ELA Superheroes Podcast Grade Band: 6–8
Building Effective Expression Skills: An Environmental Call to Action on Fast FashionBuilding Effective Expression Skills: An Environmental Call to Action on Fast Fashion
Podcast Summary
This podcast showcases an interdisciplinary argumentative reading, writing, listening, and speaking unit that asks students to grapple with who should take responsibility for corporate environmental degradation, specifically in the “fast fashion” shoes and jeans industries. Students engage with various texts and use those texts to formulate verbal and written arguments about a high-interest topic. At the end of the unit, students create a social media reel ecological call-to-action using Canva.
Credits: these podcasts and snapshots were created by CAELI members, Tara Kajtaniak, Cheney Munson, and Peggy Harte. Thank you for all of your work and support on this project!
“Wherever I’m at, I want to contribute. I want to participate in this conversation.”
Featured ELA Superhero
Marivell Caba Arayasirikul (she/her)
Resides in Montebello, California. She currently uses an interdisciplinary approach to teach STEAM for K–8th graders in Alhambra Unified School District, and believes environmental justice belongs in every classroom. She loves reading and creating imaginative stories with her son.
Teaching Snapshot
This teaching snapshot describes the unit discussed in the podcast in greater detail. Students are prompted to self-assess and reflect (UDL Checkpoint 9.3) as they prepare to engage effectively in collaborative “fishbowl” discussions (ELA SL.7.1) in which they construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems (NGSS MS-ESS3-4).
