Climate Change

Students look at photos, read about, and discuss some of the climate crises in 2018, then survey a range of actions being taken to address it.

Students compare the “Green New Deal” proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with President Roosevelt’s original New Deal. 

A new UN report on climate disruption points to the need for immediate action. In this lesson, students discuss the report and what kind of response it requires.

Young people are suing the U.S. government over climate change, and their case comes before federal court on October 29, 2018. In this lesson, students examine the suit, read the personal testimony of two of the plaintiffs, and consider other strategies that young people are using to affect climate...

Students consider how some politicians have used the cold weather to deny climate change and explore the science and statistics behind this common argument. 

Students learn about people around the globe who are being forced from their homes because of climate change, and think about how we as a society should respond.  This companion lesson encourages empathy for climate refugees.  

Students learn about a few of the thousands of people who have fled Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. In small groups, students  discuss their stories and consider how they may be feeling about what has happened.  This companion lesson has students explore the climate refugee crisis worldwide.     ...

President Trump tweeted that Puerto Rico has "only itself to blame" for the financial crisis that plagued the island even before Hurricane Maria struck. This lesson explores that crisis and its causes with a quiz, reading, discussion, and extension activities.   

Students hear the performance of Lin–Manuel Miranda's song "Almost Like Praying," a benefit for the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Students discuss the song, see a video about how others have responded to the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico, and consider how they...

This activity uses a circle to help students process the many disasters that have struck people around the world in the summer and fall of 2017. It includes a more extended process about the post–Hurricane crisis in Puerto Rico.