Tuning In
In this activity, students will compose an essay, speech, video, or podcast to raise awareness of a social justice issue and inspire positive change.
WAR & ACTIVISM LESSON 1:
ESSAY/SPEECH/VIDEO/RECORDING
1 class periods (45-60 min) + written assignment, speech, or audio/video assignment (optional 1-2 class periods for presentations)
VIDEO:
Writer As Activist Video and Transcript (as needed)
HANDOUTS:
Unit Research
Handout 1 (as needed)
Handout 2 (as needed)
Handout 3 (as needed)
Handout 4 (as needed)
WORKSHEET:
Essay/Speech/Video/Recording Worksheet
TEACHING PLAN:
- Art and Culture
Medium > Visual Arts
- History and Social Studies
People > African American
People > Hispanic
People > LGBT
People > Native American
People > Other
People > Women
Place > The Americas
Themes > Civil Rights
Themes > Culture
Themes > Globalization
Themes > History of Science and Technology
Themes > Immigration/Migration
Themes > Politics and Citizenship
Themes > Religion
Themes > War and Foreign Policy
U.S. History
U.S. > Colonization and Settlement
World > The Modern World
- Literature and Language Arts
Genre > Biography
Genre > Essay
Place > American
Place > Modern World
- Analysis
- Critical thinking
- Cultural analysis
- Discussion
- Expository writing
- Film editing
- Gathering, classifying and interpreting written and visual information
- Internet skills
- Interpretation
- Investigating/journalistic writing
- Literary analysis
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions
- Media analysis
- Online research
- Oral presentation skills
- Persuasive writing and speaking
- Report writing
- Representing ideas and information orally, graphically and in writing
- Research
- Role-playing/Performance
- Summarizing
- Synthesis
- Technology
- Textual analysis
- Using secondary sources
- Visual art skills
- Visual presentation skills
- Writing skills
- ELA Reading: 1, 5-7, 10
- ELA Writing: 1, 4-10
- ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-6
- HSS Reading: 1, 5-7, 9-10
- HSS Writing: 2, 4-10
LESSON 1 HANDOUTS
- Present essays, speeches, videos, or podcasts as part of a class initiative to raise awareness of a specific social justice issue (see Class Action Activity), with individual students highlighting different perspectives on this issue.
- Allow additional time for peer review, editing, and revision of work, or for students to evaluate the use of perspective, structure, style and tone in their finished works.
- Increase the minimum length requirement for the essays, speeches, videos, or podcasts, asking students to incorporate research on the history of their issue (see War & Activism Unit Research handout for resources).
- Publish class excerpts in the school newspaper or literary/art journal, coordinate a class blog, vlog, radio segment, or podcast, or encourage students to submit their final pieces independently.