Curriculum / ELA / 8th Grade / Unit 5: Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions / Lesson 18
ELA
Unit 5
8th Grade
Lesson 18 of 23
Jump To
Engage in a Socratic Seminar with peers, responding directly to others by rephrasing and delineating arguments, determining the strength of evidence, and posing clarifying questions.
Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.
Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
(From An Inconvenient Sequel) Must we change?
(From An Inconvenient Sequel) Can we change?
(From An Inconvenient Sequel) Will we change?
What or who is responsible for climate change?
What is the role of young people within the climate movement?
What is the relationship between climate change, money, and power?
What is the role of literature within the climate movement?
Does individual action matter to limiting climate change?
Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson
Bring your most engaging lessons to life with comprehensive instructional guidance, detailed pacing, supports to meet every student's needs, and resources to strengthen your lesson planning and delivery.
SL.8.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.8.1.d — Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.
SL.8.3 — Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
SL.8.4 — Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.8.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
RI.8.1 — Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.8.1 — Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
SL.8.1.a — Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
SL.8.1.b — Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
SL.8.1.c — Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.
SL.8.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
W.8.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Lesson 17
Lesson 19
Explain how specific words, phrases, and structural choices develop tone in Greta Thunberg’s speeches, and how tone impacts meaning.
RI.8.4
Identify the key ideas Gore uses to support his claims about climate change and assess whether the evidence he provides is relevant and sufficient.
RI.8.8
Identify a writer’s claims in a text and explain how they support those claims, as well as how they respond to conflicting viewpoints.
RI.8.6 RI.8.8
Infer the meaning of unknown words using context clues, use reference materials to verify the meaning of words, and explain how word choice develops meaning in an informational article.
L.8.4 L.8.4.a L.8.4.c L.8.4.d RI.8.4
Explain how Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner specific words and phrases develop tone in a poem and how tone impacts meaning.
RL.8.4
Write objective summaries and determine central ideas in informational articles.
RI.8.2
Identify claims made in an informational article and assess the relevance and sufficiency of evidence provided to support those claims.
Explain how writer Abby Geni uses imagery and figurative language to establish mood and meaning in a short story.
RL.8.2 RL.8.4
Determine a theme in the short story, "Notes from a Bottle" and explain how the author develops it; identify literary allusions and explain how they help to build meaning in a text.
RL.8.2 RL.8.9
Writing
Research the possible impacts of climate change and begin to brainstorm aspects of setting for climate fiction narratives.
W.8.3 W.8.8 W.8.9
Draft two paragraphs vividly describing the setting of your climate fiction narrative.
W.8.3 W.8.3.a W.8.3.b W.8.3.d
Draft a short climate fiction scene.
W.8.3 W.8.3.a
L.8.2 L.8.2.a W.8.3 W.8.5
Compare and contrast the central arguments of two articles about climate change, and explain how one author acknowledges and responds to viewpoints that differ from their own.
RI.8.6 RI.8.9
Determine the central idea of sections of An Inconvenient Sequel and synthesize information in a short presentation that educates classmates.
RI.8.2 SL.8.4
Synthesize information about a young climate activist and create a short presentation that educates classmates.
Delineate arguments made about climate change and assess whether the evidence provided is relevant and sufficient.
Socratic Seminar
SL.8.1 SL.8.1.d SL.8.3 SL.8.4
Research the potential local impacts of climate change in preparation for writing a letter to a congressperson.
W.8.1 W.8.7 W.8.8 W.8.9
Outline a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1 W.8.1.a W.8.1.b W.8.5
Draft a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1 W.8.1.a W.8.1.b W.8.1.c W.8.1.e
L.8.3 L.8.3.a W.8.1 W.8.1.d
Assessment – 2 days
Create a free account to access thousands of lesson plans.
Already have an account? Sign In
See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.
Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.
Yes
No
Access rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free