If You Adults Won't Save the World, We Will

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Civics

Provided by TED

What it is

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.

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

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.

This resource is about climate activism, an important element for motivating students to take climate action. This is recommended for teaching.

Hosted on ted.com

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Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Civics
Format: Downloadable MP4/M4V
Language: English
Location: Earth, North America, North America > United States, North America > United States > New York, North America > United States > New York > New York
Provider: TED
Authors: Xiye Bastida, TED
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Civ.2.6-8 + 3 more

Core Standards legacy

D2.Civ.2.6-8D2.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.10.6-8D2.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.
D4.7.6-8D4.7.6-8 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.
D2.Civ.12.9-12D2.Civ.12.9-12 Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.