In this media literacy activity, students analyze three videos about environmental injustice.
Students will discuss the different ways in which each video explains the causes and effects of environmental injustice.
This resource includes a student lesson plan and three video clips.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The lesson plan includes discussion questions for several academic subjects.
Students will see how three filmmakers chose to focus on different aspects of environmental injustice.
Additional Prerequisites
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Differentiation
Students could respond to questions individually or in small groups before discussing their answers as a class.
Students could discuss how the solutions presented in the three videos could be combined into a policy or plan. As they discuss their answers students could consider the following questions:
Is there a way to create a plan that could garner bipartisan approval?
Who should be involved in creating the plan?
What are the primary obstacles to achieving environmental justice?
Civics or social studies classes could discuss environmental policy shifts that have occurred during Biden's term in office.
Other resources on this topic include this EPA interactive map that acts as an environmental justice screening tool and this lesson and activity on building an equitable city.
Scientist Notes
The resource provides a good explanation of the concept of environmental justice. It is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Science and Engineering
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-5 Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth’s systems.
ETS1: Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
English Language Arts
Reading (K-12)
R.6-8.5 Provide an accurate summary of various texts; determine the central idea(s) or theme(s) and analyze its development throughout each text.
R.6-8.9 Assess how perspective or purpose shapes the content and style of various texts.
Social Studies
Geography
Geography 1 (F2): Students understand the geography of the United States and various regions of the world and the effect of geographic influences on decisions about the present and future by evaluating and developing a well-supported position about the impact of change on the physical and cultural environment.
Geography 1 (D2): Students understand the geography of the United States and various regions of the world and the effect of geographic influences on decisions about the present and future by using inquiry to predict and evaluate consequences of geographic influences.
