Teaching Sacrifice Zones
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Provided by: Zinn Education Project|Published on: May 24, 2024
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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
- This resource features Rosemarie Frascella's first-person experience as she teaches about sacrifice zones in her English classroom.
- Rosemarie uses discussion, journaling, and poetry to elicit students' feelings and ideas about sacrifice zones.

Subjects: Civics, English Language Arts
Authors: Zinn Education Project, Rethinking Schools
Region: Global, New York City
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This activity is based on mutual respect and honoring student funds of knowledge.
- Through reading this resource, teachers will not only get an activity to implement in class but also some pedagogical insight.
Prerequisites
- Teachers will need to create a free account to download the article.
- It may benefit students to understand the health impacts of living in sacrifice zones.
- Teachers may want to find the poem “Jorge the Church Janitor Finally Quits” by Martín Espada to have in class for students to read.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Students can look at population data compared to locations of oil refineries, fracking sites, and other harmful sites.
- Students can read this article to extend this lesson by learning about the impact of sacrifice zones on health and how they connect to climate change.
- Teachers can also use this social studies lesson to guide students in taking action against environmental injustice.
This article has no science to review but is well-cited.
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 →
