"Painting Happy Trees" Won't Save Them

Colin, C. (2019). Little México. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from http://carloscolin.mx/portfolio/uncategorized/little-mexico/ Carlos Colín is an artist who had his own art installation at the Reach Art Gallery in Abbotsford, BC. He focused on the work that Mexican men contribute to the Canadian economy by working in the farm fields every year, often for long hours and little pay. His exhibit depicted a mix of human and physical geography and can be included in lessons on migration, physical geography, agriculture, and climate change. This  resource is a strong addition to lesson plans as it is both interactive and informative. Given the lack of field trips in schools because of the pandemic, this website allows students to still have an experience of walking through and browsing the exhibit. Another benefit to this is that even if field trips were permitted, this art exhibit is considered a travelling one and is no longer physically available. By “walking through” the exhibit, ...

Raeside, A. (2020, September 19). Smoky Air [Digital image]. Retrieved December 09, 2020, from https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/editorial-cartoon/adrian-raeside-cartoon-smoky-air-1.24206052 This political cartoon is an image that conveys to students the long-developing consequences of climate change. The top image is set to be in 1990 and it suggests to students that the measures implemented up to now are not as effective as they may have been intended originally. The image does a really good job of conveying to students the deteriorating air quality as well as relates forest fires to climate change. The year 2020 has not been the first year of global warming forest fires and I believe this image is a strong support to emphasize that. This image can be used as a warm-up image in a lesson on natural disasters connected to climate change. Especially in the younger grades of the curriculum, there are opportunities for teachers to focus on natural disasters and so by showing this im...

Joseph, B. (2016, January 26). Indigenous Peoples Worldviews vs Western Worldviews. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/indigenous-peoples-worldviews-vs-western-worldviews This website’s article defines what a western worldview is and goes further to compare those worldviews with some that are held by Indigenous groups. This resource stood out to me for two reasons. One reason is I feel that it expands my own knowledge and therefore benefits how I teach. Although I recognize that incorporating Indigenous material into my lessons is important, I am still building my resource bank of materials. This article is one that I plan to keep in my resource bank as I think it is a helpful breakdown of how Indigenous and Western worldviews differ. A second reason I feel this is a strong resource is because it seems to be a strong invitation to students to wonder why there are such noticeable differences between the two worldviews. A lot of the Indigenous worldviews can l...

Lowery, A. (2014, December 23). 'All My Trash Fits in a Single Mason Jar'. Retrieved December 09, 2020, from https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/12/all-my-trash-fits-in-a-single-mason-jar.html This resource is an excellent approach to teach sustainability because it demonstrates a practical activity that students can do. The article is an interview of Lauren Singer, a young woman in New York who has made a habit of minimizing her annual waste contribution. She has ensured that her waste from the whole year is enough to fit in one mason jar. This is an incredible and at first seemingly impossible task to undertake. Without seeing how an activity like this could actually look in completion, students may feel overwhelmed at the thought of doing something this “drastic” in the name of sustainability. However, this resource is a good way to show students that there are so many ways for them to implement sustainable practices in their own lives. Singer’s actions can be viewed as i...

 Filyk, H., Kandola, S., Lum, A., Pitches, A., & Ewanick, S. (2020, October 13). Mining Activity Worksheet. British Columbia. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W0PQXnw07wsDJsag5lrwj_AVFDKMC264E2KrWV63f00/edit?usp=sharing This mining activity worksheet was created by some of my peers in another course I am currently taking. I think it is a great activity that can be adapted to fit with any grade level, and also can be adapted if none of the physical materials are available. I first completed the activity online and didn’t have access to all the materials, yet I still found the exercise of having to choose where to place my “cookie” a challenging one. By having students consider the benefits and risks of building more climate damaging infrastructure, they will become more exposed to the ethical and economic dilemmas that are posed in reality. Ethically speaking, we see that there are many factories, mines, landfills, and other health compromising infrastructures, that often g...

VICE News. (May 2, 2016). Justin Trudeau on Indigenous Issues in Canada: The VICE News Interview [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=U9zDYXqJusk       This Vice News interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an excellent resource for including in a lesson plan. It is under 10 minutes long and so does not require students to keep an attention span for very long. It is informative as it exposes students to the diverse realities of climate change in different Canadian communities. Recognizing that the interview took place in 2016, there is also an opportunity for students to analyze the influence that the government can have on improving or worsening the climate crisis.  In his interview, Trudeau speaks heavily about his government budgeting and prioritizing the care of Indigenous communities. He seems to express recognition that the particular community he is in does not have access to clean water yet the city of Winnipeg’s wate...

 Zero, B. (2020, July 01). Intersectional Environmentalism: A Crash Course. Retrieved December 09, 2020, from https://medium.com/climate-conscious/intersectional-environmentalism-a-crash-course-6a0c495ace91 I chose to include this article in my resource guide, as it highlights the importance of recognizing the intersectional effects that are deeply connected to advocacy for the environment. It is a simple read and I would therefore consider assigning it to my student’s to read, as I think it is important they recognize that there is often a lot of overlap with the many social justice fights. For myself as the teacher, I believe that a resource such as this one, is influential in forcing me to also recognize those same things that I want my student’s to understand. An article like this, that suggests there are more in depth analyses on the topic, will remind me to approach the topic of environmentalism and sustainability from a more empathetic view. From the beginning of my time a...

Gonzalez, J. (2020). [Web log post]. Retrieved December 09, 2020, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com This blog called “Cult of Pedagogy” is run by Jennifer Gonzalez. She is a seasoned teacher who has made blogging her main job. Gonzalez is committed to providing teachers with resources for classroom management as well as worksheets and activities that can be modified for a variety of lesson plans. I thought this resource was important to include as it provides me with the necessary tools to approach difficult subjects, such as the global climate change crisis. It is critical for me to be professionally equipped with classroom management techniques in any given circumstance but especially before entering into lessons on topics that are generally brushed over. I, as the teacher, need to first do my part when preparing for lessons about climate change and sustainability, and part of that is considering the physical layout of my room as well as the tone I’d like to set for the learning ...

Netflix is a Joke. (Nov 25th, 2019). The Ugly Truth Of Fast Fashion | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGF3ObOBbac&t=5s  This episode of “The Patriot Act” is chock-full of information relevant to all the high school grades in BC Social Studies curriculum. I personally find this resource to be really engaging for students, as well as informative. Although there is room to discuss the environmental impacts of fast fashion in the lower high school curriculum, the delivery style of this particular resource seems more suitable for the senior high school (10-12) students. There is also more room in the grade 10-12 Social Studies curriculum for teachers to focus on geography - the environment and studying the human impact on climate change - than in the younger grades. I feel as though students will be able to more deeply engage with the resource as there are multiple points throughout the act that have potential for deeper st...

Home. (2020). Retrieved December 08, 2020, from https://www.evergreen.ca/      Evergreen Brick Works is an organization located in Eastern Canada. They are committed to providing teachers as well as members of the community with practical ideas for teaching and implementing sustainability. Along with teaching sustainability, they also focus on providing resources for climate change. On top of demonstrating how to teach it, they include methods for adjusting your classrooms to the realities of climate change. There are resources included on their website called “Five Ways School Grounds are Adapting for a Changing Climate”, “Community Solutions Network”, “The Evergreen Story: How tree planting led the way to making cities flourish”. All of these resources are a blend of informative and realistically hopeful. As students become more aware of the increasing geographic changes in the world, it is important to recognize that at some point they may feel as though they’re genera...

Home. (2020, October 09). Retrieved December 08, 2020, from http://www.greenlearning.ca/      The Green Learning Canada Foundation has a plethora of suggested themes to follow when teaching about environmentalism. They provide many free resources for teachers to utilize in the classroom, and all of the material provided is designed by other teachers. They’re slogan is “Developed by teachers, for teachers, our tools are fun, easy to use and always free.” This provides a level of confidence to use these resources in a classroom setting, knowing that the materials have been proven to be effective in classes before being published to the internet. They are not theoretical ideas that have as equal a chance of failing as they do of being successful. There are resources that can be applied to individual lessons, contribute to whole unit plans, and also be implemented in a whole course around environmentalism. An additional and important aspect of this resource is that some membe...

The topic of sustainability is one that is under-discussed yet strongly encouraged to teach in the social studies curriculum . With the new BC curriculum, there is almost too much autonomy given to the teacher when it comes to which topics get covered in the classroom. The greater emphasis on student inquiry has its benefits, but can sometimes mean many things - like sustainability and environmentalism - are at risk of being overlooked in the course of a semester. Teachers must intentionally choose to incorporate these topics in their course unit plans, in order for students to be given the opportunity to explore the issues and potential solutions around the current climate crisis. The way the curriculum is designed though, would allow for a unique learning experience for students should their teacher choose to focus on environmentalism and sustainability in the classroom. There is room for students to take their learning in many directions depending on the inquiry questions posed to t...