Action Related
Students learn that they can use individual or collective assets to navigate and challenge systemic injustices or inequity of opportunities, or to increase pride in cultural identity.
Hidden code word at the bottom of long standing advocacy poster.
Planning Stages
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In order to determine issues of injustice that matter to students, I provided them an interest survey. This allowed students to bring forth topics of concern to them. By polling students, I was able to allow their feedback determine our action related advocacy. This diagnostic data helped to guide the entirety of our endeavor.
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Reflection of Data
After gathering this data, I was able to analyze student motivation and interests. I believe a major factor in student interest in environmental care and nutrition is general schema and the ability to quickly access involvement. Students can notice trash in an informal setting and recycle. Students can determine what foods they put into their bodies.
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Based upon these figures I developed a lesson about waste management. Students watched videos on the cycle of trash ending up in the ocean. I wanted exposure to stir them. My intention was for them to experience visuals and from that determine action. I showed them the following videos and posed the question, "what can we do about this?"
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Action Plan
From the conversation-based lesson, students determined that allowing our oceans to be contaminated was a systemic injustice we could do something about. This problem is manifested due to our waste management practices. The class then developed an action plan. It consisted of developing awareness and enacting a campus-wide clean up. Students created posters to hang around campus encouraging our community to recycle their waste and ensure all trash ends up in the right place. Students were given a checklist of three things to include on their poster: clear heading providing awareness of topic, an illustration, and a key detail or piece of advice.
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Campus Wide Clean Up
After creating awareness posters, students decided to take action for this issue of importance to them. They voted to use one of their recess blocks to sweep the outside of the campus and collect trash. When determining their plan of attack students began making comments about taking pride in our community. They mentioned that by taking care of the physical space, it creates a sense of ownership for their school.
The area they planned to cover was about half a mile wide, consisting of our track, soccer field, basketball court, and playground. I provided gloves and plastic bags to collect our found waste. By taking care of our environment and community, students were able to take pride in our school and their own contributions to bettering the world around them.
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Findings
Scoring: 9 or 10- high importance rating
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88% of students rated taking care of the environment of high importance.
83% of students rated nutritional wellness of high importance.
80% of students rated gender equity in leadership of high importance.
80% of students rated minority equity in leadership of high importance.
79% of students rated representation of high importance.
76% of students rated inclusive environments of high importance.
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Survey provided in English and Spanish for English Language Learner populous.
Watch our in-class definition based visual and auditory support video.
Student demonstration internalization of Habits of Mind- Empathy- and applying it to a persuasive advocacy poster.
Student provided beyond required checklist to including captions for the illustration and information on our community.
Poster checklist and example provided.
Students engaged watching and documenting information from our video resources.
Students practiced safe habits by utilizing gloves when contacting waste. Prior to our clean, I gave quick information on protecting ourselves when engaging with potentially harmful items.
After trash was gathered, all bags were taken to recycling bins. Our campus does not have recycling on site, so I took the bags home and disposed of them properly. Our learning revolved around ensuring the trash does not end up in the ocean. Recycling is the only route that waste does note end up in our oceans.
Students scatter across the campus to gather littered waste. Students from varying grades asked to particpate and happily joined in.
Reflection
Through this experience, I have realized how simple implementing social justice issues and action into existing reading lessons can be. In listening to and acting with students about their passions, educators validate their experience and concerns. Purposeful learning experiences like this show students they have voice and can be the change they want to see in the world. It was a productive use of our time and lead to increased student investment in our coursework. Beyond this, students have been questioning how they can improve their community and create greater justice in the world.
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Oceanic preservation and marine trash was something we equally supported in our our academic content. Reading has the flexibility to mold to any topic. During our expository reading unit, we were able to complete this project. Our daily practice work consisted of articles of support on oceanic conservation and animals that live in the ecosystems we were working to protect. This reinforced the effort, while still meeting state standards.
