For the second year in a row, this Earth Day arrives at a moment when one global crisis — the COVID-19 pandemic — is layered over another: the climate crisis.

Both highlight vast inequality — based on race, class, and nationality —and both require that educators of conscience do everything we can to help students make sense of these crises, and give students opportunities to take action.

And at the Zinn Education Project Teach Climate Justice campaign, you'll find an extensive collection of lessons, poetry, articles, film clips, and book recommendations.

As K–12 educators already trying to tackle climate justice in our classrooms, we need no convincing about the wisdom of teaching the Green New Deal (GND).

But given that the GND is not a single policy or even platform, but a still-developing vision of transformation, what should that teaching look like?

In developing this lesson for Rethinking Schools, we were clear that we wanted to invite students to be engaged as architects of that vision, not just observers. We wanted students to be able to make judgments about and share opinions on the policies needed to prevent climate disaster and secure a more just future.

It has always been a good idea to use "films with a conscience," but films may now be an even more accessible "text" we can use to help young people think deeply about the world. Many of these films alert students to how individuals and social movements have tried to make life better.

The list includes 23 films about Environmental Justice. Many are available to stream online for little or no cost.

At a time when it’s becoming increasingly obvious that life on Earth is at risk, lessons from A People's Curriculum for the Earth help students see what’s wrong and imagine solutions.

This collection of articles, remote-learning-friendly role plays, simulations, stories, poems, and graphics helps breathe life into teaching environmental justice.

 Order your copy at RethinkingSchools.org.

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