How are greenhouse gases formed? Why is it important to conserve water? What is weather and why does it change? What led to the appearance of heatwaves and abnormal downpours? And what if we teach children not dry theory? Not just to speak in general terms about “protecting nature”, but to explain why it matters? It was precisely with this aim that educational and methodological kits were created that teach younger and older schoolchildren to think ecologically, act consciously and pass this knowledge on to their families.
The elective courses “Climate ABC” for pupils in grades 3–4 and “Climate Box” for pupils in grades 5–6 were created by Iryna Sankovska in cooperation with the NGO “Ukrainian Ecological Club ‘Zelena Khvylia’ (Green Wave)” and partners. They teach children not just terms, but an understanding that climate change concerns everyone.
From a gap to a solution: how the course was created
Iryna Sankovska, the author of the project, worked for 25 years as a primary school teacher and then became a lecturer at the Institute of Postgraduate Education of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University. When the New Ukrainian School was launched in Ukraine, there was an urgent need to create methodological materials to develop a number of competencies, in particular an environmental one.
«By and large, something had to be started from scratch and a methodology for applying the materials had to be written. This was new in precisely this respect», — says Iryna.
In 2020, together with the team of the Ukrainian Ecological Club “Zelena Khvylia”, she analysed all levels of education for environmental and climate courses. The conclusion was unequivocal: there is a lack of systematicity, and the climate component is present only sporadically.
«We found that there was a need to create something. If there are no such courses – to offer them», — says the author.
Creating the course was accompanied by heated discussions. Iryna, drawing on her many years of experience, believed the course should last a whole school year – consist of 35 lessons held once a week. But her colleagues persuaded her to make it more compact – for one semester.
«Their opinion won. I reworked the structure and content, taking into account all the pros and cons. In the end we created an introductory lesson, a summary lesson and 14–15 main lessons», — Iryna recalls.
In August 2021 the first print run of the “Climate ABC” was printed. It was snapped up for implementation instantly. A second run had to be printed. The huge demand testified: the topic resonates with the needs of the time.
What is inside: structure and innovations
The “Climate ABC” is a full-fledged educational and methodological kit for grades 3–4 that includes a programme, methodological developments for each lesson and a workbook. The elective course is recommended to be held in the second semester of the third grade or the first semester of the fourth grade, when children are already old enough for group work and for presenting the results they have gained.
Structurally, the course consists of three blocks:
The first block, «Weather and climate. The differences between weather and climate», tells about the differences between weather and climate – basic concepts without which it is impossible to understand deeper processes.
The second block, «Climate change: causes and consequences», is devoted to the causes and consequences of climate change and the leading role of humans in it. This topic is also examined using the example of Ukraine. Children study specific cases of bad weather observed on the country’s territory and learn about their impact on the environment and people’s lives.
The third block – the most important from a practical point of view – is «My daily household actions for energy and resource conservation to counter climate change». Here, through interactive elements and exercises, children learn what exactly can be done to mitigate the consequences of climate change. One of the lessons is devoted to children’s activism – examples of how children promote their ideas and achieve results. The course ends with a lesson where pupils create and present their own projects.
The success of the first course generated demand for a continuation. In 2022, Iryna Sankovska, in co-authorship with her colleague from Grinchenko University Olha Prutsakova, created the elective course “Climate Box” for pupils in grades 5–6, adapted for subject teachers who teach natural science and geography.
Adaptation through education: the climate effect of knowledge
How exactly does an educational course help to adapt to climate change? The answer lies in the plane of forming awareness and changing everyday household behaviour.
“Climate ABC” and “Climate Box” teach children to understand the mechanisms of climate processes, to recognise their manifestations in their own lives and to be able to act. When children learn to save energy and water and to handle waste properly, they not only reduce their own carbon and ecological footprint – they become agents of change in their families.
The courses introduce pupils to climate professions – forecaster, meteorologist, ecologist, renewable energy specialists. This is not just career guidance – it is forming an understanding that adapting to climate change requires specialists, and everyone can and should get involved in this cause.
The children liked the topic of professions so much that they asked to expand it. So in 2023 a separate publication appeared – “A Guide to the World of Climate Professions”.
In parallel, two more important publications came out: “My First Climate Dictionary-Reference Book” and a guide to working with climate information that helps recognise fakes and stereotypes – “Media Literacy in the Field of Climate Information”.
When school changes families: social impact
The impact of the elective courses on pupils’ families was predictable but unexpected in scale. Iryna Sankovska emphasises: at the implementation stage, schools filled in applications stating that the parents were informed about the course and had nothing against it, since children sometimes needed their help.
Teachers shared: parents waited for every lesson, asking what new things the child had learned. In some families it became a subject of weekly discussion. When children talked about saving energy and water, parents became convinced from their own experience: living ecologically is beneficial.
This manifested itself especially vividly in the final projects: they were not just children’s but family projects – so much did the children captivate their parents with this topic.
Barriers and motivation: what helped to realise the project
Were there obstacles? Fortunately, says Iryna Sankovska, minimal ones. Thanks to the topicality of the theme, interest outweighed the barriers. Teachers came to webinars and then approached the school administrations for consent to implement it. In the vast majority of cases, the leadership approved the use of the course.
Even where the administration could not officially approve the course for some reason, teachers used the materials in lessons of the integrated course “I Explore the World”.
The only real obstacle arose in the 2022-2023 school year because of the war and the reduction in school funding. There was no money for clubs and electives, so the course did not go ahead as planned in an extracurricular form, but “worked” in an out-of-school format.
What motivated them to continue? The support of people who believed in the project. The understanding that the topic is critically important. And Iryna’s personal conviction, reinforced by many years of experience working with children.
When children lead their parents
The effectiveness of the courses is best conveyed not by statistical indicators, but by concrete stories from the classrooms. “Climate ABC” and “Climate Box” created dozens of such stories – from small village schools to city educational institutions, from the Kyiv region to the Kherson region, from the Lviv region to the Kharkiv region.
“This is a course of discoveries, rethinking and awareness. Parents began to listen to their children”, — shared her impressions Olha Lysenko from the Mala Vyska lyceum in the Kirovohrad region. Parents did not just listen to stories about the lessons – together with their children they sewed eco-bags, gave old things a second life and turned theory into practice.
In the Poltava region, biology teachers Yevheniia Krat and Tetiana Biliaieva noticed how children looked forward to the new lessons with pleasure, diligently did their homework, watched the interactive material with interest and hotly discussed some topics.
Olha Motso from the Kherson region wove the course into ordinary “I Explore the World” lessons and saw the result: “The children involve their friends, family members and like-minded people in such activities”. The knowledge did not stay in the notebooks – it went into life.
And the best compliment came from the children themselves. Inna Plemiannyk from the Shchaslyve educational complex in the Kyiv region says: «The pupils asked to add more tasks, more colouring pages, more opportunities to create something themselves. When children ask for not less but more – the course really worked».
Advice for those who want to create something similar
«I really wanted such people to exist, for this to be systemic and systematic work. But, in my conviction, it is very hard work», — Iryna Sankovska honestly says.
Her advice for those who want to create climate education materials:
Be thoroughly knowledgeable or have professional consultants. The topic is complex, so superficial knowledge will not work.
Consume information from authoritative sources. There are many fakes and stereotypes in the climate field – critical thinking is a must.
Adapt to the audience. Primary school teachers are not deeply versed in meteorology and the cause-and-effect mechanism of climate change – they need clear explanations and methodological support.
Make the materials freely available. “Climate ABC”, “Climate Box” and all accompanying materials are available for free – this is important for scaling.
Use interactive elements and digital tools. This greatly facilitates the perception and understanding when presenting the topic.
A look into the future
Right now Iryna Sankovska is working on a new direction – ecological professions. In the context of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, the requirements of the Green Deal and the country’s green recovery, ecological specialities will become in demand. «We need to create a guide that would contain a list of these professions with the appropriate explanations», — the author shares her plans.
In autumn 2025, Ukraine held its first-ever Climate Week. Three civil society organisations engaged Iryna Sankovska to create meaningful content in order to spread information about the climate publications developed as widely as possible. “A Guide to the World of Climate Professions” became the basis for simulation classes in Kyiv, Lviv, Oleksandriia, Lubny and Chernivtsi, where teachers “immersed” children in the world of climate professions.
The story of the “Climate ABC” proves: one well-thought-out educational course can change the mindset of thousands of families. When knowledge about the climate becomes clear, when it is linked to concrete actions, when it unites children, teachers and parents – then adapting to climate change stops being an abstraction. It becomes part of every family’s life.