Unit 3: Making a Difference
Unit 3: Making a Difference
Target Objectives:
Participants will explore activist programs for children and prepare to introduce student environmental action programs to their students.
Unit Three Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, participants will:
~Have become familiar with some student activist projects.
~Discussed an environmental problem that students may be able to address in their area.
~ Have developed a lesson plan that introduces students to the effectiveness of student activism.
~Have developed a plan for a unit that leads to students taking environmental action.
Overview
Now that you have created a couple of lesson plans and reviewed several others you should have a good tool box for beginning to connect your students to the natural world and environmental concerns. The next phase is to empower them to be activists. In this unit we will look at some projects that have already been undertaken by student activists and learn about some organizations that make it easy to get involved.
Reading
Do you think your students will find this video inspiring? Can you think of any similar projects that you could undertake with your students?
Look over this list of youth projects that are happening around the world right now! Identify at least five that your students could feasibly be involved in.
http:/D/rootsandshoots.org/projects/search
Group Discussion
Since this unit contains the final project that you will be reviewing as well as reviewing a lesson plan, we will have an abbreviated discussion. Please post about two projects that you feel would be feasible to involve your students in. The post must contain:
- A description of the two projects.
- The rationale for why you think they would be appropriate for your student population.
In your responses to your classmate's posts you should provide helpful information or share experiences that will deepen the class discussion.
Lesson Plan
Your lesson plan for this unit will involve either connecting students to an existing environmental project, or designing a project with students that they are invested in. Your first lesson in using media was within the comfort zone of most teachers, the second lesson asked you to stretch a little and go outside. This third lesson asks you take a large step outside of the realm of routine teaching and make a real difference in student's lives. I use the word "feasible" in the description of this lesson and of the final project because I want each of you to carefully construct a lesson that you are likely to carry out. Don't go too big unless you have already been doing this type of teaching. A lesson that starts an ambitious project is not going to be more "impressive" than a lesson that involves a letter writing campaign or a fund raiser. Start where you are and create a lesson that you are likely to actually use with students.
You may use any lesson plan format that you are familiar with as long as you make sure that your objectives align with your instruction. Share your lesson plan with members of your group by Thursday. All lesson plans must be submitted as google docs in comment mode. After resolving your classmates comments, submit your final version on Monday to the professor, also in comment mode. Plans submitted to peers should not contain mechanical errors. They are not proofreading for you, they are providing constructive feedback that will make your lesson plan more effective.
Use the provided peer review questions to guide your comments to your peers. You must review the lesson plan of each member of your 4 person group by Saturday so they will have an opportunity to make revisions and submit a final version on Monday.
Peer Review Questions (Adapted From Temple University Peer Review Questions for Essays):
- Are the lesson objectives stated clearly?
- Do the activities within the lesson align clearly with the objectives? Are any assessments tied clearly to the objectives?
- Identify any places where the rationale or procedures are unclear.How could they be clarified?
- Where would you like the writer to have provided more information?
- Are there any factual mistakes or logical inconsistencies? If so, where are they and why are they problematic?
- Does the lesson plan seem to be appropriate for the age level it is created for?
- Name two strengths of the lesson. Was there a particularly memorable detail?
- Name two weaknesses of the paper. Are there any strategies you can suggest to the writer to
help him/her remedy these weaknesses?
Final Project
For your final project, create a mini unit of at least three lessons. You may either link lessons that you have previously submitted into a logical sequence, expand a previous lesson or two into a cohesive unit, or submit three new lessons. The unit must culminate in an activist project undertaken by students that is actually feasible in your community.Submit your project as a google doc in comment mode.
You will review ONE classmate's final unit plan using the guidelines for peer review.
Peer Review Questions (Adapted From Temple University Peer Review Questions for Essays):
- Are the unit objectives stated clearly?
- Do the activities within the unit align clearly with the objectives? Are any assessments tied clearly to the objectives?
- Do the lessons progress in a logical order?
- Identify any places where the rationale or procedures are unclear.How could they be clarified?
- Where would you like the writer to have provided more information?
- Are there any factual mistakes or logical inconsistencies? If so, where are they and why are they problematic?
- Does the unit plan seem to be appropriate for the age level it is created for?
- Name four strengths of the unit. Was there a particularly memorable detail?
- Name two weaknesses of the unit. Are there any strategies you can suggest to the writer to
help him/her remedy these weaknesses?
For Further Study
Here are some websites that will give you information and inspiration for getting involved.
https://www.youngvoicesfortheplanet.com/
www.earthguardians.org
This one will give you information on workshops for teachers. http://www.dec.ny.gov/26.html
This one offers lesson plans and a connection to a citizen science project. http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/edu/k12/snapshotday/
Thank You
Thank you for taking my mini-course. I hope that you now feel that you have some useful tools for developing environmental stewardship in your students and that you have enjoyed working collaboratively with your classmates.
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