Teaching Climate Change to Children

Teaching Climate Change to Children describes the journey of two literacy researchers to learn about climate change and support relevant literacy pedagogy for young children (pre-K–6). The authors argue that climate change and social justice are inextricable from each other; that children in the younger grades are capable of learning about climate change; and that reading, writing, and language study is well-suited to this work. Three anchoring themes are offered to support literacy climate pedagogy—interconnectivity, relationality, and action—with rich classroom examples and different entry points to engage with these themes, either by “starting small” or “going big.” The text includes chapters on the importance of taking an emotionally affirming stance and on the potential of incorporating arts-based methods. With love for the Earth and one another at its core, this accessible book takes a broad view of what it means to cultivate sustainable futures for our planet, for teachers, and for children in today’s schools.

Book Features:

• A unique focus on teaching about climate change to young children, as opposed to adolescents.
• Insights drawn from a yearlong teacher inquiry group with classroom teachers and from literacy methods courses with preservice teachers.
• Explicit attention to the importance of humanizing and care-based practices in literacy climate pedagogy.
• Classroom examples collected across four urban public schools where teachers used the activities and resources discussed in the book.
• User-friendly textboxes with suggestions and questions to guide discussion, reflection, and action.

Rebecca Woodard is an associate professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois Chicago and faculty director of the Chicago Area Writing Project. Kristine M. Schutz is an associate professor in curriculum and instruction and co-coordinator of the Language, Literacies, and Learning MEd program at the University of Illinois Chicago.