This lesson introduces African environmentalist Wangari Maathai and links deforestation with the concepts of governance, poverty, and income opportunities for women in Kenya. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video explaining ways to monitor the world's forests. Next, students explore the Global Forest Watch Interactive Map showing the health of the world's forests.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch a video about Wangari Maathai & The Green Belt Movement. Students answer guided questions as they watch the video.

Step 3 - Inspire: Teacher reads Wangari Maathai’s version of the “hummingbird story.” After listening, students write pledges about how they can contribute to restoring our Earth.

This lesson is about the distribution and density of trees in urban areas and how that relates to environmental justice. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore a spreadsheet, map, and two graphs showing urban forest cover and its connection to wealth and race.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch two videos and take notes on the benefits of trees.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students complete a written reflection noticing the distribution of trees near their homes.

In this lesson, students will analyze Amanda Gorman's poem "Earthrise" and write their own poetry.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch Amanda Gorman perform her poem “Earthrise.”

Step 2 - Investigate: In groups, students analyze one stanza of “Earthrise.” Students take notes and then share their thinking with the rest of the class.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students write their own poem, drawing inspiration from “Earthrise.”

In this lesson, students learn about climate change, choose one impact of climate change, and write a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video on the basics of climate change.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students take notes while watching four videos on the impacts of climate change.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one of the impacts of climate change and write a paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.

This lesson shows that different foods have different environmental impacts. Students will calculate ratios and practice proportional thinking. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore an interactive bar graph showing the resources it takes to create our food.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students select different foods that they wish to compare. Students complete a series of mathematical calculations showing their knowledge of arithmetic and ratios.

Step 3 - Inspire: In groups, students discuss what they have learned and answer several questions.

This lesson features a comparison of different travel options from New York City to six other cities. Students compare walking, biking, driving, taking the bus, riding the train, and flying. Students conduct research and calculate the CO₂e for each travel option.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a short video on the climate crisis. In groups, students explore and discuss emissions from the transportation sector.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students are assigned one route between New York City and another city in the Northeast. Students calculate miles, cost, time, and CO₂e for each travel option for their route.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students participate in a group discussion about the results and explore different ways to decarbonize our transportation system.

In this lesson, students learn about climate change, choose one solution to climate change, and write a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph explaining why they believe it is the best solution to climate change.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video on the basics of climate change.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students take notes while watching four videos of solutions to climate change.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one of the solutions to climate change and write a paragraph explaining why they believe it is the best solution to climate change.

In this lesson, students explore increased precipitation and sea level rise in New Jersey and advocate for a climate adaptation strategy. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore two interactive maps showing increased precipitation and sea level rise in New Jersey.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn the causes of increased precipitation and sea level rise in New Jersey.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students choose and advocate for a climate adaptation strategy by communicating to leaders in government and business.

In this lesson, students conduct research on electric bicycles and electric cars, choose one of these technologies, and create a video promoting its use as a climate solution. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students view a series of images related to bicycles and cars and discuss their emotional reactions with a partner.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students investigate the benefits and drawbacks of electric bicycles and electric cars.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create a video advertisement advocating for electric bicycles or electric cars.

In this lesson, students learn how redlining connects to tree equity and racial justice.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students learn definitions of redlining and systemic racism and explore the Mapping Inequality tool.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore the connection between redlining and tree equity.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students share their new knowledge, discuss possible solutions to environmental inequality, and complete a written reflection.

In this lesson, students choose one impact of climate change affecting New Jersey and write a claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) paragraph.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video on the basics of climate change.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students take notes while watching four videos on the impacts of climate change in New Jersey.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one of the impacts of climate change in New Jersey and write a paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.