Interview a Climate Scientist

Positives

• This activity improves students' research, communication, and public speaking skills.
• Students acting as journalists practice their creativity and journalism skills, while students acting as climate scientists practice communicating science in a clear and straightforward manner.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students must be familiar with the interview process and will need to access the credible resources suggested in the Teacher Guide for research.
• You can have students choose their partners or select partners for them.

Differentiation

• For students that need additional support, provide certain climate change topics for them to discuss, like hurricanes, sea level rise, melting Arctic ice, melting glaciers, wildfires, or drought.
• As an extension, students could set up an interview with a member of their community and record it as a video to share with classmates.
• For the topic of climate activism, students can read about Peter Kalmus, one of many climate scientists who have stopped flying because of the climate crisis.
• Students could reach out to actual climate scientists in their local area or at their local university to request an interview.