Students explore human nature by studying the climate crisis and its causes and impact, and the role of government, businesses, and individuals in finding solutions.
In this penultimate eighth-grade unit, students will learn about one of the most urgent issues facing the planet today: climate change. While previous units have focused on historical events, this unit focuses students’ attention on a crisis unfolding all around them. While they will undoubtedly be familiar with the basic facts of climate change, this unit aims to provide students with some of the information and analytical tools needed to engage with this complex topic.
The core text of this unit is An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, by Al Gore. Gore’s 2006 film and book, An Inconvenient Truth, presented audiences with the current scientific research on climate change and sparked a worldwide conversation on the future of our planet. An Inconvenient Sequel is the 2017 follow-up, which includes the most up-to-date climate science, with a significant focus on the way individuals can take action to combat the crisis. This text is supplemented with a number of nonfiction articles that provide students with even more information about the way climate change is currently impacting people around the world and what people are doing today to fight back against politicians and large corporations that are standing in the way of solving this crisis. Additionally, students will read several examples of cli-fi, an emerging genre of science fiction that imagines what our future might look like if we don’t address climate change.
Students will have the opportunity to use what they have learned about the current and potential impacts of climate change—as well as the narrative writing skills they have developed throughout the year—to write their own cli-fi stories. They will conclude the unit by taking action and writing a persuasive letter to their elected officials, drawing on the texts they have studied throughout the unit.
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Book: An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore (Rodale Books, 2017)
Speech: “Greta Thunberg challenging The World Economic Forum in Davos - January 22 2019” (FridaysForFuture.org)
Video: “Greta Thunberg's full speech to world leaders at UN Climate Action Summit” (YouTube)
Website: How Do We Know Humans Are Causing Climate Change? (ClimateRealityProject.org)
Website: Are Humans the Cause? (ClimateChangeConnection.org)
Article: “The Marshall Islands Are Disappearing” by Coral Davenport (New York Times)
Poem: “United Nations Climate Summit Opening Ceremony - A Poem to My Daughter” by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner
Article: “'We're moving to higher ground': America's era of climate mass migration is here” by Oliver Milman (The Guardian)
Article: “As Rising Heat Bakes US Cities, The Poor Often Feel It Most” by Meg Anderson and Sean McMinn (NPR)
Article: “Notes from a Bottle” by James Stevenson (The New Yorker)
Article: “Time capsule found on the dead planet” by Margaret Atwood (The Guardian)
Article: “World After Water” by Abby Geni
Article: “Everything Change: An Anthology of Climate Fiction” by Manjana Milkoreit, Meredith Martinez, Joey Eschrich (Arizona State University, 2016)
Website: After Water Project
Short Story: “Flash Fiction: 'Endangered' By Christopher Stanley” by Christopher Stanley
Short Story: “Row” by Charmaine Wilkerson
Article: “What the new report on climate change expects from you” by Eliza Mackintosh (CNN)
Article: “Focusing on how individuals can stop climate change is very convenient for corporations” by Morten Fibieger Byskov (Fast Company)
Article: “Exxon Knew about Climate Change almost 40 years ago” by Shannon Hall (Scientific American)
Article: “Fishermen Sue Big Oil for Its Role in Climate Change” by Alastair Bland (NPR)
Video: “Why People Don't Believe in Climate Science” by It's Okay To Be Smart (YouTube)
Article: “The seven megatrends that could beat global warming: 'There is reason for hope'” by Damian Carrington (The Guardian)
Resource: Sample Letter to Legislators (Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP))
Resource: Sample Congressional Letter (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Resource: How to Write a Letter or Email (American Psychological Association)
This assessment accompanies Unit 5 and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
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“Greta Thurnberg World Economic Forum”
“Greta Thunberg UN Climate Action Summit”
RI.8.4
RI.8.7
Explain the impact of specific words and phrases on tone in Greta Thunberg’s speeches on climate change.
An Inconvenient Sequel pp. 10 – 27
RI.8.8
Identify the key ideas Gore uses to support his claims about climate change and assess whether the evidence he provides is relevant and sufficient.
How Do We Know?
Are Humans the Cause?
RI.8.8
Delineate arguments made about climate change and assess whether the evidence provided is relevant and sufficient.
An Inconvenient Sequel pp. 28 – 134 — (excluding pages 42–43, 61–63, 78–79, 98, 110–111, 117, 120–123, 128–129)
RI.8.2
W.8.2.a
W.8.8
Summarize and synthesize information from An Inconvenient Sequel and conduct independent research to supplement information from the text.
An Inconvenient Sequel pp. 28 – 134 — (excluding pages 42–43, 61–63, 78–79, 98, 110–111, 117, 120–123, 128–129)
RI.8.2
W.8.2.a
W.8.8
Create a cohesive and coherent poster that describes one of the significant impacts of a warming planet.
“The Marshall Islands”
RI.8.4
L.8.4.c
L.8.4.d
Determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases using context clues and explain the impact of word choice on tone.
“A Poem to My Daughter”
RL.8.4
RI.8.7
Explain how Jetnil-Kijiner uses specific words and phrases to create meaning and develop tone in her poem, and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different media in communicating ideas.
“We're moving...”
RI.8.4
Explain the impact of word choice on mood, tone, and meaning.
“As Rising Heat...”
RI.8.2
RI.8.5
Determine how an author develops a central idea over the course of an article through the use of supporting ideas and specific lines of text.
“Notes from a Bottle”
RL.8.2
RL.8.9
Explain how an author develops theme in a short story and how allusions to other texts and events help create meaning.
“Time capsule found...”
RL.8.4
Explain how Atwood uses literary devices in order to establish tone in her short story.
“World After Water”
RL.8.2
RL.8.4
L.8.5.a
Explain how the author’s use of figurative language establishes mood and develops meaning and a central idea.
Writing
“Everything Change” — Forward
After Water Project — especially Roxane Gay’s essay
“Row”
“Endangered”
RL.8.10
W.8.3
Identify the primary features of the genre of cli-fi through careful study of mentor texts.
Writing
“Everything Change” — Forward
After Water Project — especially Roxane Gay’s essay
“Endangered”
“Row”
W.8.3
W.8.3.b
W.8.3.d
Create a vivid setting for their cli-fi stories.
Writing
“Everything Change” — Forward
After Water Project — especially Roxane Gay’s essay
“Endangered”
“Row”
W.8.3
W.8.3.a
W.8.3.b
Add characters, dialogue, and a logical structure to their stories.
“What the new report...”
“Focusing on how individuals...”
An Inconvenient Sequel pp. 260 – 267
RI.8.9
Explain how two articles discussing solutions for the climate crisis interpret facts differently and draw different conclusions.
“Exxon Knew...”
“Fishermen Sue...”
RI.8.2
Objectively summarize and determine the central ideas of nonfiction texts.
An Inconvenient Sequel — 177–214, 276–293
RI.8.2
Determine the central idea of sections of text and synthesize information in order to educate classmates on a specific topic.
An Inconvenient Sequel pp. 226 – 237
“Why People Don't Believe in Climate Science”
RI.8.6
Explain the different approaches Gore takes to acknowledge and challenge misinformation about climate change.
An Inconvenient Sequel pp. 136 – 175
“The seven megatrends...” — Introduction, Section 1, Section 7, Conclusion
RI.8.8
Delineate arguments made about climate change and assess whether the evidence provided is relevant and sufficient.
Socratic Seminar
Socratic Seminar Guide
SL.8.1.c
SL.8.1.d
Engage in a Socratic Seminar with their classmates, summarizing the positions of others and posing questions that draw connections between their ideas and classmates' ideas.
Writing
Letter to Legislators
Congressional Letter
How to... — 9 Essential Tips for Writing to Your Congressperson
W.8.1
W.8.8
Identify the features of a successful letter to congress, collect information on their representatives’ voting record on climate change, and begin to craft a strong hook.
Writing
Congressional Letter
Letter to Legislators
How to... — 9 Essential Tips for Writing to Your Congressperson
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
W.8.1.b
W.8.1.e
Draft strong persuasive letters that clearly communicate their position.
Writing
Letter to Legislators
Congressional Letter
How to... — 9 Essential Tips for Writing to Your Congressperson
W.8.1
W.8.1.c
W.8.1.d
Revise their letters for form and style, using strong clauses to create cohesion between ideas.
2 days
Assessment