This 8-lesson toolkit can help teachers and adults guide students through activities and worksheets to explore their emotions related to climate change and compose their own personal climate story.
This guide provides excellent context related to eco-anxiety, social-emotional learning pedagogy, and self-reflection. and provides instructional strategies for each lesson.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The series of lessons effectively scaffolds a student's journey in exploring their place in nature to taking action for climate change.
The printable worksheets use excellent images and clear, simple layouts to support students.
The lesson plan and background learning theory provided to teachers are thorough and helpful.
Additional Prerequisites
This toolkit is a compliment to a curriculum by Little Green Thumbs called "Plants, People, and Climate Change." The lessons in the toolkit can be completed with or without completing the complimentary curriculum.
Differentiation
The eight lessons can be done in a series or individually depending on classroom objectives.
Samples of climate stories are provided for students to use as models as they craft their own. Consider having students present their climate stories to the class after they finish their writing assignment.
This video also addresses climate anxiety and this video highlights the power of climate storytelling.
The lessons are interdisciplinary, covering topics in science, social studies, and English Language Arts.
Scientist Notes
The resource includes lessons to encourage students to share their climate-related experiences, get over their fears, and work as a team to take immediate climate action. It is suggested for use in classrooms because the objectives, anticipated results, and course modules are all included in the resource.
Standards
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
Writing (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 4: Taking Informed Action
D4.7.3-5 Explain different strategies and approaches students and others could take in working alone and together to address local, regional, and global problems, and predict possible results of their actions.
