It’s Time to Change! (LS-PL-628)

Many things have to change course but it is WE HUMAN BEINGS above all who need to CHANGE.

Pope Francis

Can we do something about climate change?

We all rely on politicians, environmentalists and other important people to support changes that will influence our behaviours and save the planet! However, most of us have the inner conviction that the real transition starts in our hearts and minds! This learning scenario is aimed at making a reflection on our own behaviour towards the environment. Students study the example of Saint Francis of Assisi. He seems to be one of the most popular and widely recognised ecologists by people of different nations!

Lesson objective

The main aim of the lesson is to encourage students to be more sensitive towards nature and to get to know a vast number of different actions we can practice in our daily lives to protect the environment. Moreover, students can see that the idea of living in harmony with nature was existent throughout the ages.

Saint Francis of Assisi – resources

Europeana Portal is the best way to search for a lot of wonderful resources connected with Saint Francis of Assisi. I was able to create a gallery about his life thanks to a marvellous set of postcards. You can also find a lot of different images and even stories called The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi. Thus, I think teachers of different subjects can find a lot of interesting things. The only limit is our imagination!

I was very happy to use Historiana, which gives teachers possibilities to create a lot of eActivities. My learning scenario consists of different kinds of exercises. Have a look at it!

The outcome of the lesson

By implementing this topic students can resonate with the actions of Saint Francis of Assisi and find their own way to live in harmony with nature. Sharing different ideas for reducing climate change keeps pupils aware of different small steps each person can undertake to be more ecological. They are able to share their hobbies and find new things as a result of searching through the Europeana portal.

My reflections

The topic can be integrated into the curriculum in a lot of ways. During each school level we teach about the Medieval Times. The story of Saint Francis of Assisi could be a good example of these times. Additionally, a teacher can use some simple exercises and implement the topic with different kinds of age groups. I was really happy to have such a lesson with my students. I got to know a lot of interesting facts about their hobbies and past times. They were also able to show their skills in taking photos and sharing them. For me, the important point was also that they commented on others’ works so they could show their emotional intelligence.

Would you like to know more about this learning scenario? You can download it below:

Did you find this learning scenario interesting? You might also like:

• Climate Change Webquest
• Adaptation to Climate Change with Technology
• Climate Change – Just a Beginning

CC BY-SA 4.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the PMRMaeyaert.