Young Voices for the Planet: Words Have Power

• This video presents the story of Jaysa Hunter-Mellers, a young activist from Bridgeport, Connecticut whose testimony helped shut down a coal-fired power plant.
  
• Students will see that children can fight for environmental justice and address environmental threats through civic actions and words. 

Positives

• This video and the additional links in the description can inspire students to take action to protect the environment.
• This video has a powerful message related to environmental justice, environmental racism, and one person's ability to make change.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be familiar with the following concepts: air pollution, environmental racism, activism, and burning fossil fuels.
• Teachers can check out the various articles and videos on Jaysa's awards, projects, and press releases.
• The coal plant in Bridgeport, CT was officially closed in June 2021.

Differentiation

• In ELA classes, the teacher could show students the video and ask them to write a paragraph about the impact of words to make a positive change.
• In art classes, the teacher could ask students to make a piece of art that depicts the powerful words Jaysa Hunter-Mellers.
• This video can be used for a class discussion about environmental racism.
• It can be used as a starting point for a lesson on action to restore the environment or on air pollution and its impacts on human health.