Black Lives Matter and Climate Change: What's the Connection?

Lesson Plans

Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APEarth and Space Sciences, Civics, English Language Arts

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Project Look Sharp

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What it is

This media literacy lesson from Project Look Sharp helps students identify factual news information from opinion by analyzing two different articles about climate change and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Students will use critical thinking skills to evaluate the content of the articles and answer the selected questions.

Teaching tips

Positives

The lesson includes decoding questions related to many different subjects: social studies, science, ELA, and media literacy.
The lesson plan and student activities can be used digitally or printed.

Prerequisites

Teachers will need to make a free account with Project Look Sharp to access the resources.
Teachers will benefit from reading the Activity Plan and How-To Guide for student differentiation recommendations.

Differentiation & Implementation

Civics, geography, and English teachers could use this lesson alongside the StC lesson about Cancer Alley or this other environmental justice lesson.
This lesson could be used to engage students in the topic before they conduct their own research to come up with explanations and identify solutions.
Other related resources to extend this lesson are The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S and How Will Climate Change Disproportionately Affect Low-Income Communities and Communities of Color.

From the scientist review

The resource provides detailed activities on the social and environmental impacts of climate change on low-income households and people of color. It reflects how minorities are worst hit by climate change and the related environmental hazards. This is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Civics, English Language Arts
Other types: Articles/Websites
Format: PDF
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: Project Look Sharp
Authors: Project Look Sharp, Sox Sperry
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5 + 6 more

Connecticut Climate Education Hub

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Standards

MW.Civ.14.a.Analyze means of protecting or limiting human rights in the 20th century (e.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations Resolution 181, Partition of India, Dirty War in Argentina, Cultural Revolution in China, Khmer Rouge, Stolen Generations in Australia).
MW.Geo.5.a.Evaluate the multinational political and economic agreements that have led to changes in cultural and environmental characteristics among and within nations (e.g., European Union, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, North American Free Trade Agreement, Trans-Pacific Partnership, International Monetary Fund).
MW.Civ.12.a.Analyze how individuals and groups advocate for economic, political, and social change in international contexts (e.g., legislation, courts, resistance, protest, boycott, conscious consumerism).

Connecticut Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

HS-ESS3-1.Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
HS-ETS1-2.Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

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