Earth Day

This primer includes six short, interactive, multimodal lessons to help middle school students learn, think, and write about climate change – and consider how to take action.

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 work together to understand the significance of the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide and consider different methods for stopping it. This lesson can be adapted for science, writing, or social studies classes.

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

President Trump has announced that his administration will dramatically reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah. Through readings and discussion, students consider this move and wider questions about how public lands in the United States should be used.

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.  

Quick quizzes and facts about water use, climate change, and controversy surrounding California's record drought.