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Author

The All We Can Save Project

Grades

9th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Subjects

Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Health

Resource Types

  • Projects
  • Lesson Plans

Regional Focus

Global

All We Can Save Circles

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Synopsis
  • This resource is a guide for creating and facilitating a climate support group for discussing, reflecting, connecting, and learning about the climate crisis. 
  • The guide includes ten outlines for leading "Circle" meetings that begin with introductions and end with ideas for moving forward.
  • Each includes an opening, check-in, discussion, journal prompt, closing, workplace exploration (which could easily translate to a school, or district, or community exploration), and a list of supplementary reading and listening materials. 
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • This resource will create a safe space for caring and ready-for-action learners to connect with each other. 
  • Each session is laid out in the same format and includes a wealth of interesting and thought-provoking topics and resources to discuss and learn from. 

Additional Prerequisites

  • A circle would best be formed from students who have learned about the climate crisis and are open to discussing their feelings about it. 
  • Before each session, go through and choose a few of the supplemental materials to focus on, as the entire list may be too much to accomplish or discuss in one sitting. 

Differentiation

  • This resource would work well in science and language arts classes, as the work is so intertwined between the subjects. 
  • A circle could be formed from an entire small class or a larger class could be broken into groups.
  • Consider grouping students based on how open they are to having honest and meaningful dialogues, as this is a major component of the project. 
  • As an extension, suggest that interested students lead their own circles outside of the classroom in their community. 
  • Other related resources include this lesson about having climate change conversations, this video about the push to create doubt about climate change, and this activity about young people taking climate action.
Scientist Notes
Students would be able to collaborate within their circles, gain deep insights, and ignite their "superpowers" from the sessions to co-create site-specific climate projects and conversations in their community. This is ideal for teaching.
Standards
  • College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
    • Dimension 4: Taking Informed Action
      • D4.6.9-12 Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place.
      • D4.7.9-12 Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
      • D4.8.9-12 Apply a range of deliberative and democratic strategies and procedures to make decisions and take action in their classrooms, schools, and out-of-school civic contexts.
  • Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
    • Language (K-12)
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
    • Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
    • Reading: Literature (K-12)
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
    • Speaking & Listening (K-12)
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
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