
Fossil fuels: coal ,oil, gas--substances created long ago that we now dig up and burn for energy.
Data: facts or figures from which conclusions can be inferred.
Theory: an explanation of how facts fit together and a guess at what can be expected to happen.
Deforestation: destroying forests on a large scale.
Global warming: the theory that the earth is getting warmer because of human activity that has changed the atmosphere.
Assessment:
Ask students to choose one of the vocabulary words and draw a picture of its meaning.
