The Baby Boom and Avoiding Doom

Lesson Plans

Grades9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, History

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by MIT Climate Action Through Education

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What it is

This lesson plan looks at the recent history of climate change and science, focusing on environmental disasters caused by pesticides and oil spills, the history of Earth Day, and the role of Exxon Mobile and corporate greed in climate uncertainty.
Students will watch and read speeches from influential environmentalists, analyze primary sources, and create a civic action project.

Teaching tips

Positives

Seeing the passion behind the first Earth Day and other environmental movements throughout history can inspire students to affect change.
This lesson and the Frontline documentary in particular do an excellent job of showing potential motivation for dissent amongst scientists and the role of Big Oil in climate science.

Prerequisites

The UpFront article for Part 1 of the Climate Change and Earth Day Worksheet is behind a paywall. Additionally, in the worksheet, students will have to request access to Dennis Hayes's Speech from the first Earth Day in 1970.
Before the Primary Source Exercise, students may need the acronym BLM defined in this context, as they may only know it as the Black Lives Matter movement.

Differentiation & Implementation

After watching the PBS documentary, students can research BP's role in and motives behind the carbon footprint and other rhetoric that focuses on individual actions and ignores systemic issues.
Given the sections about the history of Earth Day, this is a great Earth Day resource for students in history classes.
Language arts teachers can use these Writing Activities for Earth Day to make interdisciplinary connections.
After watching Greta Thunberg's speech, students can draft their own speech for government officials and policymakers.

From the scientist review

This resource features a historical look at the Baby Boom generation and the start of the environmental movement. This resource is exceptionally well-sourced and engages students in analyzing primary sources. From the disproportionate impacts of highway expansion to climate change, the social and environmental impacts of post-WWII growth are thoughtfully addressed. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, History
Other types: Articles/Websites, Videos, Projects, Data, Graphs, and Maps, Activity - Classroom, Worksheets, Presentation Slides, Podcasts
Format: Google Docs, Google Slides, PDF, YouTube Video
Language: English
Location: North America > United States, North America > United States > California
Provider: MIT Climate Action Through Education
Authors: Michael Kozuch
Published: January 28, 2025
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Geo.4.9-12 + 13 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Geo.4.9-12Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
D2.His.1.9-12Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
D2.His.12.9-12Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.
D2.His.14.9-12Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
D2.His.4.9-12Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

HS-ESS3-D.2.Through computer simulations and other studies, important discoveries are still being made about how the ocean, the atmosphere, and the biosphere interact and are modified in response to human activities. (HS-ESS3-6)

Oregon Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

9-10.RI.2Determine a central idea of a text and analyze in details its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details. Provide an evidence-based summary of the text.
9-10.SL.2Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
11-12.RI.7Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats to address a question or solve a problem.

Science

HS.ESS3.1Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.

Social Sciences

II.Use chronological thinking skills, connecting the past with the present to recognize continuity and change in human history.
HS.US.CH.1:Analyze social, political, and economic continuity and change following the Civil War and Reconstruction (1865-1896) with attention to how post-war policies and actions affected traditionally underrepresented groups and individuals.
HS.US.CH.2:Using primary sources from multiple perspectives, identify and analyze developments in the growth of the US economy, the changing role of government, and efforts of individuals and organizations attempting to reduce political, economic, and social inequalities in the 20th century.
HS.WR.CE.7:Analyze causes and effects of political revolutions in multiple global regions from 1789 to the present.

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