By Lisa Loffredi, Secondary Teacher-Librarian, YCDSB (Ontario)

This Grade 9 Destreamed geography lesson uses climate change political cartoons to develop students’ media, geographic, and AI literacy. Students analyze how visual and textual codes communicate perspectives, bias, and political messages, then compare their interpretations with GenAI analyses. Through inquiry, discussion, and creation, students examine human–environment interactions, assess source credibility, and reflect on the strengths, limits, and ethical use of AI in understanding contemporary climate issues.

*Lisa has included a personal reflection on her process. She comments on how she moved from uncertainty about teaching through and about media to a focused approach that uses student–GenAI comparisons of climate change cartoons to surface issues of interpretation, bias, ethics, and the need for clearer scaffolding and prompting.

To access the lesson & reflection PDF, click here.

*Featured image generated by Nano Banana.