12 minute read
What is Germany doing to address their impact on the environment?” by Jody Chamberlin
C3 Framework Indicators
Staging the Compelling Question
Supporting Question 1
D1.2.6-8. Explain points of agreement experts have about interpretations and applications of disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a compelling question.
D1.5.6-8. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources.
D2.Civ.1.6-8. Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of citizens, political parties, interest groups, and the media in a variety of governmental and nongovernmental contexts.
Students will investigate how youth activists are fighting for change, how the community is taking action to get outside, and how the government is creating legislation to help protect long-term goals for the environment
Supporting Question 2 Supporting Question 3
What kind of changes is Youth Activism bringing to Germany?
Formative Performance Task
What community Actions are being used to support the environment in Germany?
Formative Performance Task
What kind of legislation is the Administration creating to help protect the environment?
Formative Performance Task
Students will use at least two of the featured sources to create slides answering the given questions. They may use the Graphic Notes Organizer.
Featured Sources
Source A: German Youth Activists Graphic Organizer (Handout 2)
Source B: German Youth Activists Slides Template (Handout 3)
Source C: “Climate Protests: Germany‘s New Green Youth Movement Takes to the Streets“ (Cwienk)
Source D: Gruene Jugend
Source E: Greta Thunberg (TED)
Source F: Greta Thunberg (Facebook)
Summative Performance Task
Taking Informed Action
Students will write an editorial for a newspaper/magazine. In the editorial they will explain what urban gardening is and the differences of urban gardening in places like Munich and Berlin.
Featured Sources
Source A: The Editorial Newspaper (Handout 4)
Source B: “About the Prinzessinnengarten“ (Prinzessinnengarten)
Source C: “A Brief Guide to German Garden Colonies“ (Grenier)
Source D: OBZ Website Students will compare and contrast laws that Germany has put into place to protect the environment.
Featured Sources
Source A: Evaluating Laws (Handout 5)
Source B: “Germany‘s Climate Action Law Takes Shape“ (Clean Energy Wire)
Source C: “The Environment“ (Time)
Source D: “German Greens Want to Ban Domestic Flights by 2035“ (Florence)
Source E: “Germany: Environmental Issues, Policies and Clean Technology“ (Smith)
Argument: Students will create a presentation for their classmates, which answers the compelling question: “What is Germany doing to address their impact on the environment?” Students will focus on what Germany is doing to create change. The main focus of that change should be centered around the environment.
Extension: Students will add a PSA to their presentation.
Understand: Research the government plan to not allow Germans to fly within Germany by 2025.
Assess: Make a list of pros and cons and then create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast both sides of the issue.
Act: Write a letter to the Chancellor with your supported opinion.
COMPELLING QUESTION
What is Germany doing to address their impact on the environment?
INQUIRY OVERVIEW
To understand how Germany interacts with its environment, students will investigate how youth activists are fighting for change, how the community is taking action to get outside, and how the government is creating legislation to help protect long-term goals for the environment.
Students will create slides, write a newspaper editorial, evaluate laws, and design a presentation with the option of an added PSA.
TEACHER BACKGROUND
This project is built to be a stand-alone so there is not much prior knowledge that you need. However, you may need a little background information on how the German government works to understand the laws that they are putting into place to help save the environment. Knowing this will help you in supporting the third question.
Germany is a republic. The Germans elect their parliament with two different votes. One of the votes is for the specific people that they want to serve in parliament. The second vote is for the party they want to be in the Bundestag. They want equal representation of the parties (equal to the votes in the election) so sometimes there are extra seats added, which is called overhang. This helps make sure that what the people voted for is represented in the Parliament. These are the political parties in German: • Christian Democratic Union (CDU) • Christian Social Union (CSU) • Social Democratic Party (SPD) • The Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) • The Left Party (Die Linke) • Alternative for Germany (AfD) • Free Democratic Party (FDP)
Germany is split into 16 states and each state sends their representatives (they have local elections as well) to the Federal level in Berlin. The representatives work together to elect a President for the Bundestag. The president then nominates a Chancellor, which the Bundestag elects through a vote. The Chancellor is the one who puts forth policy guidelines, picks a cabinet, and picks the Bundesrat. This is the upper house of parliament and consists of representatives of the German states. Laws concerning state affairs or the constitution must be approved by parliament before they can be put into effect. Here are some useful resources for educators, not for the students:
“Germany.“ DW, Deutsche Welle, 7 June 2019, www.dw.com/en/germanys-political-parties-cdu-csu-sp d-afd-fdp-left-party-greens-what-you-need-to-know/a-38085900. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
“How the German Government Works.“ YouTube, uploaded by Bertelsmann Foundation, 6 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqVqzE1utKw. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
Luyken, Jörg. „German Politics - 10 Things You Need to Know.“ The Local, The Local Europe AB, 20 Feb. 2017, www.thelocal.de/20170220/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-german-politics-democracy. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
Schleunes, Karl A., and Patrick J. Geary. “Germany.“ Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 25 Sept. 2019, www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Government-and-society. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
SUGGESTED TIME FRAME: 10 school days
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
KWL Germany and the Environment (Handout 1) German Youth Activists Graphic Organizer (Handout 2) German Youth Activists Slides Template (Handout 3) The Editorial Newspaper (Handout 4) Evaluating Laws (Handout 5) Public Service Announcement: Extension (Handout 6) Computers Copies of Articles Copies of Handouts Pen/Pencil Video Camera (way to record PSA)
All handouts can be found here
https://tinyurl.com/y6g4pudq
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY
Using a KWL (Handout 1), students should work for about 3-5 minutes to list what they know. Then they should have 5 minutes to work with a pair or groups of three to discuss what they know and start writing out what they want to learn. Next as a class you should do the K and W together. As the discussion happens, kids can write down what they are learning. They will be able to use the KWL throughout the unit to help guide their supporting questions.
SUPPORTING QUESTION #1
Formative Performance Task #1: Students will use at least two of the following featured sources below to create slides (Handout 3) answering the following questions and concepts. They may use the graphic notes organizer (Handout 2) to help support them in taking notes and organizing their thinking before making the slides. They can set the slides up in any way that shows their learning. The example here is an outline for students who need support. • Who is Greta Thunberg? • What is Fridays for Future? • Who are the Green Youth? • What is the mission for these organizations? • Compare and Contrast Fridays for Future and the Green Youth
➤ Featured Sources #1: • German Youth Activists Graphic Organizer (Handout 2) • German Youth Activists Slides Template (Handout 3) • Cwienk, Jeannette. “Climate Protests: Germany‘s New Green Youth Movement Takes to the Streets.“
DW, Deutsche Welle, 21 Jan. 2019, www.dw.com/en/climate-protests-germanys-new-green-youth-movement- takes-to-the-streets/a-47166873. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
Gruene Jugend - Information. Gruene Jugend, https:gruene-jugend.de/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
Thunberg, Greta. “Greta Thunberg.“ TED, TED Conferences, LLC., Jan. 2019, www.ted.com/speakers/greta_thunberg. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
Thunberg, Greta. “Greta Thunberg @gretathunbergsweden.“ Facebook, 2 Feb. 2019, www.facebook.com/gretathunbergsweden/posts/767646880269801. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
SUPPORTING QUESTION #2
Formative Performance Task #2: Students will write an editorial for a newspaper/magazine. In the editorial they will explain what urban gardening is and the differences of urban gardening in places like Munich and Berlin. They will use the three featured sources below to complete their research and to help prepare them for writing their editorial. They will share the pros and cons and introduce their opinion (which must be backed up with facts). Handout 4 includes a graphic organizer and the final layout for the editorial to help students take notes and facilitate their writing.
➤ Featured Sources #2: • The Editorial Newspaper (Handout 4)
“About the Prinzessinnengarten.“ Prinzessinnengarten, prinzessinnengarten.net/wir/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
Grenier, Elizabeth. “A Brief Guide to German Garden Colonies.“ DW, Deutsche Welle, 30 May 2018, www.dw.com/en/a-brief-guide-to-german-garden-colonies/a-39133787. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
“Welcome to the Website of ÖBZ München!“ OBZ, Ecological Education Center Munich, www.oebz.de/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
SUPPORTING QUESTION #3
Formative Performance Task #3: Students will compare and contrast laws that Germany has put into place to protect the environment. They will use the four articles listed in the featured sources below to help students fill out the graphic organizer (Handout 5). They will then use this graphic organizer to help them write their paper. This paper will include the following components: 1. Paragraph introducing the laws 2. Paragraph comparing the laws 3. Paragraph contrasting the laws 4. Paragraph(s) evaluating two laws they have chosen 5. Paragraph recommending which one they think is better for Germany
➤ Featured Sources #3: • Evaluating Laws (Handout 5)
Appunn, Kerstine and Julian Wettengel. „Germany‘s Climate Action Law Takes Shape.“ Clean Energy Wire, Clean Energy Wire CLEW, 12 August 2020, www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/ germanys-climate-action-law-begins-take-shape. Accessed 30 Sept. 2020.
Blue, Laura. “The Environment: Lessons from Germany.“ Time, TIME USA, LLC., 17 Apr. 2008, content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1730759_1734222_1734213,00.html. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
Schulz, Florence. “German Greens Want to Ban Domestic Flights by 2035.“ Euractiv, Euractiv Network, 24 July 2019, www.euractiv.com/section/aviation/news/german-greens-want-to-ban-domestic-flights-by- 2035/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019
Smith, Brett. “Germany: Environmental Issues, Policies and Clean Technology.“ AZO Cleantech, AZONetwork, 30 June 2015, www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=549. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK
Students will create a presentation for their classmates, which answers the compelling question: “What is Germany doing to address their impact on the environment?” Students will focus on what Germany is doing to create change. The main focus of that change should be centered around the environment. Since Germany is doing so many things for the environment students should put their own spin (perspective and ideas) on this presentation. They are arguing what Germany is doing well, what Germany should improve on, and they should make connections to their own country.
EXTENSION (OPTIONAL) TASK
Students will add a PSA to their presentation (Handout 6). This visual will be created with the purpose of grabbing the attention of the listener. The goal of the PSA is to convince people that your environmental suggestions are the best ideas that the government could implement. You are selling your ideas.
TAKING INFORMED ACTION
UNDERSTAND Research the government plan to not allow Germans to fly within Germany by 2025.
ASSESS Make a list of pros and cons and then create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast both sides of the issue.
ACT Write a letter to the Chancellor with your supported opinion.
MODIFICATIONS FOR DIFFERENTIATION
There are graphic organizers to help support students in preparing for the projects. There are a number of ways for students to express themselves in these formative and summative projects. Another suggestion would be to have a word wall for this project and as students encounter words they do not know, you can add them, with a definition and an image to help students understand them.
MODIFICATIONS FOR ONLINE LEARNING
With many schools moving to online learning in and out of the classroom, there are a number of ways that you can modify these assignments.
KWL - There is a website, Mentimeter, that allows you to add interactive pieces to a presentation. You could create a word cloud interactive to collect their ideas for what they know or what they want to learn. Then you can share your screen to a Google Meet or Zoom meeting to show the students what they want to learn as they are thinking about it.
Articles - Since many students are now online, they would not need paper copies of the articles and they could access the reading and assignments online. Many computers have a read function so this would help provide read-aloud services to students who need it.
Formative #1 - With the slides you could have students get in small groups (breakout rooms in Zoom) and share their slides with their peers. It would be a good way to practice presentation skills in a smaller group.
Formative #2 - To share out their editorials you could create a website (Google Sites) and add the students‘ articles to a website. For fun they could find a picture that goes with their article and that could go on the website as well. Then, as a class. the students could get time to read the online “news” that was created by their peers.
Formative #3 - The papers will already be written on the computer in most cases, so there is not an extra support of technology for this assessment.
Summative - Presentations could be recorded at home on FlipGrid. This source allows you to stop and start so they can record in small bits to make a video of their presentation. Then all the videos can be shared with their peers. Next peers could be responsible for watching three videos and leaving comments. This would make the assignment interactive and would allow students to still do presentations if they are learning from home. This approach would also enable students to practice for their presentations. They could share with a small group and get feedback from each other before they present to the class as a whole.
Summative Extension - WeVideo has a lot of great sounds and resources to use to help create videos and you can use it to create PSAs. WeVideo has free access if you do not have full access. You could also create the PSAs on Google Slides or a PowerPoint and add the audio and messaging. The students can then publish it to the web and they could watch each other‘s PSAs.
Jody Chamberlin is a 6th and 7th grade Social Studies teacher at Williamstown Middle High School in Williamstown, VT, United States.
