Lesson Plan Summary and Materials

When an energy company begins searching for natural gas in New Brunswick, Canada, indigenous and white families unite to drive out the company in a campaign to protect their water and way of life. In this lesson, students work collaboratively in groups to explore specific clips of the documentary, become experts in that particular segment, and teach it to other members of their group and their class.

Enduring Understanding:
Water is a life-sustaining necessity that while some communities fight to preserve others allow greed to quench its undeniable importance.

Objectives:
In this lesson, students will:

• Evaluate the practice of fracking and the impact it has on ecological systems, particularly the natural water supply in New Brunswick, Canada.
• Draw conclusions about the intersection of monetary gain and environmental consciousness.
• Examine and become experts in a particular section of the documentary for the purpose of teaching that section and its content to other members of their class community.

Materials:

• Laptops
• Access to the short film Water Warriors
• Headphones
• Worksheet
• Pen/Pencil

Essential Question:
Where do ecological justice and indigenous rights fit into the paradigm for the fight for human rights globally?

Supplemental Material:
UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6

Proposed Grade Levels: 7-12

Time Frame: 90 minutes

Content Areas:

• Environmental Justice
• Humanities / Human Rights
• English Language Arts
• Civil Engineering
• Short Film Studies