This lesson plan is licensed under Creative Commons.
In this lesson, students learn about climate activist Greta Thunberg and create an interview script and video discussing climate change.
Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video about youth activism and reflect on their ability to make a positive difference in their community.
Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch two interviews with activist Greta Thunberg, compare the interviews, and identify best practices for being interviewed.
Step 3 - Inspire: Students create an interview script about climate change and record the video on Flip.
Positives
Students use their critical thinking skills to create a script and teach others about climate change.
Students practice 21st-century skills such as collaboration and communication.
Students create a video that they can share with their peers, family, or on social media.
Students learn that they have a voice and can act to create change.
ELL students can practice their reading, writing, and speaking skills if they choose to be recorded as an interviewee.
Teachers can incorporate this lesson into their current science curriculum to connect to human impact lessons.
The lesson can be incorporated into ELA classes as a writing and reflection activity and in social studies as a lesson on activism and social change.
Additional Prerequisites
The interview video from the Investigate section refers to Greta having Asperger’s also known as Asperger syndrome. The term was removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), released in 2013. It is still a term used informally but is no longer a diagnosis. Some sources with additional information include:
Teachers will need to create a free account on Flip. To keep track of all the student-created videos, it is helpful to create groups for each class or period and invite students. The step-by-step guide in the educator toolkit provides instructions on how to create groups.
Students may need a tutorial on using Flip and can watch this Flip tutorial video.
Teachers can view other Flip videos for inspiration in the Flip Discovery Library link found in the Educator toolkit.
Differentiation
The Flip interview rubric found on the Student Document has two extra rows where teachers can insert additional skills or indicators they want their students to focus on. These can include skills in speaking, listening, SEL, or any other relevant skill the class is working on.
Students who are not comfortable with recording themselves can create a separate product such as a poster, newsletter, brochure, or podcast.
The activity can be completed in groups or modified so students can complete it in pairs.
ELL students in need of extra support should be paired with a native speaker for assistance with the script or video. They can be provided with index cards to use during the interview.
ELL students may benefit from sentence stems or graphic organizers.
This lesson can be taught over two or three class periods. One option is to teach the Inquire and Investigate sections in one day and the Inspire section in another day or two.
Students may want to explore other youth activists who are unique in more similar ways to them. Some resource options include.
The lesson focuses on a few of the climate activist Greta Thunberg's interviews. Students will learn how to communicate and take the lead in climate talks and identify best practices for interviews. This lesson has passed our science review process after the videos and all accompanying materials were examined.
