Climate Action: Civic Action
Teacher Resources
Lesson Guide
All the lessons in Unit 5 offer an opportunity for extended project-based learning, ideal for 1–3 weeks of classroom time. To get a better sense of what’s included in this lesson, check out the Lesson Guide.
Unit 5 Guide
We strongly recommend that you pick just one lesson from this unit—don’t teach them all sequentially! The Unit 5 Guide offers a quick preview of each lesson.
Driving Question: What actions will make a difference in your community?
Climate change is a global problem, but it impacts communities in different ways. Use what you’ve learned about the issue to think about how you can address climate challenges where you live.
Learning Objectives:
- Evaluate climate action campaigns.
- Create a plan for civic action.
Vocab Terms:
- advocacy
- proposal
- resolution
These ideas worked elsewhere—are they a good fit for your community?
To extend this activity, have students research other examples of student climate action and evaluate whether those approaches could work in the context of their community.
What are students doing to address climate change? Read about real-life student action in the graphic biographies and use the activity to reflect on what you learned.
This activity asks students to develop a climate action plan for their community. If time and resources are available, it will be empowering for students to actually bring these plans to life!
Students can also extend this work by turning their action plan into a capstone project, an after-school club, or a community-based initiative that engages local partners and stakeholders.
3, 2, 1…Action! Research, plan, and take steps to tackle climate change—then turn your ideas into a solid action plan.
So, can individuals actually make a difference? Think about your own experience to decide.
