Youth Climate Story: Coal Ash in North Carolina

Lesson Plans

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Social Studies, Biology, Health

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Provided by ACE
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What it is

  • This video is about a young individual and her community in NC that are impacted by coal ash waste.
  • The resource also provides lesson plans about the effects of climate pollution in "Belleville" and an introduction to climate justice.

Teaching tips

Positives

  • The activities get students working together in groups, communicating, thinking critically, and practicing empathy.
  • This video connects climate pollution with decreases in human health, while highlighting the inequities of climate pollution.

Additional Prerequisites

  • The video is available without an account but teachers must create a free account to access the lesson plans.
  • There are teacher preparation resources linked in the lesson plans.  
  • You will need to prepare some materials prior to starting the lessons.

Differentiation

  • Students could work in groups for the issue mapping section of the Climate Justice lesson plan to help each other come up with the various connections to climate change.
  • For the "Belleville" lesson, students could act out a short play using the four roles identified in the lesson.
  • This video could be used in a social studies or economics class when discussing the environmental and public health costs of using toxic materials to produce energy. 
  • Other resources about climate justice and pollution include this article by the Climate Reality Project, this interactive resource about air pollution, and this StC lesson plan.

From the scientist review

Coal ash is harmful to environmental and human health, this resource explained the impact it poses in North Carolina. The resource is recommended for teaching.

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