Staying Cool

Activities

Suggestions on how programmes can be used in the classroom

Before Viewing

1. Ask pupils to keep a log of their 'energy use' for a day before viewing the programme. They should record the type of device using energy (TV, cooker, car), the type of fuel being used (electricity, gas, petrol) and the number of hours/minutes of usage. They should also record whether they alone were using the device, or if usage was shared - between how many people.

After Viewing

1. Lead a discussion about energy use, based on the log you asked pupils to keep before viewing the programme, and ask whether it might be possible for pupils to reduce their own consumption of energy, or use energy more efficiently. Ask them, for example, if they travel to school in a parents car, is that journey 'necessary' - could they walk/cycle/take a bus. Is the car journey just to take them to school - or are parents going on to work/shop etc? Are siblings also being carried? Do they perhaps have a TV in their bedroom - and is it showing the same programme as a TV in the lounge? Are TV's and other devices left switched on (or on standby) when nobody is actually watching? Ask students to spend a day actively trying to reduce their personal consumption of energy, again keeping a log, and compare the 'before' and 'after' logs.

2. Invite pupils to complete the "25 Ways to Save the Planet" lifestyle quiz at www.cat.org.uk/information/howgreen.tmpl , to see how 'green' they are.

3. Invite pupils to try their hands at the 'Spaceship Earth' quiz at www.cat.org.uk/information/starqque.tmpl

4. There is much useful information, and news about latest developments, campaigns etc on the WWF website at www.panda.org/climate/