This written interview with a climate activist touches on the efforts of young Wisconsinites to fight climate change, climate justice, climate anxiety, and the need for inclusion within environmentally-focused movements.
Students will learn about the Youth Climate Action Team in Wisconsin that was started to address climate justice and mobilize youth to take action.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This interview provides a personal story that students may connect with.
This interview is concise and thought-provoking.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should understand how BIPOC communities and other groups globally may be disproportionately impacted by natural disasters.
Students should understand the following terms: BIPOC, ethnocentric, tokenize, and First Nations.
Differentiation
This article could supplement a lesson on the social and emotional impacts of climate anxiety.
This article could enhance a lesson about environmental racism and how it fits within the context of climate change.
After reading the article, the teacher could lead a classroom discussion on why different parts of the world are more vulnerable to climate change than others.
This article could augment a classroom discussion on why young people are so motivated to act on climate change.
Scientist Notes
This resource from the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts is an interview with Youth Climate Action Team's co-founder, Stephanie Janeth Salgado Altamirano. After discussing the work of the Youth Climate Action Team, the interview turns to issues of environmental injustice and climate anxiety. More than anything, this resource shows students how youth, particularly those from marginalized communities, can effectively advocate for climate justice. Closing with a hopeful tone, this interview reassures young people that they are not fighting a losing battle. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.5.9-12 Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: History/Social Studies (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
National Health Education Standards
Standard 1: Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
1.12.3 Analyze how environment and personal health are interrelated.
