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Environmental Superheroes of the ELA Classroom

Environmental Superheroes of the ELA Classroom

By: The California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI)
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About this listen

Teaching English-Language Arts through the lens of environmental literacy and justice provides an important opportunity for all students to gain access to environmental learning. As the state of California deepens efforts to include environmental literacy in all content areas, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative's English-Language Arts Working Group interviewed passionate language arts teachers . We collected stories of California TK-12 educators who teach reading, writing, listening, and speaking through the lens of environmental literacy and justice to highlight what this type of work already looks like in TK-12 classrooms and outdoor spaces.


Learn more: https://ca-eli.org/innovation-hubs/professional-learning/#projectsworkinggroups

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The California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI) Biological Sciences Science
Episodes
  • Saving Monarch Butterflies and Building Empathy Through Early Literacy

    Saving Monarch Butterflies and Building Empathy Through Early Literacy
    May 14 2024

    Kindergartners from Golden Charter Academy, a public TK-5 school in Southwest Fresno, California, advocate for and participate in milkweed restoration in critical monarch habitat, thanks to their teachers Taf Wilson and Melanie Smith. In this interview, you will hear Taf and Melanie talk about their monarch butterfly unit and the ways they engage their students with reading, writing, listening, and speaking while saving butterflies in a project that began with a published curriculum unit and is evolving into a city-wide movement.


    “If you give a problem to Kindergartners, they want to take it to the world, and they need everyone to come help them.” – Taf Wilson


    Featured ELA Superheroes:

    • Taf Wilson (she/her)
    • Melanie Smith (she/her)


    Explore the episode and teacher resources: https://ca-eli.org/ela-superheroes/



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    36 mins
  • Place-Based Research, Grant-Writing, and Restoration: 4th Graders Design and Restore Critical Riparian Habitat

    Place-Based Research, Grant-Writing, and Restoration: 4th Graders Design and Restore Critical Riparian Habitat
    May 14 2024

    Greg teaches reading, writing, listening, and speaking to his 4th graders at Union Street Charter School, a public rural elementary school in Humboldt County, California. He simultaneously gets students outside and lets them get their hands dirty. His ongoing local land restoration unit, in partnership with a land trust and a native plant nursery, asks students to research native flora, use database evidence and expert advice to justify and present their choices for the most beneficial and appropriate native plants for the project, write a grant, and then complete the restoration project.


    “It’s a powerful way to tie kids to the land…We are part of this land, and we are expected to care for it.” – Greg Gaeira


    Featured ELA Superheroes:

    • Greg Gaeira (he/him)


    Explore the episode and teacher resources: https://ca-eli.org/ela-superheroes/



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    15 mins
  • Building Effective Expression Skills Through Middle School Dialogue About Fast Fashion

    Building Effective Expression Skills Through Middle School Dialogue About Fast Fashion
    May 14 2024

    This podcast showcases an interdisciplinary argumentative reading, writing, listening, and speaking unit that asks students to grapple with who should take responsibility for corporate environmental degradation, specifically in the “fast fashion” shoes and jeans industries. Students engage with various texts and use those texts to formulate verbal and written arguments about a high-interest topic. At the end of the unit, students create a social media reel ecological call-to-action using Canva.


    “Wherever I’m at, I want to contribute. I want to participate in this conversation.” – Marivell Arayasirikul


    Featured ELA Superheroes:

    • Marivell Caba Arayasirikul (she/her)


    Explore the episode and teacher resources: https://ca-eli.org/ela-superheroes/


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    18 mins
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