Youth Climate Story: Climate Justice and Air Pollution in Illinois

• In this video, Tonyisha explains how marginalized communities in Chicago are being impacted by climate change and what young people can do to take action. 
• The resource includes two lesson plans about environmental justice, a student worksheet, and a voting activity.
  

Positives

• This video provides a personal narrative from a young person in an at-risk community.
• There are many ways to expand on this topic using the linked lesson plans and activity.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• The video is available without an account but teachers must create a free account to access the lesson plans and additional materials.

Differentiation

• The video can be a hook for social studies and civics lessons. 
  
• The Plotting Trends lesson could be used in a math or science class when learning about data analysis and graphing.
• The video could be used to preface a class discussion about the effects of pollution on low-income communities, communities of color, and Indigenous communities.
• Other resources related to this topic include EPA's Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool and How Empowering Women and Girls Can Help Stop Global Warming.
  

Critical insight is provided to enable students to become more conscious in taking climate action. The video demonstrated the need to advocate for climate and environmental justice and vote for politicians who have great interest in tackling climate change. In the video, please note this oversight or error "industries harming soil pollution". Besides that, the resource is suitable and recommended for teaching.