Greenwashing: Media Literacy Lesson 6-8
Lesson Plan
1 hour 10 minutesGrades6, 7, 8English Language Arts, Career Skills
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Written by Christa Delaney
About this lesson
In this lesson, students analyze the concept of greenwashing of products.
Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch videos related to greenwashing and look at examples of green products on the market.
Step 2 - Investigate: Students design a green product with a marketing campaign.
Step 3 - Inspire: Students analyze the word choice that their peers used in their presentations of their product.
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Everything you need to teach it
How to edit these materials (video)Teaching tips
Positives
- Students create a product and then see what effect their product has on consumers. This will show students how greenwashing occurs within marketing campaigns.
- This lesson includes media literacy components.
Additional Prerequisites
- Teachers should be familiar with the term greenwashing and be able to explain what is regulated by the FDA and what is not regulated by the FDA.
- Teachers should understand the term green is not regulated by the FDA, but the term organic is regulated by the FDA.
Differentiation
- The term greenwashing is an abstract concept, so it may be hard for students to grasp. Showing other examples of greenwashing may help students better understand the concept.
- Teachers can show students different labels or advertisements and have students analyze whether they consider each example greenwashing or not.
From the scientist review
This lesson introduces students to greenwashing and then presents Trader Joe’s as a case study. Students are tasked with designing their own green product and an accompanying marketing plan. The lesson informs students how companies can mislead them with products that only seem environmentally friendly and gives tips on how to spot greenwashing. This lesson is recommended for teaching. (The only small issue with this lesson is that an advertisement for a VPN is included in the Trader Joe’s case study video, but that's just part of using resources from YouTube.)
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About the teacher writer
Christa Delaney
Christa Delaney holds a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies and Teacher Education from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and a Professional Science Master's in Environmental Studies and Sustainability from Unity College. She has been teaching since 2005 and has 21 years of experience teaching Advanced Placement Environmental Science to grades 11–12. Christa is certified to teach Biological Science and specializes in environmental science and sustainability education.
