MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

TEACHING MANUAL


This publication has been produced by Ministry of Education and Training in cooperation
with Live & Learn for Environment and Community (Live&Learn),
Plan in Vietnam and the Australian Government’s Aid Program (AusAID).
Contact Information:
Live & Learn for Environment and Community
30, Lane 32/26 To Ngoc Van, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: +844 3718 5930 | Fax:+844 3718 6494
Email:
Website: www.livelearn.org, www.thehexanh.net


PREFACE
Located in Southeast Asia, a region familiar with extreme weather, Vietnam is regarded as one of
the countries most heavily impacted by, and vulnerable to, natural disasters and climate change.
In recent years, the Vietnamese government has developed guidelines and policies in order to
enhance its capacity to respond to natural disasters and climate change, and has developed a
National Strategy for Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and a National Target Programme
to respond to climate change.
The “Teacher Manual on Climate Change Education” is one of the first specific and concrete
teaching manuals to help teachers and students raise their awareness and ability to respond
to climate change. The material is a timely contribution to implementing the Education Sector’s
Action Plan for the recently released National Strategy for the period of 2011-2020, in which
“responding to climate change” is a priority.
This manual is designed for the “Child-Centred Climate Change Adaptation” project, funded
by the Australian Government’s Aid Program (AusAID) and developed by the Centre for Live and
Learn for the Environment and Community (Live&Learn) and Plan in Vietnam. The material has

Module 5: Practicing skills to respond to climate change.............................................45

PART 2. TEACHER FACT SHEET...........................................................................49
Topic 1: Weather, climate and climate change.............................................................50
Topic 2: Causes of climate change.............................................................................56
Topic 3: Climate change impacts globally and in Vietnam.............................................63
Topic 4: Responses to climate change.........................................................................74
REFERENCES........................................................................................................80

PART 3. HANDOUTS..............................................................................................83

2


ABBREVIATION
EIA

Energy Information Administration, US

GHG

Greenhouse gas

Gt

Gigatonne (1000 million tonnes, or 1 billion tonnes)

HIV/AIDS

Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNESCO

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation

USGS

US Geological Survey

VNRC

Vietnam Red Cross

WHO

World Health Organization

3


INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Teaching Manual on Climate Change Education is:
To raise awareness of climate change and the role of education in developing and maintaining
safe and sustainable livelihoods and communities;
To assist teachers in implementing a participatory, or student centred, teaching approach that
uses content and methodologies to actively involve learners, and to integrate climate change



Part 1 - Teaching and Learning Activities: introduces lessons and educational activities
related to natural disasters and climate change. Users can select information and activities
appropriate to students.
Part 2 - Information for Teachers: provides reference knowledge on natural disasters and
climate change corresponding to the topics in part 1, and gives background knowledge to
assist with lesson delivery.
Part 3 - Handouts to Support Teaching and Learning Activities: includes pictures, photos
and correlative materials supporting each of the lessons in Part 1.
When implementing the teaching and learning activities in Part 1, teachers or instructors may:
Use the information in Part 2 to familiarise themselves with the content and reference materials
on natural disasters and climate change; and
Use the handouts (pictures and information) in Part 3 to teach and learn.

Teaching Manual on Climate Change Education - Stucture
PART 1: TEACHING AND LEARNING
ACTIVITIES

SUPPORTING MATERIALS
FOR TEACHING AND
LEARNING

1. Weather, climate
and climate change

2. Causes of climate
change

Part 2. Teacher fact

(group discussions, case studies, role-play and presentation);

-

Lesson reinforcement: helps students reinforce the key points of the lesson and
evaluate knowledge gained through quiz/questions. Teachers can use additional practical
exercises for students to make their lessons more relevant, useful and interesting.

Other activity suggestions: offers other educational activities for teachers to supplement/
replace some main activities where appropriate for students of different grades and regions.
These activities also provide practice opportunities to reinforce and evaluate students’
knowledge, skills and attitudes.

ADVICE ON APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND LEARNING
Use a variety of educational games and interactive activities to create a positive participatory
learning atmosphere;
Make knowledge concise and skills practical - avoid theory and learning-by-heart;
Enhance the role and participation of students using individual and group work, experience
learning and participatory planning, action and evaluation;
Provide diversity with simple actions for learning activities - make full use of existing materials
and combined activities using information technology with classroom and community activities;
and
Link economic, cultural and environmental themes to promote a vision of sustainable
development.

6


GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Definitions of terms are cited from the following sources: National Target Program to Respond

Climate

Climate is often defined as the weather averaged over time (typically, 30
years as defined by the World Meteorological Organization).

Climate
change

Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be
identified by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties
and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer.
Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external
forcing, or to persistent anthrophogenic changes in the composition of
the atmosphere or in land use.

Climate
change
senario

A plausible description of how the future may develop, based on a coherent
and internally consistent set of assumptions about key relationships and
driving forces (i.e. rate of technology change, prices). Note that scenarios
are neither predictions nor forecasts, but are useful to provide a view of
the implications of the social, economic and political drivers of change.

7


Disaster


gas or a precursor to a greenhouse gas is stored (as defined in the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Oceans,
soils and forests are examples of reservoirs of carbon.

Risk

The combination of the probability of an event and the scale of it’s
negative consequences.
Disaster risks are the potential disaster losses, in lives, health status,
livelihoods, assets and services, which could occur in a particular
community or a society over some specified future time period.

8

United Nations
Framework
Convention
on Climate
Change

It is often referred to as the Convention on Climate Change, signed
by more than 150 countries at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in
1992. Its ultimate objective is to achieve “stabilization of greenhouse
gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. The
Convention did not state the legal obligations on emission levels while
only required countries in the Annex I to reduce emissions to levels of
1990 in 2000. The Convention took effect in March 1994 with ratification
of more than 50 countries. Currently 195 countries have ratified the
Convention. In March 1995, the Conference of the Parties (COP), the


9



PART 1:
TEACHING AND
LEARNING ACTIVITIES


Module 1: Weather, climate and climate change
Learning objectives: At the end of this module, students will able to:
Distinguish “weather” from “climate”;
Describe the concept “Climate Change” and
distinguish it from “Global Warming”; and
Understand and explain some key impacts of
climate change in Vietnam and around the world.
Time:

60 minutes

Supporting materials:

Teacher fact sheet part 2, topic 1.
Handouts 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; Clip 1.1; other materials for
educational games and the experiment.

Main activities
1. Warm-up
Time: 10 mins

-

When the teacher says “lightning”, students open their
palms, stretching their arms to the front, saying “doang
doang”(imitating the sounds of lightning);


The teacher can change the order of the questions to see if
students are able to quickly react or not. Then the teacher
explains that such events are known as “weather”.
Time: 10 mins

1.2 Distinguishing between weather and climate
-

The teacher introduces In order to understand climate
change, we should define “Weather” and “Climate”.

-

The teacher takes some examples:
What is the weather like in your commune today?
Do the 3-day forecasts of storm, rain or sun on TV
speak about the weather or climate?
What is the climate of the North, Centre and South of
our country?

-

The teacher then explains the differences between weather


13


-

The teacher jots down students’ ideas on the blackboard,
summarizing key points leading to an explanation of
concepts associated with climate change and distinguishing
climate change from “global warming”.
Climate change generally refers to the long-term
changes in climate patterns that have occurred over a
long period of time. The climate can become warmer
or colder.
Climate change may be caused by natural factors,
or human activities (e.g. land-use change, pollution
etc.) that change in the atmosphere’s composition.
The term “climate change” generally now refers to
the climatic changes that are a direct result of human
activities.
Global warming is the rising average temperature of the
Earth. Climate change is a broader concept referring to
the long-term changes in climate including temperature,
precipitation and sea level rise, and the impacts of these
phenomena on nature and humans.

Time: 10 mins

2.2 Observations of climate change
-

are occurring with more frequency and intensity, and
are becoming more difficult to predict.
-

3. Lesson reinforcement
Time: 5 mins

14

The teacher explains some key phenomena associated
with climate change in the world today. Teachers can ask
students about such changes in Vietnam and provide more
information:

The teacher uses pictures and charts illustrating the
impacts of climate change, and providing some additional
data (see teacher fact sheet in part 2 - topic 1 - section 1.1).

3.1 Suggested exercises
Question 1. Choose the most suitable word for the
following sentences:


a. “This morning it is sunny in Hanoi. The average temperature is 25°C. There may be thunderstorms in some
areas”- This is an example of …
Answer: weather.
b. The … of a region is that region’s weather conditions
averaged over many years.
Answer: climate.
c.

Further information can be found in the teacher
fact sheet in part 2 - topic 1 - section 1.3

the following question:
Which of the following are phenomena associated with climate
change?
a. Volcano.
b. Ice melting.
c.

Average temperature falling.

d. Sea level rising.

15


3.2 Homework
The teacher asks students to collect idioms and proverbs about
weather, climate or changes in the weather or climate to share
with the class in the next lesson.

Other alternative
activities
1. Sea level rising game

Time: 10 mins

-



-

The teacher continues: the sea keeps rising, flooding a
quarter of the land. The groups fold their paper again, and
the game continues until only one team is left the winner.

-

To sum up, the teacher links the game with reality. Sea
level rise, caused by climate change, can inundate some
parts of Vietnam and around the world, making millions of
people homeless.

Materials:

5 pieces of A1 paper or
old newspapers

2. Film show
Time: 10 mins

16

Clip 1.1 - Climate change impacts on Vietnam.
The clip presents some climate change impacts on Vietnam.
Before or after showing the clip, the teacher may provide
students with some facts and figures of climate change impacts
on Vietnam and the locality.


-

Rules: appoint a student to be a monitor in the first round
of the game who points to any students in the class, saying
a phenomenon associated with climate change, such as
“sea level rising”, “temperatures increasing”, “ice melting”,
“extreme weather events”.

-

The student who is selected, along with 2 nearby students,
must perform the correct gestures to illustrate the
phenomena. If any of students use the incorrect gesture
for the phenomena, he/she will have to replace the monitor
to continue the game.

-

The teacher clearly defines gestures symbolizing each
phenomenon. For example:

Time: 10 mins

“Sea level rising”: a student stands up and jumps; two
nearby students hold their hands around the student to
protect him/her.

17



use change and deforestation. These activities have
increased GHG concentrations in the atmosphere.

Handout 2.1 Greenhouse effect

The main cause of climate change is the increased
concentration of greenhouse gases (e.g. CO2, CH4) in
the atmosphere.
-

The teacher explains the process of greenhouse gases
trapping heat to warm the Earth, using handout 2.1:
The Earth’s atmosphere contains some special
gases that are called greenhouse gases because of
their ability to warm the Earth in the same way that
warm temperatures are maintained in greenhouses
for plants. Water vapor (H2O), Carbon dioxide (CO2),
Methane (CH4), Halocarbons (e.g. CFC), Nitrous oxide
(N2O) and Ozone in the troposphere (O3) are the most
common greenhouse gases.
The Greenhouse Effect is the natural process of the
atmosphere letting in some of the energy we receive
from the Sun and trapping it before it is transmitted
back out into space.

18


1. Solar energy from the sun passes through the
Earth’s atmosphere.

Handouts:
1.1 - Global average
surface temperature in
the period of 1880-2008
2.2 - Atmospheric CO2
concentration in the
period of 1000-2008

Since 1850, the Industrial Revolution has spread
throughout the world. This period was marked by
significant advances in technology, mining, agriculture,
and transportation. Since then, people started changing
the environment by burning a lot of fossil fuels such as
oil, coal and gas to generate electricity for transport,
industrialised agriculture, and heating and cooling in
our schools, homes, workplaces and factories.
Emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
have increased, making the blanket of gases around
the Earth thicker and thicker. This blanket traps heat
making the Earth hotter. As a result, over the past 150
years, the Earth’s climate has become hotter, and has
changed faster than usual.
-

Time: 20 mins

The teacher demonstrates the global warming process
using the handouts 1.1 and 2.2.

2.3 Learning about greenhouse gases


Question 1. Chose the most suitable word for the following
sentences:
a. The greenhouse effect is the ability to keep the temperature
of the Earth at a safe level, due to ... absorbing heat from
the Earth’s surface and from external sources like the sun,
and trapping it in the atmosphere.
Answer: Greenhouse gases.
b. Since the ..., humans have significantly enhanced the
greenhouse effect.
Answer: Industrial Revolution
Question 2: Choose the most appropriate answer for the
following questions:
2.1. Where does the greenhouse effect take place?
a. In the forest.
b. In the soil.
c.

In the mountains.

d. In the atmosphere.
2.2. Of the following greenhouse gases, which one is entirely
produced by human activities?
a. Ozone.
b. Carbon dioxide.
c.

Nitrous oxide.

d. Halocarbons.


2. “Who am I” game
Time: 20 mins
Materials:

The teacher divides the class into groups of 4-5 students. Each
round, each group assigns one representative to be a key
player.
Directions:
-

The teacher holds a greenhouse gases card and lets the
group see it. The key player is not allowed to see it.

-

Other members of that group have to say features of that
GHG to help the key player guess what GHG it is.

-

(Alternative rule: the teacher lets the key player see the
card. This student has to raise questions or explain key
features of the GHG. His/her group has to guess what
GHG it is).

-

Players are not allowed to use foreign languages or
chemical symbols.

students to cover one of the seedlings with a jar.

(for secondary students)

Time: 3 hours
(the experiment should
start in the morning)

21


-

The teacher asks students to describe the appearance of
the seedlings after 3 hours.

-

The teacher lets the whole class discuss the result. What
were the differences between the one covered by the
“blanket of gases” (simulated by the jar) and the one that is
not covered? Note that the seedlings indicate temperature
by the level of wilting.

-

The teacher explains to students: The glass allows solar
rays to penetrate but prevents heat from escaping, warming
up the temperature inside over time. This is similar to the
process in which green house gases warm the Earth (called

Main activities
1. Warm-up
Time: 10 mins

-

The teacher prepares color cards on which names of
different GHGs are written. Alternatively, the teacher may
use different colored balls to symbolize GHGs.

-

Divide the class into groups of 5-8 students. When the
teacher says a GHG name (or throws a ball), each group
has to introduce one human activity that results in the
emission of that GHG.

-

At the end of the game, the group who says the most
correct activities will win (See the teacher fact sheet in part
2 - topic 2 - section 2.2).

2. Problem studying
Time: 20 mins

Materials:
Handout 2.4 - Human
activities and GHG
emissions