Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: The 3 A’s

15 minutes

Find Out: Inspiring youth

30 minutes

Take Action: Leading climate action

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

design and communicate a personal action in response to an environmental sustainability challenge
reflect on their learning and use geographical knowledge to justify a proposed solution.

Success criteria

Students can:

explain how their action addresses a local or global sustainability challenge
evaluate the potential social, environmental, or economic impact of their proposed action.

Tune In: The 3 A’s

Preparation

Write on the whiteboard: Appreciation > Awareness > Action

Step 1

Direct students’ attention to the whiteboard and explain the concept of the 3 A’s. Outline to students that they have been guided through the use of the 3 As in each activity throughout the unit by using their heart (appreciation), their head (awareness), and their hands (action).

Step 2

Invite volunteers to share what activities they remember from the previous lessons and how they relate to the 3 A’s. Outline that they have explored the interconnectedness of the ocean, the cause-and-effect relationships between ocean changes and human systems, and identified the need for positive framing when tackling climate issues.

Next, provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet. Explain to students that they are going to focus on moving from passion to purpose by identifying:

Appreciation - What do I care about?
Awareness - What do I know about the issue?
Action - What is 1 thing I can do to help?

Step 3

Next, ask students whether they have heard about the Japanese concept of ikigai (ee-key-guy) by a show of hands. Project the diagram on the board. Explain that ikigai is a Japanese concept that combines the terms iki, meaning ‘alive’ or ‘life’, and gai, meaning ‘benefit’ or ‘worth’. When combined, these terms mean that which gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose.

Explain that this concept is often used to help decide on a career. However, this version has been adapted to focus on environmental action, as it relates to how we use our passions to create purpose in our lives.

Find Out: Inspiring youth

Step 1

Outline to students that they are going to explore 4 youth-led initiatives that have combined appreciation and awareness with direct action. You will explore the first youth-led initiative as a class by watching the following video from Kal Glanznig and Cooper Chapman, the inspirational young leaders behind Blue Minds.

Play the video:

Cool.org x Blue Minds | Blue Minds Origin Story (https://vimeo.com/1125026421/8ffe69479c)

Step 2

After viewing the video, invite students to consider the impact of Kal and Cooper’s work. Initiate a short class discussion using the following questions:

What actions do Kal and Cooper take to inspire the next generation of ocean leaders?
How does Blue Minds connect caring for people and caring for the ocean?
What is 1 idea from their work that you could apply in your own community?

Step 3

Next, divide students into pairs and direct them to the Student Worksheet. It’s now their turn to read about 3 youth-led initiatives that started from passion and have targeted climate issues.

Case study 1: Bio-plastic inventor	At the age of 15, Angelina Arora developed a biodegradable plastic from prawn shells to help tackle the problem of plastic pollution. She noticed the environmental damage caused by conventional plastics and decided to create a plastic alternative that breaks down naturally, reducing harm to ecosystems. Her invention is designed to be eco-friendly and sustainable, showing how young people can use science and innovation to address real-world environmental challenges. Learn more here.
Case study 2: Ocean cleanup	Boyan Slat founded The Ocean Cleanup at the age of 18 after realising the massive scale of plastic pollution in the oceans during a diving trip. He developed a system to passively collect plastic from the ocean using long floating barriers that concentrate and remove debris. His goal is to reduce the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and prevent further harm to marine life. Check it out here.
Case study 3: Plastic-bag ban	Sophia Skarparis launched a petition to ban single-use plastic bags in NSW at the age of 14, collecting 12,000+ handwritten signatures and helping trigger a parliamentary debate in October 2018. She later received Australian Geographic’s Young Conservationist of the Year. In 2022, NSW legislated a statewide ban on lightweight plastic bags under the Plastics Reduction and Circular Economy Act, showing how a clear target, community signatures and meeting MPs can translate into policy momentum. Learn more here.

Learning extension: Invite students to create a list of questions for each of the inspiring young climate leaders they’ve learnt about. They may want to understand how their journey began, what challenges they’ve faced and advice for taking action.

Take Action: Leading climate action

Step 1

Invite students to close their eyes and think quietly for 2 minutes about what action they could take to help the environment and address climate change. This may be something at home, at school, in their community, or online.

Learning support: Guide students back to their Student Worksheets, where they identified the 3 A’s in the Tune In activity. This may help students determine their actions.

Step 2

Once students have reflected on how they can take action, their task is to identify their climate action in a creative format of their choice, such as an:

illustrated poster
spoken word or audio recording
video
infographic
article or blog post
digital artwork.

To accompany their creative piece, students must write a short evaluation (3-5 sentences) describing the potential impact of their action and consider 1 or more of the following:

social impact (how it affects people and communities)
environmental impact (how it benefits nature, wildlife, or ecosystems)
economic impact (how it could save resources or support sustainable practices).

Encourage students to be imaginative and realistic. Their action should be something they can achieve, and their explanation should show why it matters.

Blue Minds would love you to share it on a collective dashboard straight from your classrooms to learn from and share with students and teachers all over the country. To access, use the password blueminds, make an account, log in and share it!

Learning opportunity: Invite a guest, such as a local council member or environmental leader, to view and respond to student ideas, or submit selected works to a community newsletter, social media account, or school assembly.

Learning extension: Students can enquire about the Blue Minds Academy and connect with like-minded youth across the country and receive mentorship to drive their ideas. Students can be made aware of the many sponsored programs for youth to gain experience, and organisations providing awards for great ideas or actions (see Teacher Content Information for more specifics).

Reflection

Step 1

Invite students to share their creative piece and evaluation with a partner. During this time, encourage students to provide feedback to their partner.

Step 2

Organise a date and time to host a gallery walk for students to view their creative works. This is an important step in helping students understand the power of collective momentum. You could invite community members, students’ parents and friends to attend.

Climate Action from Heart to Hands

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Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables

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Climate Action from Heart to Hands

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Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables

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