real_lives_1st_attempt.docx |
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One of my forgettable lessons was when I had my students do an assignment in Social Studies. They had to do research on a country of their choice (besides Canada & USA), on 6 elements of culture, for example: government, history, expressions of culture (food, clothing, music, festivals, etc.), economy, etc.
I had previously done this before using PowerPoint on our desktop computers in the pod outside my class (in a P3 school). However, over the summer, 4 of the 11 computers were moved to another pod, and 4 of the remaining 7 were not working (this was around the end of September or early Oct). We had a mobile lab with laptops (20), but the grade 8 & 9 students damaged them so badly that it was decided (over the summer) to not repair them. So, I had to get our new mobile lab with 15 mini-Ipads. I used to have a Mac, but that was years ago, and do not have an Ipad or mini-Ipad. I scrambled about 3 days before kids would start the assignment to see what I could use, and 1 teacher suggested using Prezi, and another said there should be a PowerPoint equivalent on the mini-Ipads. I learned Prezi with a youtube video and by doing one myself that night, and the next night learned how to use KeyNote in the same manner. I tried to show students how to use both, and some were quite successful with Prezi; however my lesson with Keynote was not as good. Fortunately 2 other students in class with Ipads were a huge help! Sweated that one out. Since only my students use these programs now, and since I've not used them since last October, I would most likely find it challenging to teach them again (need to for next Fall!). Mike Context: A cross-curricular assignment for French Language Arts and for Social Studies.
Challenge: There is a major shortage of water in the state of California, and the Governor of California wants to negotiate a long-term, binding agreement with Canadian government representatives for the purchase of fresh water from Canada. Several parties will be taking interest in this activity, such as reporters, demonstrators who oppose the deal (or support it), and other parties that the students will come up with. Activities: Students need to: - to have an idea of the global situation with fresh water: read an article provided by the teacher (me) that informs students how little of all the water that covers the surface of the Earth is drinkable; how it will be a big problem in the 21st century & why; how much of the planet's drinkable water is in Canada's possession, how Canada must start to manage it more responsibly; statistics of illnesses and disease because of a lack of water or of a lack of clean water; the amount of water needed for various things (ex: 215,000 L of water needed to produce 1 tonne of steel); efforts made by the Canadian Agency of International Development to improve access to safe water supplies and its management; etc. - do research on the situation in California regarding the ever decreasing availability of drinkable water, and their efforts to improve the situation in the past (and in surrounding areas). - do research on any possible history of attempts by California or any US state to get into an agreement with Canada regarding the purchase of drinkable water. - see an older documentary showing how Canada tried, but could not stop the purchase of a gasoline additive (even though it causes cancer) because of stipulations in the North American Free Trade Act. - come up with a role-play situation, for example, where there are reporters and demonstrators outside a meeting where government officials from both the state of California and Canada are meeting to possibly sign a long-term, binding agreement for the purchase of drinkable water (happening in Canada as the demonstrators are Canadians who oppose any such agreement!). - the role-play will be presented most likely using Tellagami (https://tellagami.com/) Feedback: - the other grade 6 Early Immersion class will see this presentation and then participate in a referendum, to see if they will pass the deal or not (like voters of Canada). They can also give written feedback on what they specifically liked about the final product, and what could be improved. - a mark will be given to all participants for their active participation (the process) using mini-conferences and observations will facilitating the project, their use of the French language. The grade 6 curriculum for Social Studies, in the last module, touches on the unequal global distribution of wealth, violations of human rights (focusing on children), and taking age-appropriate action.To try and do something a bit different, I think I would like my students to use technology to create a mock trial for either the owner of a chocolate plantation in Africa where there is child forced labour, and/or for both the person who kidnapped/sold the child into slavery. One issue with incarcerating the kidnapper is that it is often a family member, like an uncle (in one documentary I saw).
Activity: to create and have filmed a mock trial to judge whether someone or some people is/are guilty or not of violating the human rights of a child or children. It could be based on one particular industry or market, or, students could research and present different kinds of violations and then choose one to do a mock trial on. Since I have a lot of resources on child labour in the chocolate industry, I believe I would steer them towards doing this - after all, what child is not interested in chocolate! Context: a courtroom (with a judge, lawyers, news reporters, family members of the victims and of the accused, etc. Desired behaviour: after having learned about human rights, and after having done some activities to learn more about a specific industry/market involving forced, child labour (I have a great article, a great PowerPoint, and can show them a great documentary - all after getting permission from the parents), students will not only be more aware of the violations of children's' rights, but also be aware of how their actions can support these violations (for example, not buying Fair Trade Chocolate). Intrinsic feedback: we could have guests (teachers or students) be invited to serve as a jury and make the decision, which would set the accused free or have them face the punishment. The judge could deliver what he/she is appropriate (could be based on how they feel, or could be based on research done by the class of previous consequences). It would be interesting to see someone receive a sentence, and then add a small scene seeing how the person got off free in a very short time. The mark given by the teacher for the final product, and the process as it unfolds, is also intrinsic feedback. Mike |