Do Corporations Have an Obligation to Share Their Research?

Grades6-APScience, Social Studies, English Language Arts

Provided by Project Look Sharp

What it is

In this media literacy activity, students will analyze two video clips about Exxon's 1980s scientific research, which indicated a link between fossil fuels and rising global temperatures.
The videos make different claims as to the relevancy of the research and why Exxon chose to keep the information away from the public.
Students will investigate how the video producers' intentions and goals shaped the information in each video.

Positives

The lesson plan includes discussion questions for several academic subjects.
This lesson requires students to think critically about where information comes from and how the producer's intentions shape the viewer's understanding of the topic.

Additional Prerequisites

Teachers must create a free account to access the materials.
Teachers should research the sources so they are aware of their viewpoints and biases.
For more information about climate change misinformation, have students watch this video by the Climate Reality Project.

Differentiation

Students can respond to questions individually or in small groups before discussing their answers as a class.
Social studies classes could debate whether corporations are responsible for divulging information that could affect the well-being of people or the environment.
Science classes can evaluate the claims made in the two videos and discuss the way that scientific findings are generally shared with the scientific community and the public.
Other resources on this topic include this lesson on misinformation about climate change, this activity on identifying climate myths, and this NowThis Earth video on greenwashing.

This resource is recommended for teaching for students to decipher and extract energy data from Exxon.

Hosted on projectlooksharp.org

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Standards alignment · D2.Eco.1.6-8 + 12 more

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Eco.1.6-8Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society.
D2.Eco.9.6-8Describe the roles of institutions such as corporations, non-profits, and labor unions in a market economy.
D3.3.6-8Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources to support claims, noting evidentiary limitations.
D3.2.9-12Evaluate the credibility of a source by examining how experts value the source.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.1Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.6Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.9Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.2Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

MS-ESS3-5.Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
HS-ESS3-D.2.Through computer simulations and other studies, important discoveries are still being made about how the ocean, the atmosphere, and the biosphere interact and are modified in response to human activities. (HS-ESS3-6)