In this media literacy activity, students compare two conflicting perspectives on effective recovery from climate disasters.
Students read an opinion piece and the summary of a governmental report, and analyze the ideas presented using guiding questions.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The lesson plan contains possible questions for media decoding that are differentiated based on what subject you teach: social studies, science, ELA, and media literacy.
The lesson plan and student activity worksheet can be downloaded and used offline.
Additional Prerequisites
Teachers should download and review the How to Use Materials section associated with this activity. A free account with Project Look Sharpis required to do this.
The activity time may vary depending on the Educator's approach.
Differentiation
This activity can be used as an introductory exercise, instead of an entire lesson, by selecting one or two questions to lead a lively ten-minute classroom decoding.
Students can be encouraged to write a letter to the editor or the leader of their local community asking for action to be taken regarding an identified climate challenge.
To focus this lesson on social-emotional learning, classes can discuss community resilience, mental health impacts of natural disasters, and injustices related to relief efforts.
Similar resources include this video about surviving a climate disaster, this lesson about the emotional impact of hurricanes, and this personal story of a hurricane in Florida.
Scientist Notes
This resource provides students the skills to learn and understand the underlying social and cultural factors for disaster recovery and resilience and response. There is no contradiction in the resource and it is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-1 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
ETS1: Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-2 Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.13.9-12 Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
D2.Civ.14.9-12 Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.
