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Carbon Cycle Role Play
https://www.calacademy.org/educators/lesson-plans/carbon-cycle-role-play

California Academy of Sciences

Carbon cycle activity to demonstrate how carbon moves throughout the atmosphere. The activity ends with a discussion of how humans impact the carbon cycle.

This learning activity takes one 45 minute class period.

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»


Grade Level

Online Readiness

Topics

Climate Literacy

This Short Demonstration/Experiment builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

  • Depending on class size, it may be helpful to run this game with a small group of students before involving the entire class. Another option would be to have half the class go through the activity while the other half watches. Doing so may provide learning opportunities for the observers as well.

About the Content

  • This is an interactive and engaging way for students to learn about the carbon cycle. It's simple, but effectively shows how the cycle functions both with and without human intervention.

About the Pedagogy

  • It will be important for teachers unfamiliar with the carbon cycle to read the background information provided with the lesson. There are many moving parts to this activity so teachers will need good classroom management skills to keep the lesson moving forward as students move around the teaching space.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

  • Make sure to download the pdf version of the lesson. It is better formatted and includes a few tables and diagrams that the online lesson does not.
  • Step-by-step guidance leads to an in-depth activity that is simple to run in the classroom.
Entered the Collection: September 2023 Last Reviewed: June 2023

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