Methods of Youth Activism

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March 2007 Lesson Plan

Methods of Youth Activism
Grades 6-12
2-3 Class Periods

Objectives

In this lesson students will:
  1. Identify their own skills and talents
  2. Understand common methods of youth activism: educate, advocate, and donate
  3. Understand that youth can create change on a local, national, or international level using these methods.
  4. Make a personal decision about the level of work (local, national or international) they would like to do.
  5. Design a service learning project using their talents and one of the above methods to benefit a cause important to them.

Description

Students will begin with a brief icebreaker activity that highlights individual skills and talents of students. After a discussion of these skills and talents, students will gather information about the three main methods of youth activism: education, advocacy, and fundraising. In small group,s students will discuss how each of these methods may be used to take an active role on the community, national, or international level. Students will complete a decision tree, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of working on each level, and make a personal decision about which level in which they are most interested in working. In groups divided by level of activism, students will apply their skills and talents to brainstorming ideas for a service learning project in preparation for Global Youth Service Day (April 20-22).

Materials

  • Blackboard
  • Blank slips of paper (for opening activity)
  • Methods of Youth Activism handouts (below)
  • Decision Tree handouts (below)
  • Guiding Questions - Project Worksheets
  • Computer with internet access
  • MS Word or PowerPoint
  • Email access to participate in forums and wiki (not needed for every student, but at least one teacher, student, or administrator address is needed for each school group)

Suggested Procedure


Opening/Icebreaker Activity

  1. Hand out blank slips of paper to each student. Each student should have at least one slip of paper.
  2. Ask each student to think of a skill or talent that he/she possesses that could be helpful to the community or a good addition to the community (for example, students may write “I can dance, I can sing” or “I can write letters very well, I can speak in public,” etc.)
  3. Students should NOT put their names on the slips of paper.
  4. After each student has written down one skill or talent, teachers may collect papers.
  5. Teachers shuffle the slips of paper, and then hand them out again to the students (each student should have one). Because no names are on the paper, these are now completely anonymous.
  6. Teachers ask students to read each skill/talent aloud, individually. After each one is read, teachers ask the class who they could attribute the skill to. At first, students will try to guess who it was that wrote that particular skill/talent down. Encourage students to think of other students in the class who may have that skill attributed to them (including themselves)
  7. After all the slips of paper have been read and discussed, write “As a class, we can…” on the blackboard.
  8. Review the skills/talents discussed and record them on the board.
  9. Explain to students that as youth activists, they can rely not only on their individual skills, but on the skills they all have collectively to make a difference.
  10. Individually, young people have a lot of power because they have energy and enthusiasm to dedicate to a cause that is important to them.
  11. Collectively, that energy grows exponentially. Youth make up a large percentage of the world’s population. In the US, for example, 25% of the population is under 18. In other countries this percentage is even higher:
    1. Afghanistan: 51% of population under 18
    2. Bangladesh: 40%
    3. Palestine: 79%
    4. Tajikistan: 42% (source: UNICEF and CIA World Factbook)

  1. Explain to students that in this month’s project they are going to learn about some methods for collective action, and decide on how to put those methods into action on the community, national, and international levels.

Class Discussion: Methods of Youth Activism

  1. Write the words “Educate, Advocate, Donate” on the board. If desired, teachers may hand out “Methods of Youth Activism” worksheet to students individually as well (below).
  2. Ask students: how is educating (yourself, someone else) a form of activism?
    1. If you see a problem, first you need to educate yourself. Read newspaper articles, search the internet, and ask teachers or other experts for information. Once you feel like you have enough information, you have to pass it on: share it with your friends, family, and members of your community.
    2. Other people in your school, your family, or your whole community may not know as much as you do about the issues that interest you most. Your friends, family and community members can become your biggest supporters if they’re educated about the issues you care about.
  3. What are some methods of educating ourselves (reading, searching the internet, researching at the library, asking experts)?
  4. What are some methods of educating the people around us (presentations, posters, flyers, letters, etc)?
  5. Record answers on board, and encourage students to record notes on their worksheets.
  6. What does “advocate” mean? What does it mean “to advocate?”
    1. To advocate is to speak out in favor of or in defense of an issue or person. Advocating draws attention to a problem and helps get support for dealing with that issue.
    2. Advocating takes educating to the next level, often by getting a lot of support for an issue and bringing that support to the attention of officials (in the school, government, or international community).
  7. What are some methods of advocating for an issue (petitions, letter writing campaigns, etc)?
  8. When we talk about donating, most of the time we are specifically talking about fundraising. Why does it help to raise money for an issue you care about?
    1. Fighting for a good cause takes time and talent, but it also takes money. If you want to feed the homeless, for example, someone has to pay for the food. If you want to build libraries in communities where there are none, someone has to pay for the books.
  9. What are some of the methods by which we can raise money for a cause? (bake sales, book sales, read-a-thons, contests, raffles, etc.)

Activity: Decision Tree

  1. Draw a “Decision Tree” on the blackboard (see below)
  2. Hand out individual “decision tree” worksheets to students.
  3. Explain to students that in every country, youth leaders have the potential to work for good causes on many different levels. One can work on to make change in the community, in the nation as a whole, or in the entire world around them.
  4. Ask students, by a show of hands, how many of them feel like they would rather work on the community level
  5. Ask students, by a show of hands, how many of them feel they would rather work on the national level
  6. Ask students, by a show of hands, how many of them feel they would rather work on the international level.
  7. Record the count on the blackboard and do not erase until the end of the lesson
  8. Explain to students that we will be taking a closer look at the reasons why people choose to work on one level or the other.
  9. Ask students what they believe some of the advantages to working on the international level are. Are there advantages personally (prestige, urgency of issue, etc)? Are there advantages for the change one is trying to create (more funding, more publicity)?
  10. Record answers on the board, and instruct students to record the answers on their worksheets as well
  11. Ask students what they believe some of the disadvantages of trying to work internationally are.
  12. Ask students what they believe some of the advantages to working nationally are. Are there advantages personally (financial, prestige, etc)? Are there advantages for the change one is trying to create (more funding, more publicity)?
  13. Record answers on the board, and instruct students to record the answers on their worksheets as well.
  14. Ask students what they believe some of the disadvantages to working nationally are.
  15. Proceed in the same manner with the advantages and disadvantages for working locally.
  16. Ask students to take 5 minutes and quickly fill out the bottom box of the decision tree.
  17. Students should answer the question “I would choose to work on the _ level, because…”
  18. Remind students that there is no right or wrong answer. The goal is that they make the decision that is right for them, based on the information they have generated.
  19. Once everyone has filled in their decision, take another vote.
    1. Whose choice remained the same? Why?
    2. Whose choice changed? Why?

Group Work and Wikis: Designing a Project

  1. Divide students into groups according to the level of action they would like to take (community, national, or international action).
  2. Ask students to remember the skills and talents they have, and the various methods of youth activism they discussed in class.
  3. How can they put their talents and these methods together to design a service project (potentially for Global Youth Service Day in April)?
  4. Teachers may distribute the Guiding Questions worksheets (below) to assist students in designing projects.
  5. When each group has finished brainstorming about their potential project, direct students to research the internet to find AT LEAST THREE internet resources that will help them to design their project.
  6. Each group of students should design a wiki page, linked to the main page for March’s GCYP lesson, detailing plans for their project. Students should list their three web resources on their wiki page.
  7. Students may explore their partner students’ project pages for ideas for projects, to find resources they would like to add to their page, or to add helpful resources to their friends’ pages. Encourage students to use the “discussion” tabs on each wiki page to ask their fellow students questions and to suggest resources.
  8. Alternatively, students may create PowerPoint presentations detailing their ideas for service projects in April and their lists of resources.

Handouts


Methods of Youth Activism Worksheet
Decision Tree Worksheet
Service Project Guiding Questions

All groups should complete their wikispace contributions by Friday, March 23, 2007.

Teachers are asked to contact their partner teachers, Naama Haviv (naama@ri.org) AND their RI-SOL country representative when students have completed their contributions. If completing presentations, teachers should email the presentations to their partners, AND the RI-SOL representative so they can be posted on the website. Presentations should be sent no later than Friday, March 23, 2007.

Please send your completed presentations to:
US teachers: naama@ri.org
Tajikistan teachers: gulshan@shoolsonline.org
Bangladesh teachers: eather@ri.org and nazrul@schoolsonline.org
Palestine teachers: Davina@ri.org
Afghanistan teachers: mumtaza@ri.org

“The Right to Education” forum will be held Monday, March 26 – Friday, March 30.
This is an opportunity for your students to ask questions about their partner schools’ findings and contributions. Please have your students go online to your partner country’s wikispace and view their partners’ contributions before participating in the forum.

You can find the forum through the online country website:
www.connect-afghanistan.org
www.connect-tajikistan.org
www.connect-bangladesh.org
www.connect-middleeast.org