Lesson by John McNamara
Essay by Richard Newman, Rochester Institute of Technology
Grade Level: 9–12
Number of Class Periods: 4
Primary Era: Modern Era, 1975–Present
About This Lesson Plan Unit
The four lessons in this unit explore an environmental disaster in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls, New York. Students will analyze the causes of the Love Canal hazardous waste disaster, the ways that local environmental activists responded, and how journalists and the courts assigned responsibility. They will read government documents, accounts written by journalists and activists, and a court decision. The students will respond to questions supporting their answers with evidence from the text and use their knowledge to analyze a historical photograph.
Lesson Plan Authors: John McNamara
Historical Background Essay by: Richard Newman, Rochester Institute of Technology
Additional Information About This Unit
Common Core State Standards
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12 .1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10 .2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10 .3: Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10 .6: Compare the point of view of two or more for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10 .8: Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
Who decided to bury toxic waste in and around Love Canal? Why?
What were the consequences of living near a toxic waste dump for Love Canal’s residents and property owners?
Who did the courts task with paying for and cleaning up Love Canal’s pollution?
How did Love Canal’s residents advocate for themselves? What did they want?
What was the outcome for Love Canal’s residents?
Documents
Documents
Michael H. Brown, Laying Waste: The Poisoning of America by Toxic Chemicals, rev. ed. (1979; New York: Washington Square Press, 1981)
“Love Canal and Grassroots Environmental Activism” by Richard Newman
Quit Claim Deed between the Hooker Electrochemical Company and the Board of Education of the City of Niagara Falls, New York, April 28, 1953
Eckardt C . Beck, “The Love Canal Tragedy,” EPA Journal 5, No. 1 (January 1979)
Conclusion, United States v. Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corporation, United States District Court, Western District New York, Case No. 850 F. Supp. 993, March 17, 1994
Lois Marie Gibbs, Love Canal: My Story (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1982)
Lois Gibbs interview by EPA interviewer, August 11 and 29, 2005, in Falls Church, VA
Photograph of a sign displayed by the Love Canal resident, 1978, by an unidentified photographer