Results of Analysis
After reviewing raw data and highlighting key phrases and concepts, I found that four themes emerged related to my research questions.
Theme |
What Children Said and Did |
Strategies and Activities to Support |
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Children’ s Learning |
Having a fever
Children are describing the Earth as“ sick” or“ having a fever”:
›“ The Earth has a fever!” ›“ The temperature of Earth is rising.”
This indicates an understanding of environmental distress.
Use picture books and visuals( e. g., thermometers) that connect a body’ s health to Earth’ s health.
Conduct hands-on experiments to explore climate warming( e. g., how warmer water temperatures affect ice).
Use role-play( such as a doctor caring for the Earth) to deepen empathy and conceptual understanding.
Healthy versus sick Earth
Children are aware of the health condition of the Earth and its well-being:
›“ The healthy Earth looks greener with more trees and flowers.” ›“ The sick Earth has smoke, gases, litter, dirty water, and dirty air.”
Create sorting or matching games( e. g.,“ healthy Earth” and” sick Earth” picture cards).
Engage children in drawing or painting their own versions of a healthy Earth and a sick Earth.
Invite children to reflect on class projects like a garden corner or a trash clean-up walk to see how their actions affect Earth’ s health.
Carbon footprint
Children show an awareness of humans’ impact on the Earth, including pollution and resource consumption:
›“ Cars make the air dirty.”
›“ I use the GOOS [ good on one side ] paper to reduce my carbon footprint.”
Introduce hands-on recycling stations in the classroom.
Encourage children to use GOOS paper bins and to reuse materials for art projects.
Compare different forms of transportation using pictures and discussions( e. g., bikes versus cars).
Taking action within a changing climate
Children exhibit a sense of responsibility as they mention sustainable practices and climate advocacy:
›“ I will recycle and turn off the lights!”
›“ I can help pick up the trash on the floor.”
Develop routines where children act as“ Earth helpers”( e. g., provide daily roles for turning off lights, watering plants, monitoring recycling).
Engage in community walks to collect litter.
Celebrate eco-friendly choices with visual trackers( e. g., stickers for“ green choices”). planet and a sick one. This awareness helped them comprehend the concept of a carbon footprint, which they recognized as harmful actions that impact the planet. Finally, children desired a cleaner, nature-filled world and were aware that even small actions can contribute positively to the climate.
A discussion of each of these findings follows, keyed to my questions about children’ s understanding and expression of climate change and the strategies and activities that supported them.
The Earth Has a Fever
Children’ s idea that climate change is like the Earth having a fever emerged gradually. Rather than relying on a single source to make an abstract idea more meaningful, children connected the
Winter 2025 Young Children 79