In this lesson, students analyze how art and poetry can be used to talk about climate justice and write their own climate change poem with a message of hope.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students read the poem “Dear Matafele Peinem” by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner and reflect on what they noticed, wondered, and felt about the poems.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students analyze a poem and investigate how climate change is affecting communities and people around the world.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students use the information they collected to create a piece of poetry about a climate change issue.

In this lesson, students analyze a speech by a youth climate activist before researching, writing, and presenting their own speech.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students reflect on the impact of climate change on communities, explore the importance of public speaking and discuss the qualities of a compelling public speaker.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch and annotate a speech by a youth climate activist, and collaborate on a list of best practices for writing and performing speeches.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students research, write, and present a speech about a climate change topic.

In this lesson, students explore the concept of ecocriticism, analyze a brief text, and write a short poem with an ecocritical lens.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students take a virtual or actual nature walk and take notes on their observations.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about literary criticism, take notes on ecocriticism, and analyze a short story through the lens of ecocriticism.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students write a short poem using notes from their nature walk and write a brief artist statement through the lens of ecocriticism.

In this lesson, students learn about food miles, analyze an article about eating locally, and work in groups to write their own informational article about how to manage food miles.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students play a guessing game related to food miles.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students analyze a text about eating locally, looking for headings, subheadings, and pull quotes.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students work in small groups to write an article addressing the importance of food miles and what action the community can take to manage them.