Civics and Climate Action Learning Lab Lessons
Lesson Plans
Grades9, 10, 11, 12Science, Civics
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by The Climate Initiative
What it is
- In this six-lesson unit, students will learn about climate policy and what it means for them locally.
- Students will build their background knowledge about climate policy, analyze case studies regarding policy through sociocultural, economic, and ecological lenses, write their own case studies, interpret data regarding public opinion on climate change, create proposals for local climate policy, interview community members for local context for climate change, and research policies in other locations that could solve a local problem.
- This is a companion resource for the Student Lab.
Teaching tips
Positives
- Participating in the development of an action project will give students a sense of agency and ownership in solving the climate crisis.
- This unit emphasizes localizing the data and information for students, making the context for learning as relevant for students as possible.
Prerequisites
- The teacher slide presentations are optional, but they provide valuable directions and context for the activities.
- Students should be familiar with reading and interpreting graphs, citing evidence to support claims, and a general idea of the political process.
- The link to another activity to use with students on slide 12 is broken.
- The link to the slide containing the rubric for the action project is for a deleted slide. The rubric can be found on slide 40
Differentiation & Implementation
- If time permits, teachers can use this lesson to guide an exploration of En-ROADS after Lesson 1.
- Students with low reading stamina may need extra time to read the case study and guidance for close reading.
- If local policies or data are available, teachers can use these during the data analysis lesson to localize the concepts.
- For Lessons 5 and 6, teachers may find the Policy Toolkits helpful in guiding their research.
From the scientist review
This resource uses data on public opinion to connect civics and climate change and features a wealth of figures, all with sources linked. Numerous additional sources are also linked for further research, including the 2023 IPCC Report. This resource uses sound science to empower students to take action on climate change and is recommended for teaching.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on docs.google.com
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
