This lesson plan connects intergenerational justice with the federal budget.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a TED video by Roman Krznaric called “How to Be a Good Ancestor." It allows students to see sustainability from a future perspective.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore usaspending.gov and examine spending by federal agency in the fiscal year 2022. In groups, students design a budget for the federal government. Some students represent people living now while other students represent people living seven generations in the future.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students reflect on what it feels like to represent those living now and those living seven generations in the future. Finally, students share, comment, and deepen each other’s ideas and opinions.

This lesson introduces African environmentalist Wangari Maathai and links deforestation with the concepts of governance, poverty, and income opportunities for women in Kenya. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video explaining ways to monitor the world's forests. Next, students explore the Global Forest Watch Interactive Map showing the health of the world's forests.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch a video about Wangari Maathai & The Green Belt Movement. Students answer guided questions as they watch the video.

Step 3 - Inspire: Teacher reads Wangari Maathai’s version of the “hummingbird story.” After listening, students write pledges about how they can contribute to restoring our Earth.

This lesson is about the distribution and density of trees in urban areas and how that relates to environmental justice. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore a spreadsheet, map, and two graphs showing urban forest cover and its connection to wealth and race.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students watch two videos and take notes on the benefits of trees.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students complete a written reflection noticing the distribution of trees near their homes.

In this lesson, students will analyze Amanda Gorman's poem "Earthrise" and write their own poetry.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch Amanda Gorman perform her poem “Earthrise.”

Step 2 - Investigate: In groups, students analyze one stanza of “Earthrise.” Students take notes and then share their thinking with the rest of the class.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students write their own poem, drawing inspiration from “Earthrise.”

This lesson features powerful imagery from the climate crisis, inspired by the California wildfires. Students choose one photograph and write an ekphrastic poem about that photograph. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Teacher facilitates a brief discussion using a photograph of the California wildfires in 2020.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students review photographs related to the climate crisis from Climate Visuals Gallery. Students select one photograph and write an ekphrastic poem about that photograph.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students share their poems with the rest of the class.

In this lesson, students learn about climate change, choose one impact of climate change, and write a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video on the basics of climate change.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students take notes while watching four videos on the impacts of climate change.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one of the impacts of climate change and write a paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.

This lesson shows that different foods have different environmental impacts. Students will calculate ratios and practice proportional thinking. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore an interactive bar graph showing the resources it takes to create our food.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students select different foods that they wish to compare. Students complete a series of mathematical calculations showing their knowledge of arithmetic and ratios.

Step 3 - Inspire: In groups, students discuss what they have learned and answer several questions.

In this lesson, students calculate their own carbon footprint using Peter Kalmus's methodology in his book Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a short video on the climate crisis. Students engage in a brief discussion on the prompt "Do my individual actions matter?"

Step 2 - Investigate: Students calculate their own carbon footprints.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students engage in a discussion, reflecting on this activity and the importance of individual actions.

This lesson features a comparison of different travel options from New York City to six other cities. Students compare walking, biking, driving, taking the bus, riding the train, and flying. Students conduct research and calculate the CO₂e for each travel option.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a short video on the climate crisis. In groups, students explore and discuss emissions from the transportation sector.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students are assigned one route between New York City and another city in the Northeast. Students calculate miles, cost, time, and CO₂e for each travel option for their route.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students participate in a group discussion about the results and explore different ways to decarbonize our transportation system.

In this lesson, students learn about climate change, choose one solution to climate change, and write a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph explaining why they believe it is the best solution to climate change.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video on the basics of climate change.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students take notes while watching four videos of solutions to climate change.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one of the solutions to climate change and write a paragraph explaining why they believe it is the best solution to climate change.

In this lesson, students explore increased precipitation and sea level rise in New Jersey and advocate for a climate adaptation strategy. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students explore two interactive maps showing increased precipitation and sea level rise in New Jersey.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn the causes of increased precipitation and sea level rise in New Jersey.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students choose and advocate for a climate adaptation strategy by communicating to leaders in government and business.

In this lesson, students conduct research on electric bicycles and electric cars, choose one of these technologies, and create a video promoting its use as a climate solution. 

Step 1 - Inquire: Students view a series of images related to bicycles and cars and discuss their emotional reactions with a partner.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students investigate the benefits and drawbacks of electric bicycles and electric cars.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create a video advertisement advocating for electric bicycles or electric cars.

In this lesson, students explore how climate change is impacting public health in New Jersey, understand the difference between climate mitigation and climate adaptation, and create a video advocating for a climate adaptation strategy related to public health in New Jersey.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch What Are the Implications of Climate Change for Public Health? and discuss how the video relates to emotions and justice.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn the difference between climate mitigation and adaptation and explore example climate adaptation strategies related to public health in New Jersey.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one climate adaptation strategy related to public health in New Jersey, conduct research, and create a video.

In this lesson, students learn how redlining connects to tree equity and racial justice.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students learn definitions of redlining and systemic racism and explore the Mapping Inequality tool.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore the connection between redlining and tree equity.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students share their new knowledge, discuss possible solutions to environmental inequality, and complete a written reflection.

In this lesson, students choose one impact of climate change affecting New Jersey and write a claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) paragraph.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch a video on the basics of climate change.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students take notes while watching four videos on the impacts of climate change in New Jersey.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students select one of the impacts of climate change in New Jersey and write a paragraph explaining why they believe it is the worst impact of climate change.

In this lesson, students explore the intersection of music and climate change and create their own original rap songs.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students share fun facts about hip-hop, learn about hip-hop as a cultural and social movement, and view examples of hip-hop intersecting with environmental concepts.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students research a climate change topic and create a class rubric for evaluating student-created raps.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students create and share an original rap about a climate change topic as a means to express their feelings and emotions through music.