In this video, teenage climate activist Xiye Bastida narrates a letter to her grandmother about hope, resilience, and climate activism.
Students will hear Xiye's personal story, vision for the future, and inspirational call to action.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The video makes a strong case for intergenerational collective action.
A timestamped transcript is available for students who need support following along.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should know that Abuelita means grandmother.
Differentiation
Language arts or writing classes could write letters about climate action to family members as a persuasive writing activity.
Students could work in small groups to research Greta Thunberg, Al Gore, Bill McKibben, Jay Inslee, and Naomi Klein and then present their findings to the class.
Students could compare and contrast Xiye Bastida's letter with this video, which features an artistic presentation of an apology to future generations.
Scientist Notes
This resource is about climate activism, an important element for motivating students to take climate action. This is recommended for teaching.
Standards
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.2.6-8 Explain specific roles played by citizens (such as voters, jurors, taxpayers, members of the armed forces, petitioners, protesters, and office-holders).
D2.Civ.10.6-8 Explain the relevance of personal interests and perspectives, civic virtues, and democratic principles when people address issues and problems in government and civil society.
D2.Civ.12.9-12 Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
Dimension 4: Taking Informed Action
D4.7.6-8 Assess their individual and collective capacities to take action to address local, regional, and global problems, taking into account a range of possible levers of power, strategies, and potential outcomes.
