Students are the next generation of citizens who will need to deal with the consequences of today’s global challenges (i.e., climate change, air and water quality, nutrition). As such, all students need to understand basic chemistry principles to gauge the accuracy of media reports. In this webinar, we will present a strategy to introduce fundamental chemistry concepts through a context-first approach using the ACS textbook Chemistry in Context. With chemistry principles woven into discussions on a need-to-know basis, students can easily grasp how chemistry influences their everyday lives. We will describe how a variety of media (e.g., videos, simulations, labs, demos) can be used to initiate in-class discussions and assist students with retaining knowledge outside of the classroom.