Thrive in Action Blog Series: Student Voice, GPS 6 - Social Justice
The Thrive In Action blog series highlights practical applications for Great Pedagogy Strategies (GPS) within the EdConnective Thrive Framework, summarized here. The EdConnective Thrive Framework is unique in that it can be applied to teaching actions seamlessly whether learning is in-person or remote. This week we get more familiar with:
Student Voice, GPS 6 - Social Justice: Teacher supports students in engaging in content and activities that support dismantling systems of oppression and making a more just, equitable, and peaceful world.
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While it is always important to aid our students’ awareness of the world, community, and self, in our current climate, this importance has increased. In the classroom, Social Justice refers to lesson plans, writing prompts, and projects designed to engage students in deep thinking around contemporary justice issues and make connections that are age-appropriate and align with your content and curriculum. There are many ways this can be done as both a part of or as a whole lesson. Social Justice lessons simply push students to think about the world in a broader sense. To question and ponder their role in the world, their community, and even as a member of each classroom.
The power of a Social Justice lesson when teaching in-building can be increased through student interaction and discussion because many takeaways will be informed through hearing the various perspectives, experiences, reflections, and takeaways of others. Social Justice conversations can start with watching a video or reading a text to provide insight into a current or historical event. One great resource is Teaching Tolerance, which provides texts and videos in multiple genres and from various times in history, sorted by grade-level and learning standard. If you are aiming to create conversation around a more recent event Newsela modifies current events to various reading levels with standards-aligned questions.
Similar strategies can be used to ignite student conversation and increase understanding while teaching remotely. While student discussions can still be held during a synchronous class, students will also benefit from small breakout room discussions guided by questions specifically written for deep reflection. Providing time to reflect in writing can include the use of publicly shared discussions using a LMS such as Google Classroom or Canvas and requiring responses to other’s thinking. Recently, I had the pleasure of watching an eighth grade Journalism class use their research skills to learn about the various candidates on their local ballot and share presentations before engaging in a mock election. Following this, they discussed the pros and cons of candidates, voting rights, and their feelings on the various ways to vote. Like these students, students should be guided to accept various perspectives, analyze information and sources deeply, and to determine their own opinion using facts, experiences, personal beliefs, and values.
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