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School children go on strike for climate

School Strike for Climate - Level 0

Children worldwide are going on strike. They are unhappy. Their countries are not fighting climate change. Students are not going to class. They are protesting in the streets and outside governments. The strikes began in August 2018. A Swedish student protested and photos of her went viral on social media. Students are now copying her.

In 2019, there have been strikes in Europe, America and Australia. Students held banners reading, "Why learn without a future?" There is a worldwide strike on March 15. Not everyone supports the students. Australia's leader called for "more learning in schools and less activism". A journalist told students to strike at the weekend.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

School Strike for Climate - Level 1

Children are going on strike worldwide. They are unhappy because their countries are not doing enough to fight climate change. There is a growing movement called School Strike for Climate. Students are skipping classes to take part in street protests. Many protests are outside government buildings. The movement began in August 2018 when Swedish student Greta Thunberg protested in Sweden. Photos of her went viral on social media. Students are now copying her.

Strikes have taken place across Europe, North America and Australia. Students held banners reading, "Why learn without a future?" and "Like the sea level, we rise." A worldwide strike is planned for March 15. Not everyone supports the students. Australia's leader called for "more learning in schools and less activism". A journalist wrote: "If children…must wag their fingers at older generations for some imaginary sin, I wish they'd do it at the weekend."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

School Strike for Climate - Level 2

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Children around the world are going on strike. They are unhappy because their countries are doing too little to fight climate change. There is a growing international movement called School Strike for Climate. Instead of going to school, students have been skipping classes to take part in street protests. Many protests are outside government buildings. The movement began in August 2018 when Swedish student Greta Thunberg stood outside Sweden's government. She held a sign that read: "School strike for climate". Photos of her went viral on social media. Students worldwide are now copying her.

In 2019, strikes have taken place across Europe, North America and Australia. Students held banners reading, "Why learn without a future?" "If you do not act as adults, we will" and "Like the sea level, we rise." A worldwide strike is planned for March 15. Many scientists, politicians and teachers congratulated the students. However, not everyone supports them. Australia's leader called for "more learning in schools and less activism". A U.K. journalist wrote: "If children really must wag their fingers at older generations for some imaginary sin, I wish they'd do it at the weekend."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

School Strike for Climate - Level 3

School children around the world have been going on strike. They are unhappy that their governments are doing too little to fight climate change. The strikes are part of a growing international movement called School Strike for Climate. Instead of going to school, students across the globe have been skipping classes to take part in street protests. Many of the protests have been outside government buildings. The movement began in August 2018 when Swedish student Greta Thunberg stood outside Sweden's government every Friday. She held a sign that read: "School strike for climate". Photos of her went viral on social media. Students organized themselves and copied Ms Thunberg's actions.

The movement is growing worldwide. In 2019, strikes have taken place across Europe, North America and Australia. Over 45,000 students protested on one day in Switzerland and Germany. Students have held banners reading, "Why learn without a future?" "If you do not act as adults, we will" and "Like the sea level, we rise." The first worldwide strike will take place on March 15. Many scientists, politicians and teachers congratulated the students for their activism. However, not everyone is on the students' side. Australia's leader called for "more learning in schools and less activism". A journalist in the U.K. wrote: "If children really must wag their fingers at older generations for some imaginary sin, I wish they'd do it at the weekend."

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson