Influence

• Lessons and themes – sustainability in the curriculum – see ​Integrating Global Issues in the Creative English Language Classroom​
• ThoughtBox Climate Change Curriculum resources: https://www.thoughtboxeducation.com/climatecurriculum
• Climate Learning Week:
  https://ctlw.web.ucu.org.uk/resources/
• Environmental days/weeks/months: see ​https://ELTfootprint.org/materials
• Sustainability week for students with experiential events and guest speakers
• Environmental champions in your school – staff and students
• Invite local green groups into your school to speak to staff and students
• Teach good news stories: eg. https://www.positive.news/environment/ and https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tag/climate/
• British Council environment topic teaching materials at LearnEnglishTeens and LearnEnglishKids
• Put pressure on suppliers – stationers, publishers, food suppliers, transport providers, energy suppliers, etc – by questioning their eco credentials, asking to see their environmental policies and preferring  responsible suppliers.
• Maintain contact with local political representatives and keep pushing the importance of green policies.

Deepening our students’ connection with nature​:

Just teaching about environmental issues will not make our students – particularly children – care for the environment. Taught badly it could actually have the opposite effect. What will make our students care is a deepened connection with nature. So part of our responsibility as ELT professionals is to find ways of deepening that connection. Some ideas:

• Do an ‘eco tour’ of the school pointing out the efforts that you / the host school are making
• Organise countryside or urban nature walks (for urban, see ​here​ esp. p.30 onwards)
• Organise trips into the countryside and urban parks. eg. ​country parks
• Organise ​outdoor learning activities for young children
• Organise a ​nature photography lesson
• Organise ​environmental games and activities for kids
• Stargazing: Meteorite or satellite?
• Cloud watching
• Teach ​English through nature projects
• Outdoor painting and drawing activities
• Tree and leaf activities
• Nature documentary programmes and films: see ​Into Film
• Take the classroom outside
• Make use of ​Countryside Classroom​ resources
• Encourage staff to model environmentally responsible behaviour and tell students what they are doing personally to reduce their impact on the environment

Influencing – further information: