This lesson introduces the idea of green spaces to students. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students examine the idea of a green space and listen to the book Sofia Valdez, Future Prez. 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn the definition of green space and explore their neighborhood using Google Maps or Google Earth. 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students design their own "perfect green space."

This lesson explores the benefits of green spaces, how green spaces are disappearing, and how the disappearance of green spaces relates to environmental justice. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Teacher introduces the idea of goods and services. Students brainstorm ideas on how green spaces provide goods and services.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch a video on the disappearance of green spaces around the world. Students discuss how this makes them feel. Finally, students watch a video of Jaysa Hunter-Mellers, an environmental activist.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students look at maps to understand that green spaces are not distributed equally in all communities. After learning more about environmental justice, students have the option to write a reflection, draw or write a story, or make a list of ways that green spaces provide goods and services to their community.

This lesson connects Indigenous communities with the natural environment. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Teacher reviews ecosystem services and introduces the four types of ecosystem services: giving services, checking services, supporting services, and cultural services.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students read two articles on Newsela about Indigenous Peoples. One is about government policy, and the other is about climate activism.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students share their notes from the articles and watch one final video on youth climate activists.

This lesson asks students to consider how their communities would look and feel with and without green spaces. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students draw a community without any green space. Students think, notice, and wonder about this community and how it might feel for humans and animals to live in that community.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about a community activist named Ken Sparks who turned his patio into a green space and inspired others to do the same. Then students listen to a read aloud of Bee and Me.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students conduct research to further explore the relationship between green spaces and mental health, physical health, ecosystem health, and climate change. Teacher collects student notes on a word wall. Finally, students draw another map of their community featuring as many green spaces as they would like to include.

This lesson explores ways in which students can address environmental injustice, looking at disparities between two California cities.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students review information from previous lessons and discuss the guiding questions: "How could putting more green spaces into low-income communities help?" and "How would this be an example of environmental justice?"

Step 2 - Investigate: In groups, students compare the two cities of Compton and Pasadena, California. Students discuss income levels, demographics, tree cover, and air pollution.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students watch a video on young climate activists. Then students choose one of three options: learn about Greta Thunberg, create a climate protest sign, or research the 2019 Youth Climate Summit.

In this final lesson in the green spaces unit, students will use their knowledge to take action.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students brainstorm how to incorporate green spaces in their classrooms, school, and community.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students think about which ideas they would like to pursue. Students see an example of one possible action - writing a letter to a government official advocating for more green spaces.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students take action! Students pursue any of their own ideas or collaborate with the teacher to create a classroom or community garden.

This lesson introduces carbon emissions and the idea of carbon and ecological footprints to students. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students reflect on what they know about photosynthesis and how plants transform carbon dioxide into oxygen. 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about the greenhouse effect and calculate their ecological footprint. 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students generate ideas on how to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the environment.

In this lesson, students compare and contrast emissions from different modes of transportation and explore the concept of transportation planning. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students analyze a bar graph of carbon dioxide emissions by different modes of transportation and calculate the most environmentally conscious modes of travel based on emissions.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students analyze commuter survey results of the top concerns with public transportation and complete real-world math problems based on different transportation scenarios, calculating the difference in carbon emission outputs.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students learn about transportation planners and watch a video about Hong Kong's transit system.

This lesson explores different transit systems around the world and unpacks the decision-making process behind transportation planning. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students analyze the transit route maps of four different cities.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore in greater depth the elements and features of four different transit systems.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students recall transit rider concerns and create a reimagined metro system to appeal to more riders in the community.

This lesson promotes students' understanding of the power and influence of the media. Students will leverage this understanding to develop their own media campaigns for their reimagined metro systems.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students reflect on how their reimagined metro systems address the top ten concerns riders had with the metro.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students think critically about how different transportation advertisements get consumers to want to use their services or purchase their products.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students brainstorm an advertisement for their reimagined metro system.

In this lesson, students explore critical media literacy and begin creating their advertisements.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore the definition and guiding questions of critical media literacy.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students analyze a video about car-free cities.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students begin creating their own advertisement for their metro designs.

In this lesson, students engage in critical media literacy investigating the impacts of petroleum extraction, and promote sustainable alternatives.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore the impacts of petroleum extraction and analyze two different media literacy forms that promote petroleum-based products.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students conduct research on how a product’s components are derived from petroleum and find a sustainable alternative for the same or similar product.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students reflect on how consumer choices can impact the environment and create a media message to promote the sustainable product from their research.