Image credit: Freepik
This lesson introduces students to the concept of environmental discourse, the language (visual and textual) we use to talk about the environment. Students will investigate how environmental discourse reflects our beliefs about the environment and how it conveys ideological and ethical perspectives. By examining environmental discourse in various media forms, including literature, art, entertainment, news, and popular culture, students will gain insights into how environmental ideas are represented and communicated.
Learning outcomes
- Understand the concept of environmental discourse as a means of communication and expression of ideological and ethical beliefs about the environment.
- Define and differentiate between different forms of discourse and their significance in environmental communication.
- Recognize that environmental discourses exist in various domains, including literature, art, entertainment, news, and culture.
- Identify and analyze common environmental discourses prevalent in media representations.
- Critically analyze and interpret media content to identify underlying environmental discourses and their implications.
- Develop skills in identifying and deconstructing discourses to better understand the complexities and nuances of environmental communication.
- Reflect on personal perspectives and biases in relation to environmental discourses and develop a more informed and critical approach to media engagement and environmental discourse analysis.
Common Core standards
English Language Arts Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Media Literacy Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.