Celebrate Earth Month 2025! Explore our Earth Month calendar to engage students in climate action 🌎 Read More

Liz Ransom

Education Specialist

As a High School Spanish teacher and student newspaper advisor, Liz has taught for over 20 years and has served as World Languages Department Chair and K-6 summer camp activities leader. She has worked in Ohio, Maine, New Jersey, Maryland, and Chile.

Lesson Plans

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Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: La Rutina Diaria y el Plástico
This lesson explores ways to reduce carbon emissions through the reduction of disposable plastics in daily routines.
 
Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a music video and identify actions and objects in the daily routine associated with disposable plastics.
 
Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about the connection between plastics and climate change.
 
Step 3 - Inspire: Students explore efforts in Spanish-speaking countries to reduce plastic consumption, and then complete an individual or group project.
Grade 9-12
Subject Spanish
Resource Type Lesson Plan
K-2 Thumbnails
Lesson Plan

Los animales y el clima: Spanish Science Lesson
In this lesson, students learn Spanish phrases about animals, climates, and simple actions to save energy at home. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a music video and play games to learn about animals and why climate is important to the animals.  

Step 2 - Investigate: Students listen to a story from Chile about children taking action to save energy at home. 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create postcards in Spanish showing how they will protect Earth’s climate.
Grade k-2
Subject Earth and Space Sciences
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: How to Save Energy At Home

In this lesson, students learn about the impact of household energy use on climate change and compare and contrast strategies to reduce emissions in Chile and the United States. 


Step 1 - Inquire: Students share observations and questions about the impact of households on climate change. 


Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore the sources and uses of electricity in households in Chile and the United States. 


Step 3 - Inspire: Students identify ways to promote household energy efficiency and conduct class surveys about habits.

Grade 6-8
Subject Spanish
Resource Type Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan

Spanish Science Lesson: El colibrí y el cambio climático
In this lesson, students learn the importance of migratory hummingbirds and how to help them face the impacts of climate change. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students listen to a legend about a hummingbird from the Nasca culture in Peru and wonder about the events in the story.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore the diversity of hummingbirds in North America and imagine the life of the ruby-throated hummingbird as it faces the impacts of climate change. 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students reflect on efforts to support hummingbirds in Mexico and create an imaginative response of their own.
Grade 3-5
Subject Biology,Spanish
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: Un Cuento de Peces

In this lesson, students play a game about fishing, write a story about what happened, and learn how climate change impacts fish populations.

 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students describe photos depicting different ways of fishing and discuss their knowledge and experience of fishing.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students play the fish game, a role-play about a fishing community.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students make connections between a news report about climate change and the results of the fish game and create a comic strip to tell the story.

Grade 9-12
Subject Spanish
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: Las Tradiciones Pesqueras

In this lesson, students explore the impact of climate change on small-scale fishing communities and best practices for building resilience.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students interpret infographics, play a game, and share what they know about the impact of climate change on fishing.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students deepen their understanding of sustainable small-scale fishing through a matching exercise and a tic-tac-toe research activity.

 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create a mural to educate others about the importance of supporting sustainable, small-scale fishing.

Grade 9-12
Subject Spanish
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: Recetas de Pescado Sostenible

In this lesson, students play a game, participate in communicative activities, and research recipes to explore the role of consumers in supporting climate change resilience in the oceans.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students describe photos and talk about cultural traditions related to eating fish and seafood.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students play an interactive board game to explore the challenges of buying and selling sustainable, climate-resilient fish.


Step 3 - Inspire: Students research and present recipes for a class competition, “La Gran Receta de los Océanos.”

Grade 9-12
Subject Spanish
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: Cambio Climático y el Buen Vivir
In this lesson, students identify the causes and consequences of climate change, explore the Indigenous cosmovision of El Buen Vivir, and reflect on the values needed to live within the ecological limits of the planet.


Step 1 - Inquire: Students brainstorm what it means to “live well” from different perspectives.


Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch a video, participate in a collaborative activity to explore the causes and consequences of climate change, and reflect on how climate change interferes with living well.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students learn about the Indigenous cosmovision of El Buen Vivir and identify values in their own culture that can help address climate change.
Grade 9-12
Subject Spanish
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Journalism Lesson: Pitch the Idea
In this lesson, students explore how journalism addresses the climate crisis and write a pitch for a feature article.

Inquire: Students participate in a climate journalism scavenger hunt, brainstorm what makes a story compelling, and explore the differences between news and feature articles.
Investigate: Students become familiar with climate change basics, choose a topic for their feature article, and outline a plan to investigate their topic.
Inspire: Students write a persuasive pitch for a feature article about the climate crisis.
Grade 9-12
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Journalism Lesson: Research the Facts
In this lesson, students explore best practices for climate change journalism used by professional journalists, learn the importance of countering disinformation, and play a game to hone their skills. Students then begin research for their article about the climate crisis.

Inquire: Students analyze best practices for climate change journalism and teach each other through a collaborative presentation.
Investigate: Students play a game in which they practice critical thinking skills and learn to identify and debunk disinformation.
Inspire: Students conduct background research for their climate change article.
Grade 9-12
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Journalism Lesson: Interviews and Inclusivity
In this lesson, students explore best practices for climate change journalism, including best practices for reducing bias and promoting equity and fairness in reporting. Students analyze the role of interviews in feature articles, then plan and conduct interviews for their own climate change articles.

Inquire: Students describe an image, reflect on how bias can interfere with impartiality, and brainstorm the role of interviews in reporting climate change topics.
Investigate: Students review the equity checklist for journalists, explore the use of quotes in climate journalism, and refine their list of people to interview for their article.
Inspire: Students learn interview techniques, write interview questions, and conduct interviews for their article about the climate crisis.
Grade 9-12
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan

Journalism Lesson: Writing a Feature Article
In this lesson, students explore the role of journalism in addressing the climate crisis by writing a feature article. Students analyze the terms and phrases that most effectively convey the reality of the climate crisis, then integrate their research, interviews, and reporting into a compelling, cohesive story.

Inquire: Students evaluate the first sentences from articles about climate change, learn the format of feature articles, and write an outline for their own articles.
Investigate: Students explore the climate journalism best practice of “know the science but talk like a real person” by rewriting scientific jargon into comprehensible language.
Inspire: Students write, peer review, and edit a feature article about the climate crisis
Grade 9-12
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson ¿Cómo son los ríos?
In this bilingual Spanish lesson, students listen to a book about the Passaic River, discuss what they learned, and start to create their own book.

Inquire: Students share what they know about rivers.
Investigate: Students listen to the first chapter of a read aloud about the Passaic River and discuss their reactions.
Inspire: Students create the first pages of their own book about rivers.
Grade k-2
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
K-2 Thumbnails (30)
Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: La salud de los ríos
Students listen to a book about the Passaic River, learn about healthy rivers, and create the next pages of their book.

Inquire: Students brainstorm the ways that a river can become unhealthy.
Investigate: Students listen to the second chapter of a read aloud about the Passaic River and discuss their reactions.
Inspire: Students identify activities that might harm a river and create the next section of their take-home book about rivers.
Grade k-2
Subject English Language Arts
Resource Type Lesson Plan
K-2 Thumbnails (31)
Lesson Plan

Spanish Lesson: Podemos ayudar a los ríos
In this bilingual Spanish lesson, students listen to a book about the Passaic River, learn about ways people help rivers, and finish creating their book.

Inquire: Students brainstorm the kinds of problems that could be solved individually, and the kinds of problems that need a team or groups of people to solve.
Investigate: Students listen to the last chapter of a read aloud about the Passaic River and discuss their reactions.
Inspire: Students create the last two pages in their take-home book about rivers, then share their books with each other.
Grade k-2
Subject Social Studies,English Language Arts,Health
Resource Type Lesson Plan
9-12 Thumbnails (29)
Lesson Plan

World Languages Lesson: Youth Climate Activism
Students use the target language to discuss childhood and the impact of climate change on children. Students explore readings and videos in the target language and compare Fridays for Future and other youth climate activism in Francophone or Spanish-language cultures with their own community. The class collaborates to create a multi-language display to inspire and educate others.

Inquire: Students use the target language to reflect on their childhoods and learn about the impact of climate change on children.
Investigate: Using target-language texts and audiovisual materials, students explore the demands and strategies of youth climate activists in target-language cultures.
Inspire: Students create a display depicting the impact of the climate crisis on children and the voices of youth climate activists across the globe.
Grade 9-12
Subject Spanish,French
Resource Type Lesson Plan
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