The ELA Superheroes Podcast series shares stories across California that are bringing environmental literacy into classroom instruction. Produced by CAELI’s Professional Learning Initiative, the episodes spotlight TK–12 educators who teach reading, writing, listening, and speaking through the lens of environmental justice. Building on Season One’s success where listeners heard stories ranging from monarch butterfly conservation (Grades K–2) to speculative climate fiction (Grades 9–12), Season Two dives even deeper. These four new episodes feature fresh voices, richer narratives, and a renewed sense of possibility for ELA classrooms across California.
Newly Released! Episode 4: Local Labor History and Community Agency in the Midst of the Climate Crisis
“We are trying to reenvision environmentalism as something in our day-to-day lives and interactions with each other. Watsonville is about people pushing back against systems of oppression which are destructive to the environment and to themselves as well.”
— Quinn Cataldi
This newly released episode showcases Quinn Cataldi’s ninth-grade unit at Grant Union High School in North Sacramento. Centered on Cherríe Moraga’s bilingual play Watsonville, students explore the 1985 cannery strikes to see how Chicano labor activists challenged both corporate exploitation and environmental harm. As students draft analytical essays, they gather evidence from interviews, including a 1983 oral history with organizer Ruben Reyes.
For their capstone projects, each group selects a contemporary climate or labor issue, such as farmworker heat safety to equitable food access, and designs solutions grounded in these historical lessons, such as a “Cool Corridors” campaign to offer shaded routes for outdoor workers during Sacramento’s sweltering summers.
“When students connect local history to modern climate challenges, they see themselves as agents of change,” he notes. The Teaching Snapshot lays out detailed lesson plans, UDL scaffolds, and alignment to CCSS and NGSS standards, making this episode a must-listen for high school educators seeking to foster critical thinking, civic engagement, and environmental stewardship.
Episode 3: Undamming the Klamath (Grades 9–12), Featured ELA Superhero: Gurbir Kahlon
“Instead of focusing on a doomsday approach to teaching students, which heightens anxiety, I want to work to empower students and offer solutions.”
— Gurbir Kahlon
Gurbir Kahlon, a high school teacher in Torrance, transforms her ELD classroom into a space where resilient tribal communities, ecological restoration, and expository writing converge. Her unit, centered on the story of dam removal on the Klamath River, begins with students researching the salmon life cycle, the history of the dams, and the Yurok Tribe’s leadership in restoring fish passage.
As students draft research essays, they analyze systemic versus individual actions, ultimately crafting proposals for local climate initiatives. One student suggested launching a “salmon revival” campaign at school, complete with educational assemblies and collaborative art installations. Kahlon’s goal is clear: equip students with the literacy tools to tell environmental justice stories that honor Indigenous resilience. Her Teaching Snapshot details how this expository unit aligns with California’s CCSS, NGSS, and UDL guidelines, serving as a model for classrooms nationwide.
Episode 2: Falling in Love with Nature and Fighting for It (Grades 6–8), Featured ELA Superhero: Jodi Bonk
“When you’re talking about environmental justice, kids need to feel like they can do something. It needs to move to the place where they feel like they have power to make change.”
— Jodi Bonk
At Yorba Linda Middle School, English teacher Jodi Bonk invites her sixth graders into a two-part unit that begins with wonder and ends in advocacy. In “Falling in Love with Nature,” students spend time outdoors sketching, photographing, and writing about the natural world around their school. They draft narrative poems and memoir-style reflections capturing their personal connections to local ecosystems.
In the second phase, “Fighting for It,” Bonk introduces texts and videos showcasing environmental justice issues. Students choose topics like water equity or plastic pollution and draft evidence-based arguments to propose solutions. Working in collaborative groups, they research, annotate sources, and practice MLA-style citations. In one classroom vignette, a student animatedly debates strategies to reduce single-use plastics at home, citing a recent documentary Bonk shared. As one eighth grader put it, “I used to think writing was just about grammar. Now I know my words can spark real change.” The accompanying Teaching Snapshot offers step-by-step guidance on implementing Bonk’s inquiry-based, UDL-aligned unit.
Episode 1: Conversations About Food Waste (TK–8), Featured ELA Superhero: Lorena Sanchez
“Allow students to be curious and then come up with solutions to environmental justice problems. Integrating environmental justice into English/language arts makes students not only feel more engaged in their reading and writing but also feel they have the power to affect the world around them.”
— Lorena Sanchez
In Tracy Unified School District, Lorena Sanchez, a teacher-librarian serving multilingual learners builds a unit entirely around a rotting pumpkin. Using Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell as an anchor text, Sanchez guides students in Grades TK–8 to explore plant life cycles, composting, and the interconnectedness of living systems. Younger students watch a decomposing pumpkin over time in the classroom, sparking questions. These observations become springboards for read-alouds, vocabulary building, and small-group discussions about food waste mitigation.
Older students delve into research and opinion writing: Should our community compost? How might we reduce food waste at home? Sanchez supports every language learner with word walls, planning organizers, and scaffolded writing tasks.
A downloadable Teaching Snapshot accompanies this episode, detailing how this unit aligns with California’s ELA standards, NGSS, UDL guidelines, and Environmental Principles & Concepts. For teachers seeking a model that weaves multilingual supports, authentic inquiry, and environmental stewardship, Sanchez’s approach is a fantastic blueprint.
Discover How These ELA Superheroes Bring Environmental Themes to Life!
Visit the ELA Superheroes podcast page to listen to explore all episodes and to download each episode’s Teaching Snapshot. Join us in transforming English-Language Arts into a platform for equity, empathy, and environmental action!
