The Urgency of Climate Action

• This is a 30-60-minute media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two video clips that will inspire young people to become climate change champions.
• The first video is of Desmond Tutu discussing the urgent need for climate action.
• The second video is a clip from the documentary An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, which is about Former Vice President Al Gore's continued climate change advocacy.

Positives

• The lesson plan has discussion questions for social studies, science, ELA, and media literacy, which teachers can select from to customize this activity.
• The lesson plan and the videos can be downloaded and used offline.

Additional Prerequisites

• Teachers should review the "How to Use These Materials" document prior to using the activity with students.
• Teachers must create a free Project Look Sharp account to access these materials.

Differentiation

• This activity can vary in length depending on how it is used. For a shorter activity like a bellringer or hook, teachers can select one or two questions, and for a longer activity, more questions can be used.
• This activity is ideal for creating awareness about the lives of people in underdeveloped countries.
• This can be used in a media literacy class to discuss the use of effects, music, and other filmmaking techniques.
• Students could use these videos as inspiration to create their own videos encouraging climate action.
• Other similar activities by Project Look Sharp include What Is Environmental Justice?, Community Responses to Climate Disaster Recovery, and Transition to Renewable Energy Now.