English/ELA Unit: Sustainability Jargon
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by: MIT Climate Action Through Education|Published on: January 28, 2025
Activity - Classroom
Scientist Reviewed
9101112
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this activity, students will create presentations to define and explain a vocabulary term related to sustainability.
- The resource also includes background information in the form of podcasts and articles for students and teachers to deepen their understanding.

Subjects: Economics, English Language Arts
Authors: Kathryn Teissier du Cros
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Students will have a sense of responsibility for the words they teach to the class.
- This activity is an active approach to vocabulary acquisition that will help students retain the words and their meanings.
Prerequisites
- Teachers will need to print the vocabulary checklist or turn it into a Google Form or other assessment for students to complete.
- It may benefit students to have the guidelines for their presentation on a separate, easily accessible document.
Differentiation & Implementation
- This activity can precede a lesson about climate change solutions, particularly those associated with a circular economy.
- After students listen to the presentations, they can write a paragraph including 5-10 vocabulary words of their choice.
- Students can utilize a total physical response by coming up with a gesture or body movement to connect to their words.
- To practice audio-visual media skills, students can create videos to define their words.
Teachers can explore the vocabulary of sustainability with this lesson plan, which is a data-rich resource from MIT's Climate Action through Education (CATE) initiative. Every link functions properly, and the references and cited content used in this lesson plan come from reputable sources and provide current information. Teachers should use this resource when instructing.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
