ABSTRACT
Jennifer, an eighth-grade earth science teacher, had high hopes for her upcoming water unit. Having taught about water resources in years past, she knew that although students grasped the scientific content of the unit, they were not connecting personally with global issues surrounding water as some of the most urgent of their lifetimes. Jennifer saw an emphasis on teaching global environmental issues as imperative to her mission as a science teacher. This chapter tells the story of the literacy and science content learning that unfolded through engagement with global children’s and adolescent literature in Jennifer’s earth science classroom at a suburban middle school in the central Willamette Valley. Jennifer began the water unit with an invitation for students to reflect on how they use water in their everyday lives. A key aspect of a curriculum that is intercultural is inquiries that focus on global issues that highlight challenging political, social, and environmental topics and lead to some type of action.
