5 Grade Environmental Justice Inquiry by Lizzy Leichtle

Who Is Environmental
Justice For?

Students will explore the depths of environmental justice issues. Through their inquiry, they will understand different types of
pollution as well as what groups of people are most affected by these issues. Students will begin by looking at issues of soil
pollution, specifically landfills. Following land pollution, students will dive into air and water pollution to understand the
various causes and effects. Once students have a grasp on these three types of pollution, they will look specifically at one
community, Little Village, to assess the ways environmental justice issues have affected this neighborhood and how they have
overcome the challenges. The inquiry unit will culminate with students participating in a mock neighborhood in which certain
groups of individuals will be more affected by environmental hazards. Their task will be to rearrange the neighborhood to
make environmental justice for all people. They will also have the opportunity to look at issues within their own community,
and write a letter to the mayor, asking for the burdens of environmental hazards to be lessened.

Supporting Questions

1. What happens to waste, and who is affected by this disposal?

2. What are the factors contributing to air and water pollution, and how can these
factors be reduced or eliminated ?
3. What does LVEJO show us about tackling environmental justice issues within a
community?

1
 5 Grade Environmental Justice Inquiry by Lizzy Leichtle

Who Is Environmental Justice For?

Wisconsin Model Academic Standard D.8.11 Describe how personal decisions can have a global
impact on issues such as trade agreements, recycling, and conserving the environment
Inquiry Standard
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.9 - Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order
to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Staging the Students consider questions such as "What are environmental justice issues?" and "How do
Compelling environmental hazards affect people of different socioeconomic statuses?" in order to gain
Question insight on how different groups of people are affected by issues of environmental justice.

Supporting Question 1 Supporting Question 2 Supporting Question 3

What happens to waste, and who is
affected by this disposal?
Formative Performance Task
What are the factors contributing to
air and water pollution, and how
can these factors be reduced or
eliminated ?
Formative Performance Task
What does LVEJO show us about
tackling environmental justice
issues within a community?
Formative Performance Task

Debate and opinion paper about
the best alternatives to landfills
Featured Sources
Using a graphic organizer to detail
facts about land, water, and air
pollution
Featured Sources
Writing a letter to LVEJO detailing a
proposed project to undertake in
order to fix an environmental
justice issue.
Featured Sources

Source A: Low Income Source A: Air Pollution Source B: Source A: Lvejo Mission Statement
Neighborhoods and Hazardous Water Pollution Source C: Pollution: Source B: Lvejo's Community
Waste Sites Source B: Poor Air, Water, and Land Garden Source C: Lvejo's Park
Americans Face More Toxic Source D: Lvejo's Transit System
Exposure Source C: Alternatives to
Landfills Source D: How Does a
Landfill Work?

ARGUMENT
Who is environmental justice for? The class will be placed into a mock neighborhood in the
classroom. Students will need to detail how to better rearrange the neighborhood to ensure
Summative environmental justice is for all, not just the rich.
Performance Task
EXTENSION
Students can make their learning more personal by writing a letter to the mayor or governor
detailing suggestions for improving environmental hazards in their own community.
UNDERSTAND
Explain how environmental pollution occurs and the effects of it. Also, discuss the locations of
these environmental hazards in a community setting.
ASSESS
Taking Informed
Explain who environmental justice efforts benefit and who is most affected by environmental
Action
hazards in order to make a claim about who environmental justice is for.
ACTION
In a whole-school forum, such as a parent education night, students will present their research
into environmental hazards in the community surrounding the school.

2
Overview

Inquiry Description
Students will explore the depths of environmental justice issues. Through their inquiry, they will understand
different types of pollution as well as what groups of people are most affected by these issues. Students will
begin by looking at issues of soil pollution, specifically landfills. Following land pollution, students will dive
into air and water pollution to understand the various causes and effects. Once students have a grasp on
these three types of pollution, they will look specifically at one community, Little Village, to assess the ways
environmental justice issues have affected this neighborhood and how they have overcome the challenges.
The inquiry unit will culminate with students participating in a mock neighborhood in which certain groups
of individuals will be more affected by environmental hazards. Their task will be to rearrange the
neighborhood to make environmental justice for all people. They will also have the opportunity to look at
issues within their own community, and write a letter to the mayor, asking for the burdens of environmental
hazards to be lessened.

Structure

This inquiry unit progresses from a teacher-directed to student-directed process of learning. The teacher
will provide the material, but the students will be responsible for digging in to the given sources to find
answers to the questions they desire to have answered surrounding pollution issues. Students will participate
in lessons designed around three supporting questions in order to answer the big question of "Who is
environmental justice for?"

1. What happens to waste, and who is affected by this disposal process? Students will begin to explore one of
the three major types of pollution. They will exam the causes and effects of land pollution. In particular, they
will look at landfills. Students will have the opportunity to dive into environmentally safe alternatives to
landfills.

2. What are the factors contributing to air and water pollution, and how can these factors be reduced or
eliminated? Students will read articles to learn about the final two major types of pollution: air and water.
Following inquiry into these two types, they will view a video to review what they have learned about all
three types of pollution.

3. What does LVEJO show us about tackling environmental justice issues within a community?Students will
be able to take their knowledge about pollution to explore the ways in which one community, Little Village,
has faced and overcome various issues of environmental justice.

The inquiry unit will culminate with an opportunity for students to participate in a mock neighborhood
environment in which some students will be forced to live near environmental hazards. The students' task
will then be to rearrange the neighborhood to make environmental justice benefit all people. Additionally,
students will critically look at issues of environmental justice in their own neighborhoods.

3
 Staging the Compelling Question
Compelling Who Is Environmental Justice For?
Question

Staging the compelling question

Students will progress through the inquiry unit as a way to answer the compelling question of "Who is
environmental justice for?" In order to do so, students will partake in several lessons designed around
supporting questions. Each question will also include a task. Completion of these lessons and formative tasks
will guide the students towards understanding and being able to answer the compelling question.
Throughout the unit, students will participate in several of the core social studies practices, such as historical
thinking, multiple forms of communication, cultural relevance, authentic assessment, and critiquing dominant
narratives.

In order to kick off the unit, we will brainstorm issues related to environmental justice as a class. These
issues will be compiled in a list on the board. Students are then asked to work in pairs. Each pair will be
assigned a different environmental justice issue. The pairs will be responsible for first writing everything
they know about the issue. Once they have written all of their knowledge, they will then research into the
topic. Their goal will be to provide a definition, the causes, and the effects of the issue. They will also be asked
to look into if a particular grouping of people is affected more than other groups by the environmental
hazard.

After students have had time to research, each group will be able to present their findings to the class.
Together, we will look for any patterns among the various environmental justice issues. This inquiry into
various environmental justice topics will set the stage for researching the three main types of pollution
throughout the unit. It will also prepare students to know what to look for regarding each type of pollution.
As a result of this introduction activity, students will be able to dive into the specific lessons with the knowle

4
 Supporting Question 1
Supporting What happens to waste, and who is affected by this disposal?
Question
Formative Debate and opinion paper about the best alternatives to landfills
Performance Task

Source A: Low Income Neighborhoods and Hazardous Waste Sites

Source B: Poor Americans Face More Toxic Exposure
Featured Sources
Source C: Alternatives to Landfills
Source D: How Does a Landfill Work?

Landfill Alternatives Paper Rubric.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/1/a/c/f/4625/1acfa5fa6aec8e9c23abb5d0833e0cb994b82d99.docx)

Landfill Alternative Debate Rubric.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

Additional dev/u/7/3/b/d/4625/73bd351646ed94c13b4a0618e092eab5d11c10e6.docx)
Materials
Alternatives to Landfills Example.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-
dev/u/e/8/8/c/4625/e88c22c52198354b32fa3d6cdec13d9d04a5f13c.docx)

Debate Rules and Example.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/a/1/c/f/4625/a1cfb759f1a2d4e6d02eaee949879f44e0f76697.docx)

Students will explore what happens to waste from homes and businesses. In order to begin the inquiry, we
will have a class discussion in which students will have the opportunity to voice what they already know
about trash disposal. Following this class discussion, students will participate in a "Think, Pair, Share"
activity to learn about landfills. In this exploration, they will have the opportunity to dive specifically into how
landfills work, noting the process and the environmental hazards they propose. Students will use Sources A
and B for this inquiry. Once they have read the articles provided, they will pair up with a partner to discuss
their new knowledge. Following partner discussions, I will play a video about how landfills work to reinforce
the material they just discussed with their partner (see Source D).

After the video, students will have the opportunity to read about various alternatives to landfills. In order
to do so, students should use Source C. Through this information, they can begin to formulate their own
opinions on the best alternative to make waste disposal more environmentally friendly. If additional time or
research is needed, they can complete it for homework that evening.

The following day, the class will have a debate regarding the best alternative to landfills. Each student will
need to choose a team based on his/her own opinion on the best alternative from the research he/she did.
During the debate, students will have to work collaboratively with their group members to present an
opening argument, defend their opinion against questions, and question other group's decision.

As a result of the individual research and the class debate, students will have one final chance to pick the
most environmentally safe alternative to landfills. Students will be required to write a brief paper to present
and support their opinion.

These various forms of presenting their opinion (written and verbally) will allow students to articulate
their decision in the way that is best suited to them. Additionally, they will have opportunities to collaborate
with peers through "Think, Pair, Share" as well as the debate. Overall, they will be able to pick a side to
solving the issue of landfills, helping them prepare to solve various environmental hazards located
throughout the mock neighborhood in the summative task.

Formative Performance Task

Students will research effective alternatives to landfills. Students will be able to create pros and cons lists of
each alternative. After three alternatives are listed, students will be able to decide upon the best
alternative. This choice with evidence will set the stage for students to present their opinion to the class in
debate form. Each student will choose his stance in the debate and will collaborate with team members to
organize an argument (see Debate Rules and Example as well as Debate Rubric in additional materials).
Students must then detail in a short paper the pros and cons of three separate alternatives. They must also
describe their choice of which alternative is the best (see Alternatives Paper Rubric and Alternative Paper
Example in additional materials).

5
 Supporting Question 1
Featured Source A Low Income Neighborhoods and Hazardous Waste Sites

Excerpt
News article written in 2016 detailing struggles around the placement of hazardous waste sites in Ann Arbor,
Michigan.

Source:
http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/23414-targeting-m..

6
 Supporting Question 1
Featured Source B Poor Americans Face More Toxic Exposure

Excerpt

Why Low-Income Communities?

There are a whole host of reasons that polluting facilities and toxic sites tend to be present in poor
neighborhoods. Some factors to consider include job location, household income, discriminatory housing and
development policies, and a dearth of political power.

Many of the poor residents who live near polluting facilities include the low-income employees who work
there. As William Nichols points out, the minority and low income families that experience the brunt of the
pollution in this country have become economically dependent on the industries that pollute their
neighborhoods because many rely on the income to support their families. Low-income workers do not have
the resources to relocate as do many of the white-collar workers and management who make a living at these
facilities.

With the mass exodus of industry from many American communities in recent decades, many former
producers of pollution have shut down. While unused sites in more prosperous communities are generally
quickly cleaned up and redeveloped, many toxic sites in poor communities are simply abandoned and left
to continue contaminating the surrounding area.

While low-income communities seem to be disproportionately selected to house site polluting and noxious
facilities, there also seems to be a tendency for the poor to move in around these sites. Since hazardous sites
tend to cause property values to go down and drive away those who can afford to move their families
elsewhere, many poor people find that the only place in their city or town where they can actually afford to
live are those devalued, at least in part, by neighboring toxic sites.

Source:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/heres-life-inner-ci..

7
 Supporting Question 1
Featured Source C Alternatives to Landfills

Excerpt

Recycling
Recycling is the most obvious alternative to sending waste to a landfill. A wide range of
materials can be recycled at least to some degree, and recycling can even yield potential
financial benefits. Materials such as wood products, metals such as steel and aluminum,
plastics, and particularly glasses can all be recycled in order to regain some utility from the
used product. Click here to visit the Recycling Council of Ontar.. to learn more about what
is recyclable. Panda Environmental specializes in providing recycling services alongside
waste removal services for all of our clients. Contact us today to learn more.

Waste to Energy Incineration

Waste to Energy (WTE) incineration is a process that uses waste as a fuel in order to create energy. This
allows for products thrown out to experience a second utility life by being used to create additional energy,
which can then be used by society. The downside to this process is that additional greenhouse gases in the
form of CO2 are created. This CO2 production compares to the greenhouse gas emissions that are created
when creating energy from coal. Europe has strongly embraced the WTE model, and Canada appears to be
building more WTE plants in the near future. Currently WTE plants are operational in British Columbia and
Alberta.

Anaerobic Digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a process by which bacteria and other microorganisms can break down organic waste
without the need for oxygen and open air. It is seen as a renewable energy process, which uses waste to
create methane, among other products. This methane can be used to power various engines, or can be further
upgraded into natural gas. Anaerobic digestion is a relatively new process, which is just starting to gain
attention as both a waste management, and power creating process.

Composting/Organic Waste Recycling

Composting is a process that allows biological waste, such as rotten food, to break down naturally. This
process is extremely environmentally friendly, and is starting to be done on an industrial scale in response to
the swelling size of landfills. Composting allows for organic waste to be recycled rapidly, and be turned into
fertilizer, which can be used in farming. Panda specializes in organic waste recycling, and is able to assist in
getting a composting solution working along side standard waste removal services.

Advanced Technologies

There are several other advanced waste management technologies that are being developed. Pyrolysis uses
high temperatures to break down organic waste into smaller portions, which can then be disposed of more
easily. Another process known as plasma arc gasification catalyzes organic matter into synthetic gases and
solid waste known as slag. The slag can then be used as a solid for construction material and other purposes.
These processes are still in the development stages, and are not seeing widespread use.

Source:
http://pandaenvironmental.com/Trash-Garbage-and-Wa..

8
 Supporting Question 1
Featured Source D How Does a Landfill Work?

Excerpt

A YouTube video detailing how a landfill works, from first being determined as a site through the time it is
shut down.

Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsyg472MQp8

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 Supporting Question 2
Supporting What are the factors contributing to air and water pollution, and how can these factors be
Question reduced or eliminated ?
Formative Using a graphic organizer to detail facts about land, water, and air pollution
Performance Task

Source A: Air Pollution

Featured Sources Source B: Water Pollution
Source C: Pollution: Air, Water, and Land

Pollution Graphic Organizer Example.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/0/e/d/7/4625/0ed7c677974d030dc2ade9e561e34dc66e501964.docx)

Additional Pollution Graphic Organizer Rubric.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

Materials dev/u/5/3/2/7/4625/53279450fd2bd0d6ef49d01991720ff1395ecbcd.docx)

Graphic Organizer Templates.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/4/8/d/2/4625/48d2d2b076088c75896ad4a18280a0226da067ef.docx)

Students will be asked to take a critical look into two new types of pollution: air and water. As with land
pollution, we will discuss what we already know as a class. Following this discussion, students will participate
in "Jigsaw Learning".

In order to complete this activity, students will be assigned to different groups. Each group will have a
different topic, such as "What is air pollution?", "What causes air pollution?", or "What are the negative effects
of water pollution?", to name a few. Students assigned to air pollution topics can use Source A to find
information whereas students inquiring into water pollution can use Source B. These group members can
read their section of the article independently. When each group member has completed their section, they
can discuss the information as a group.

When it seems as though conversations within groups are wrapping up, the class will come back together.
One member from each group will then be asked to present about the material learned in their section. By
having each group become experts on a small topic, students can show their understanding of that topic
while gaining information from peer "experts" in another topic.

Following this presenting of material, we will watch a YouTube video about the three types of pollution as a
class (see source C). This video will serve as a reminder about land pollution as well as to reinforce
knowledge just learned about air and water pollution. Once the video is over, students will be asked to work
on their graphic organizers.

Formative Performance Task

Students will create a graphic organizer detailing the three types of pollution: water, air, and land. In this
graphic organizer, students will be asked to describe each type of pollution, the various causes, the effects of
the pollution, and suggestions for improving these environmental hazards (see additional materials for
Graphic Organizer Rubric, Graphic Organizer Example, and Graphic Organizer Templates). This graphic
organizer gives students the opportunity to creatively display the knowledge they have gained about each
type of pollution.

10
 Supporting Question 2
Featured Source A Air Pollution

Excerpt

Exposure to air pollution can vary greatly by socioeconomic status (SES), according to a new NIEHS-funded
review of existing literature. Socioeconomic Disparities and Air Pollution Exposu.. provides insight on what is
known about air pollution inequities by SES worldwide. Overall, the review found that poorer communities
tend to be exposed to higher concentrations of air pollution, compared to richer communities.

In the United States, we often focus on race when looking at air pollution inequities, said lead authorAnjum
Hajat, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the University of Washington. On a global level, our research underscores
the importance of social class when considering the unequal distribution of air pollution.

Source:
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/ge..

11
 Supporting Question 2
Featured Source B Water Pollution

Excerpt

An article detailing water pollution, its causes, and its effects.

Source:
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/waterpollution.htm..

12
 Supporting Question 2
Featured Source C Pollution: Air, Water, and Land

Excerpt

A YouTube video which depicts the causes of the three main types of pollution. The simplicity of the video
will allow students to focus on the issues of pollution and better understand how they occur as well as the
negative effects of pollution.

Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqHp03RRTDs

13
 Supporting Question 3
Supporting What does LVEJO show us about tackling environmental justice issues within a community?
Question
Formative Writing a letter to LVEJO detailing a proposed project to undertake in order to fix an
Performance Task environmental justice issue.

Source A: Lvejo Mission Statement

Featured Sources Source B: Lvejo's Community Garden
Source C: Lvejo's Park
Source D: Lvejo's Transit System

LVEJO Letter Task Rubric.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/2/1/b/5/4625/21b5e944cd514d459d1d55f3cf081a35e689e0ef.docx)

Additional LVEJO Letter Example.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

Materials dev/u/2/f/1/e/4625/2f1efc0539fea1ea58e9a538a7b5f3b3e1b244e6.docx)

Letter Template.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/e/c/4/e/4625/ec4e04812cd944971ba6d9136bda5d59c27a11fe.docx)

Now that students will have background information about the causes and effects of land, air, and water
pollution, they will be able to critically look at one specific community which is plagued by several
environmental hazards. This community is called Little Village. Students will be asked to individually look at
the ways the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) has spearheaded issues of
environmental justice (see Source A).

Projects LVEJO have undertaken include creating acommunity garden, creating a park, and bettering
the transportation system (see source B, C, and D). LVEJO has undertaken these various community projects
in order to better the environmental quality of the Little Village neighborhood. Students will be able to look at
each of these projects in order to study what the hazard was and how this community went about solving the
issue. Through inquiry into this question, students will see an example of how this specific community has
been able to tackle environmental issues. This community can serve as a model for students when they
partake in the summative performance task at the end of the unit.

Formative Performance Task

Students will be asked to take on the role of being a member of LVEJO. As a member of LVEJO, students must
determine a new environmental issue to take on as a project. This project must propose a way to fix an
environmental hazard in the Little Village community. In order to depict the project, students must write a
letter to the head of the organization. This letter should detail the proposed issue to spearhead as well as
several suggestions for improving or even eradicating this environmental hazard in the community (see
Letter Example, Letter Task Rubric, and Letter Template in additional materials).

14
 Supporting Question 3
Featured Source A Lvejo Mission Statement

Excerpt

The mission of LVEJO is to organize with our community to accomplish environmental justice in Little Village
and achieve the self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families.

Our vision is to build a sustainable community that promotes the healthy development of youth and families,
provides economic justice, and practices participatory democracy and self-determination.

LVEJOs theory of social change is centered upon the belief that when low income and people of color
understand the root causes of their experiences of oppression, they have the power and agency to transform
society. LVEJOs grassroots organizing model is grounded in three guiding principles:

1) intergenerational leadership that sustains community self-determination

2) it assumes that those directly affected have the solutions to solve their own problems; and

3) it builds upon the existing assets and resources of the community for social change.

Source:
http://lvejo.org/our-mission/mission-vision-statem..

15
 Supporting Question 3
Featured Source B Lvejo's Community Garden

Excerpt

The Semillas de Justicia garden is located on 2727 S. Troy; this 1.5 acres garden began five years ago, when it
was brought to LVEJOs attention of a strong oil smell emanating from the site. It was then discovered that the
fenceless site was being used to deposit leftover oil barrels. LVEJO organized with Troy street neighbors to
demand that this site be cleaned up and transformed into a community garden. As a result of this struggle,
and with gardening being a strong activity in the community, Troy garden now blooms with a variety of
vegetables, fruits, legumes, and flowers for the enjoyment of the community. Our garden serves as a hub for
intergenerational exchanges of organic food-growth practices taught by, with and for Little Village residents.
Semillas de Justicia is now home to free community weekly dinners, bike repair workshops, and art classes
for children in the summer; a Fall Harvest Fest, and several educational workshops on sustainability and
climate adaptation throughout the year. Semillas de Justicia stands as a great example of community efforts to
redevelop brownfields, and uplift green open spaces in Little Village and Chicago in general.

Source:
http://lvejo.org/our-accomplishments/community-gar..

16
 Supporting Question 3
Featured Source C Lvejo's Park

Excerpt

The La Villita Park is the culmination of a 15 year fight to obtain open, green space in Little Village, and
decade long struggle to clean up the former Celotex Superfund site and the surrounding homes.

Neighbors of the Celotex site brought to LVEJOs attention that they were suffering from skin rashes. It was
then discovered that rain run off from the Celotex site was floating into neighbors basements. LVEJO
organized with Celotex street neighbors to demand

1) the homes around Celotex to be tested and cleaned up;

2) Celotex site to be remediated; and

3) for a park to be built on the Celotex site.

The Celotex site was remediated and transformed into a groundbreaking park. As a result of this struggle, a
22-acre park was built with unique amenities such as the largest skate park and largest playground in the
city.

LVEJO would like to thank community residents and Celotex neighbors for opening up their homes, and
demonstrate their resilience to continue the struggle for open space. La Villita Park stands as a great example
of community organizing to redevelop brownfields, and create green open spaces in Little Village.

Source:
http://lvejo.org/our-accomplishments/reclaiming-gr..

17
 Supporting Question 3
Featured Source D Lvejo's Transit System

Excerpt
Generally, neighborhoods with issues with accessibility and public transportation tend to be low-income
communities of color. Yet, these low-income minority communities tend to be the most transit dependent
areas. By framing the issue of lack of public transportation as social justice, LVEJO is able to critically
analyze and combat the injustices through mobilization and community action. Over the past 12 years, LVEJO
worked furiously on bringing effective public transportation to the community of Little Village.

The impacts of an efficient public transportation system are felt well beyond the urban landscape. A well
planned public transportation system serves as an effective way to combat automobile dependency. An
efficient public transportation system promotes sustainable high-density mixed-use development and serves
as a way to combat urban sprawl. Urban sprawl is responsible for the eradication of natural landscapes, the
decline of quality of living conditions and requires the unsustainable patterns of waste production and
resource consumption. An effective transportation system also calls for smarter and practical policies from
elected officials and can lower a citys ecological footprint.

LVEJOs most notable transit victory involves the 31st bus route. Through working closely with the
community and partnering with Illinois State Senator Martin Sandoval, LEVJO was able to hold the Chicago
Transit Authority accountable and demand an experimental bus trial. By having an extension of the 35st bus
route service the 31st business corridor, LVEJO was able to hold CTA accountable and provide the much need
service to the Little Village residents. After LEVJO was able to prove the need for the service, the 31st bus
route became a permanent route in 2012, available to all Little Village residents.

Source:
http://lvejo.org/our-accomplishments/transit-victo..

18
 Summative Performance Task
Compelling
Question Who Is Environmental Justice For?

Who is environmental justice for? The class will be placed into a mock neighborhood in the
Argument classroom. Students will need to detail how to better rearrange the neighborhood to ensure
environmental justice is for all, not just the rich.
Students can make their learning more personal by writing a letter to the mayor or governor
Extension detailing suggestions for improving environmental hazards in their own community.

Rearranging Mock Neighborhood Paper Rubric.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/0/4/3/2/4625/043216f8295b88d8983174019f0d72629c1695a4.docx)

Letter to Mayor Rubric.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

Additional dev/u/a/d/c/9/4625/adc90f0b1b4b3692f173668e9abbb1d3bcaa77e3.docx)
Materials
Letter to Mayor Template Example.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-
dev/u/7/6/6/6/4625/7666448a7fd8c493a1e393f6cc4611dc77428953.docx)

Mock Neighborhood Example.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/b/4/0/a/4625/b40a4a700c570125139965e9cd7d8031dd3bf638.docx)

Argument
The classroom will be set up as a mock neighborhood. Students will receive a color which tells them which
area of the classroom they live in. Each color will be attached to a category, such as race or SES. Different
environmental hazards and community buildings will be located around the room. Some of these hazards will
be contained in one area, affecting primarily one group of individuals.

Students will be asked to discuss the locations of environmental hazards as they affect each group of
individuals. Following the discussion, students will be asked to work together as a class to reorganize the
room in a manner which is more suitable to the well being of all individuals. In this reorganization, students
are able to change the hazards to more environmentally friendly things, such as changing a landfill to a waste
to energy plant.

Students will be asked to include a traditional write up of why they readjusted the classroom in the way in
which they did. This write up will allow the teacher to see how much the student has understood from the
unit.

Extension
Instead of describing how the classroom environment can be reorganized to make environmental justice be
for all, students can study how environmental hazards are dispersed throughout their own community. When
students have discovered ways in which environmental justice is suited for one or a few groups of people,
they can write a letter to the mayor or governor detailing how and why the environmental hazards are set up
against one group of individuals. Students can propose ways to make environmental justice be for all people
in their letters.

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 Taking Informed Action
Explain how environmental pollution occurs and the effects of it. Also, discuss the locations of
Understand
these environmental hazards in a community setting.
Explain who environmental justice efforts benefit and who is most affected by environmental
Assess hazards in order to make a claim about who environmental justice is for.
In a whole-school forum, such as a parent education night, students will present their research
Action into environmental hazards in the community surrounding the school.

Students will present issues of environmental justice to other members of the school community. In their
presentation, they will depict issues, detailing the causes and effects of the issues. Students will also present a
model of the school's community and the environmental hazards contained throughout the community.
Following the presentation of material, students will facilitate a discussion with community members
regarding methods to improve issues of land, water, and air pollution in their community. These methods of
improvement must be ideas which will benefit all, not just those of higher socioeconomic statuses.

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Appendices

Toolkit Citations.docx (https://s3.amazonaws.com/idm-

dev/u/a/9/2/f/4625/a92f569578bd407f406ceaf53ef5f60bed6db5a5.docx)

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