English Language · JC 2

Active learning ideas

People Moving Due to Climate Change

Active learning works for this topic because climate migration is complex and emotionally charged. Students need space to process real-world stakes, debate ethical language, and collaborate on solutions. Movement, discussion, and role-play help them move beyond abstract definitions to genuine understanding through lived experience.

• MOE Syllabus Outcomes
• MOE: Social Awareness - Secondary 4

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Migration Drivers

Assign small groups one climate factor, such as sea-level rise or droughts. Each group researches impacts on specific communities using provided articles, then shares findings in a class jigsaw. Students note key vocabulary and phrases for describing challenges.

What are some reasons people might have to move because of climate change?

Facilitation Tip

For the Jigsaw Research activity, assign each group a different case study with a focus question about environmental drivers to ensure deep, comparative analysis.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Should people displaced by climate change be granted the same legal protections as refugees fleeing persecution?' Facilitate a class debate, asking students to cite specific examples and international legal frameworks to support their arguments.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Pairs

Debate Carousel: Terminology Choices

Pairs prepare arguments for or against terms like 'climate refugee.' Rotate pairs to debate at different stations with prepared prompts. Conclude with whole-class vote and reflection on language power.

How should we refer to people who move because of environmental changes?

Facilitation Tip

During the Debate Carousel, set clear time limits for each station so all students have equal speaking time and can engage with multiple perspectives.

What to look for

Ask students to write down two distinct reasons why a community might need to relocate due to climate change, and one challenge they might face in finding a new home. Collect these to gauge understanding of the core issues.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 50 min · Small Groups

Role-Play Summit: Policy Solutions

Form delegations representing countries or NGOs. Groups draft proposals on aid for migrants, present in a mock UN summit, and respond to questions. Debrief on effective advocacy language.

What can countries do to help people affected by climate migration?

Facilitation Tip

In the Role-Play Summit, provide role cards with specific policy goals and constraints to keep discussions focused and productive.

What to look for

Students draft a short paragraph defining 'climate migrant' in their own words. They then exchange paragraphs with a partner, assessing for clarity, accuracy, and the inclusion of at least one specific climate impact. Partners provide one suggestion for improvement.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Individual

Gallery Walk: Rights Advocacy

Students create posters on migrant rights with quotes and visuals. Walk the gallery, adding sticky-note responses or counterarguments. Discuss as a class how visuals and words build empathy.

What are some reasons people might have to move because of climate change?

Facilitation Tip

For the Gallery Walk, display student work at eye level and provide sticky notes for peers to leave specific feedback on clarity and evidence.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Should people displaced by climate change be granted the same legal protections as refugees fleeing persecution?' Facilitate a class debate, asking students to cite specific examples and international legal frameworks to support their arguments.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by grounding it in lived experience first. Start with stories or short documentaries to humanize the issue before introducing legal or policy frameworks. Use structured debate and role-play to build empathy and critical thinking, avoiding lectures on terminology until students have wrestled with the real dilemmas. Research shows students retain these concepts better when they grapple with competing values before formal definitions.

Successful learning looks like students connecting global cases to local relevance, using precise language to discuss rights and protections, and proposing nuanced policy solutions. They should move from seeing climate migration as distant or simple to recognizing it as layered, urgent, and deeply human.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• People moving due to climate change are simply economic migrants seeking better jobs. During Jigsaw Research, watch for groups presenting environmental data like soil salinity or storm frequency to redirect attention to the lived realities of displacement.

  Have students annotate their case studies with direct quotes from community members about why traditional livelihoods are no longer possible, making the environmental drivers visible and personal.

• Climate migrants have no legal rights or protections. During the Debate Carousel, watch for students citing only refugee conventions without considering complementary protection frameworks.

  Provide a handout with excerpts from the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and have students identify which rights might apply, forcing them to engage with the nuances of legal language.

• This issue only affects distant poor countries, not places like Singapore. During the Role-Play Summit, watch for students limiting solutions to financial aid rather than regional adaptation strategies.

  Include a scenario where Singapore faces saltwater intrusion into its water supply and require students to propose both mitigation and adaptation policies, tying global frameworks to local risks.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Outdoor Investigation Session
• Gallery Walk