Tree-Parts Icebreaker for Educator WorkshopsTime Required: 15 minutes

Materials: •Six tree-part signs (see slides 2-7 of this PowerPoint)•Tape or pins to hang signs around the room

Procedure:•Before the workshop begins, post the tree-part signs around the room. Space the signs so there is enough room for a small group of people to gather around each sign. •Remind the group that today’s workshop will introduce an educational resource about climate change and that people have different reactions when they think about teaching about climate change. This icebreaker helps explore those reactions by using tree parts to creatively describe participants’ feelings about teaching about climate change. •Ask workshop participants to select a tree part from the signs hanging around the room to complete the following sentence:

– Teaching about climate change reminds me of a ______________________.•Introduce participants to the tree parts around the room by announcing and pointing out: flowers, bark, leaves/scales/needles, cones/fruit/nuts, roots, and wood. Ask them to move to the sign that best reflects their response. Then, ask them to talk with the other participants gathered at that sign about their why they chose that tree part. •Ask a spokesperson to report to the larger group about one or two of their common or more interesting responses. In the notes section of each tree part slide, you will find potential responses to give you an idea of the types of things that might be said. •Use the following discussion questions to wrap up the icebreaker:

– Were there any common themes of answers among the different tree parts?– What are some of the potential barriers for teaching about climate change? What potential opportunities exist?

•Conclude by letting participants know that some of the barriers mentioned will be discussed during the workshop and that this module provides opportunities for overcoming them and for creating new success stories with students. In particular, Activity 2 emphasizes how to work with people who have different ideas about climate change.

FLOWERS

Photo Credit: Niels Proctor, University of Florida

LEAVES

NEEDLES

SCALES

Photo Credit: Roy Winkelman

Photo Credit: John Seiler, Virginia Tech

Photo Credit: Larry Korhnak, University of Florida

BARK

Photo Credit: John Seiler, Virginia Tech

CONES

FRUIT

NUTS

Photo Credit: Kazvorpal, Wiki Commons

Photo Credit: Larry Korhnack, University of Florida

Photo Credit: John Seiler, Virginia Tech

ROOTS

Photo Credit: Aaron Escobar

WOOD

Photo Credit: John Seiler, Virginia Tech

Photo Credit: Geoff Lokuta, University of Florida