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Subject: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

Lesson Length: 45 mins - 1 hour

Topic: Environment, Pollution, Society, Energy, Food Supply

Grade Level: 10, 11, 12, 9

Standards / Framework:

Brief Description: Students will create a comic in which they address a global challenge and illustrate a solution for societal needs.

Know Before You Start: Students should have a basic understanding of the challenges facing global society, including energy, food, and pollution.

Hook:

  • Ask students:
    • “What are some of the challenges facing global society?”
    • “Why is it important to discuss issues like the environment, energy, and food supply?”
    • “How can we explore solutions to global challenges?”

Activity:

  • Have students discuss major global challenges such as responsible energy production, reliable food supply, pollution, etc. and discuss current solutions to some problems currently facing global society.
  • Students may also discuss the pros and cons of technology in addressing global challenges.
  • Have students create a comic which illustrates a global challenge and some potential solutions.

Closure:

  • Have students share their comics with the class or in small groups.
  • Have students explain why they chose the challenge represented in their comic.
  • Have students discuss why it’s important to explore a variety of solutions to challenges facing society.
  • Remind students that some current solutions to global challenges came from unlikely sources such as students, interns, or serendipitous discoveries while conducting other research.
  • Emphasize that creative problem-solving is an important skill for everything from everyday decisions to major global challenges.

Differentiation:

  • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
  • Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
  • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
  • Provide students a list of global challenges from which to choose.