Brainstorming activities and ideas for alignment with Climate Literacy Principle #8 Hope and Urgency
In partnership with Spokane Public School District (SPS) and Northeast Washington Educational Service District 101(ESD 101), the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment facilitated the creation of the SPS Climate Integration Task Force. The Climate Integration Task Force is a collaborative team of SPS curriculum leads, five (5) K-5 teachers, and ESD101 staff focused on creating a curriculum alignment map between the Wit and Wisdom English Language Arts Curriculum and the 2024 Climate Literacy Essential Principles.
This task force met four times over the course of the school year for full-day meetings to explore the Wit and Wisdom curriculum, learn about the Climate Literacy Essential Principles, and brainstorm how climate literacy can be aligned with and integrated into existing english language arts curriculum. A key aspect of this project was to increase ownership and excitement of Spokane Public Schools curriculum leads and teacher representatives around climate content integration opportunities and demonstrate the flexibility, breadth, and innovate teaching opportunities that can spring from integrate climate teaching.
The curriculum map aligning Climate Literacy Essential Principles and Wit and Wisdom curriculum shows the many opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching that achieves multiple disciplinary standards and increases student engagement and interest. While the curriculum alignment map is the first step towards interdisciplinary teaching for climate change, participants are already thinking about how climate teaching can be integrated into their classrooms now. One teacher noted that βnature learning and nature play is a great step in teaching climate science. So even getting your students outside to read a book is a step in the right direction,β.
2nd grade ELA and Climate Alignment Matrix
When asked what has been helpful during the task force, one teacher responded that βit has been very helpful to go through the climate essential principles along with the Wit and Wisdom framework while hearing others thoughts and suggestions on how the two could intertwine. I tend to come from a strictly science slant, so it has been great to envision the overlap with classroom teachers who work with Witt and Wisdom.β
As the task force charts its path moving forward to continue supporting climate literacy integration into other subjects, it will invite more teachers, school administrators, and other invested community members to share recommendations, resources, and guidance for developing teaching supports and professional learning.
