For Educators

ITVS Community Classroom lesson plans pair educational film modules drawn from ITVS’s acclaimed documentary films with standards-based lesson plans, activities, and other interactive content.

Lesson Plans

Viewing Topic: EnvironmentView All

	Art and Transformation Students will be introduced to Brazilian visual artist Vik Muniz and the motivation behind his art project “Pictures of Garbage.” They will also meet some of the residents and works of the world’s largest landfill, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They will explore the artist’s responsibility to the communities s/he represents. From the Women and Girls Lead, Volume 1 Classroom collection From the film Waste Land
	From Roots to Branches: The Interconnectedness of Environment, Culture and Social Justice In this lesson, students will examine how Kenya’s history as a colonized nation has contributed to their challenges with deforestation. Students will first identify how this environmental degradation is related to other social, political and economic problems that affect the country’s marginalized citizens and then research and interview local environmental champions. (includes 2 film modules) From the Women's Empowerment Classroom collection From the film Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
	Global Climate Change and the Ethics of Industry This lesson examines the factors behind global climate change, its detrimental ecological and cultural effects, and the means by which it can be mitigated, on both local and international levels. From the The Island President Classroom collection From the film The Island President
	Human Dignity and Human Rights Students will consider the consequences for individuals and communities whose fundamental human rights are limited or denied, and develop a plan of action for improving the lives of women in their own community. From the Women and Girls Lead, Volume 1 Classroom collection From the film Waste Land
	The Green Belt Movement: Evaluating Citizen Action and Environmental Change Strategies In this lesson, students examine the community organizing/civic action steps that the Green Belt Movement took to address Kenya’s deforestation and investigate the strategies that other “change makers” and organizations use to address specific issues—leading them to research two activist organizations of their choice. (includes 2 film modules) From the Women's Empowerment Classroom collection From the film Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
	Universal Human Rights and the Ethics of Government This lesson explores the basic premise of human rights, the history of human rights abuse — both legislative and executive/military — and its consequences, human rights in the contemporary media, and the application of human rights issues to modern American life. From the The Island President Classroom collection From the film The Island President