The Story of Stuff: Teaching about Climate Change

Teachers in need of lessons and classroom materials to teach about climate change and environmental education are turning to the Web like never before. Technology helps classrooms keep on top of current events and lessons for a future where “being green” may matter more than “earning green.” There are few state or local school mandates on how to teach the subject of environmental education. Many teachers are left to develop their own lesson plans on climate change, taking some elements from groups like the National Wildlife Federation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Bill Bigelow, the curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools clearly thinks there is a need out there stating that “a lot of the textbooks are awful on the subject of the environment.”

Then along comes The Story of Stuff from independent filmmaker Annie Leonard, which takes viewers on a provocative tour of our consumer-driven culture — from resource extraction to iPod incineration — exposing the real costs of this use-it and lose-it approach to stuff.

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute video about the effects of human consumption and it has quite a following among classroom teachers seeking effective tools to teach about climate change. Educators say the accessible video is a great solution for teachers as they try to teach about global warming though their textbooks have little to say on the subject despite what science has revealed in recent years.

"The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."

Watch the preview of The Story of Stuff or visit the website at www.storyofstuff.com.

Comments

[Michelle]

Thanks for a great resource, Kathleen.

[bananas]

Thanks for sharing! This is great.

[Peter Ferber]

The 2 minute and 37 second intro to your area of study highlights what is wrong with public education. In that short time you injected three leftist myths: One man's activities are changing the climate, two the governments job is to "take care of us", three corporations are the only group that uses power and money to corrupt the government. I understand the desire to teach children that the consumption of "Stuff" has environmental consequences and that we as consumers should try to conserve when it is economically practical. However, I don't believe we should teach our children that these myths are fact.

[Bill Finnegan]

Hi Kathleen -- I wanted to recommend an online game for this year's Earth Day produced by National Audubon Society as part of the Together Green program. It is called the Pennies for the Planet Game, and it illustrates small actions anyone can take in their yard to make it more wildlife-friendly. It also is a great way to learn about some Audubon conservation projects helping panthers, plovers and turtles. Check it out at:
http://togethergreen.org/p4p/fun.aspx