This toolkit is designed for elementary and high school teachers (especially those teaching students aged between 9 and 15) who would like to teach about climate change, climate migration, and their health impacts. This educational toolkit is made up of: (1) two illustrated handouts, one for students and one for teachers; (2) an implementation guide; and (3) a summary of these documents (The Toolkit at a Glance).

THE TOOLKIT AT A GLANCE

Teachers have a unique opportunity to introduce their students to the reality of climate migration and explain its causes and challenges while avoiding stereotypes and prejudices. No one is safe from the effects of climate change, a fact that makes it possible for teachers to discuss its local impacts (regional or national displacement) and to address students’ worries regarding climate change in their daily lives.

This educational toolkit aims to raise awareness of the fact that anyone can be forcibly displaced by an extreme weather event, be it temporarily or permanently. By deconstructing stereotypes and illustrating a variety of lived experiences, the proposed activity will also foster mutual understanding between local students and those who may have immigrated or been displaced.

We hope to promote solidarity towards migrants in general and help students develop their critical thinking and sense of empathy. By engaging with illustrated stories and real-life testimonies, students will be able to express their own feelings and acknowledge those of their classmates.

This toolkit draws on a number of pedagogical subject areas such as French, English, geography, history and citizenship, and arts, as well as other fields of general education, namely health, well-being, and community life. Feel free to collaborate with colleagues in other disciplines to maximize the long-term impact of the activities in this toolkit!

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL TOOLKIT

  1. The Climigrant website features various creative resources, including illustrated stories (in English and in French) about flooding in the West Island of Montréal, rising water levels in Kiribati, and the effects of Hurricane Maria in Dominica. Take time to read these stories, which will help you address essential questions with your students. What is an “extreme weather event” in the context of climate change? How do these events impact the health and livelihood of those affected, especially those who are displaced in the aftermath?
  2. The illustrated educational handout provides the necessary steps to complete “The Climate Migrant Suitcase Activity”. In short, you will (1) read one or many of the Climigrant stories with your students, and (2) help your students pack a (miniature or digital) “suitcase” for one of the main characters or for themselves, if they had to move as a result of an extreme weather event. Afterwards, students will present their work to the class, as well as summarize what they have learned, connect this information to real-life events, and process their emotions. This classroom activity also includes a handout for your students.
  3. Feel free to adapt these activities to suit your needs, preferences, and the particularities of your classroom, namely grade level. For other, similar classroom activities, please consult the implementation guide.

HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS BEFORE YOU BEGIN

  1. Before you begin, you should familiarize yourself with some of the key concepts related to climate change, health, and migration, which are defined in the implementation guide and appendices of this toolkit. This is also where you will find a list of additional resources that may be useful while teaching.
  2. Some of your students may have—possibly traumatic—experiences of immigration or forced displacement. It will be important to create a welcoming environment so that these students can safely participate in the activity. You will find more information on this topic in Section IV of this toolkit.
  3. Unfortunately, it is still common for many people to speak about migrants in stereotypical or prejudiced terms. You will find advice on how to avoid these issues in Section III.
  4. Some of your students may experience anxiety in relation to climate change. In order to encourage discussions about these feelings, you may need to check in with individual students. You can also take breaks throughout the activity to assess the emotional atmosphere in your classroom. It can be helpful to present solutions or suggest courses of action to empower your students and encourage them to express their emotions and discuss their worries regarding these issues. Students should also be encouraged to seek out their own examples to share with the class. You may find the climate emotions wheel or one of the other resources in Section V helpful in this regard.