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Bully by Patricia Pollacco: Lyla dumps her friend Jamie as soon as she makes the cheerleading squad. Jamie recognizes her toxic friendship and moves on

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Bully has 672 ratings and 156 reviews. Lisa said: It was ready at the library today. I picked it up today. I read it today. Now I'll have to wait ½ year ...

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Divided Loyalties: The Barton Family During the American Revolution by Gare Thompson: a family during the American Revolution is torn apart due to pressures of siding with the Patriots or the Crown

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by Divided Loyalties : The Barton Family During the American Revolution
Gare Thompson and Barbara Kiwak

More About Divided Loyalties by Gare Thompson; Barbara Kiwak

In 1774, a colonial family decides whether it should support the Patriot cause or the Loyalist cause. These opposing views threaten to tear the family apart. Students will learn about important events that shaped American history through the Stand Up and Speak Out series of historical fiction readers' theater. Readers follow the lives of children and their families as they struggle to make the right decisions during times of change. (Genre: Historical Fiction for Readers' Theater)

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teaching methods & materials - social science

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Divided Loyalties: Gare Thompson: 9780792258674:

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Divided Loyalties : The Barton Family During the American Revolution (Gare Thompson) at Booksamillion.com. In 1774, a colonial family decides whether it should support the Patriot cause or the Loyalist cause. These opposing views threaten to tear the family apart.

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My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig: Katie abandons her life-long friend Maddie for popularity. Gaining courage from her mom, Maddie confronts Katie on her cruel pranks

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My Secret Bully has 327 ratings and 71 reviews. Theresa said: I happened across this book at the library where I work and I SO wish that I'd seen somethi...

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Eagle Song by Joseph Bruchac: Danny is the new boy in town who is teased in school because he is Native American. Danny learns he must stand up for himself

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Eagle Song has 196 ratings and 38 reviews. Alicia said: Danny is in the city after moving away from the reservation for a better job for his mother while...

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Brown Girl Dreaming by Jackie Woodson: As an adult, Jackie recalls the taunts and pressures she faced living in the Civil Rights Era. Her color did not define her but it was her determination to be someone unforgettable

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Brown Girl Dreaming has 39,789 ratings and 5,735 reviews. Jesse (JesseTheReader) said: really enjoyed this! it was interesting seeing the things that jac...

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Good-Bye Bully Machine by Debbie Fox: This nonfiction text uses the analogy of bullying being a machine. It can either be fueled from constant put downs or it can be dismantled by kindness

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Good-Bye Bully Machine has 7 ratings and 1 review. Emily said: The book Good-Bye Bully Machine teaches kids what bullying is, why it hurts, and what th...

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Due to an outcast experience, teen creates app for others to find people to sit with during lunch

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As an 'eye grabber', a video was created to explain the purpose of this new emoji: to encourage other bullied victims

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A number of anti-bullying campaigns have rolled out in recent years, with most of the messaging aimed either at the victims or the bullies themselves. But now, Adobe is teaming with the Ad Council, agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners and a host of media companies to launch an anti-bullying effort that speaks to a new target-and gives them a clever new language to help make a difference.

The target is people who witness bullying. The new language is the first Unicode Standard approved emoji ever created for a social cause-an eye inside a speech bubble that's meant to be used when people see bullying, and want to speak out against it in some way.

The emoji, which was a mystery when it appeared in the developer preview of iOS 9.1 last month, has now launched on Apple's keyboard. (Those who have the current iOS 9.1 will see it appear automatically.) It's not available natively on Android yet, though Android users will be able to download a special keyboard, developed pro bono by Snaps, that has similar imagery.

The larger campaign, called "I Am A Witness," was developed pro bono by GS&P, Adobe and the Ad Council-with support from powerful media partners Apple, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Johnson & Johnson and Twitter, all of whom will provide exposure and customized content on their own platforms.

Several videos, meanwhile, will generate awareness for the campaign and the emoji.

One is an animated, interactive spot about a kid named Jack who is being bullied. It was created by Moonbot Studios (which also did Chipotle's famous "Scarecrow" spot) with music from Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. When the user interacts with the video using the onscreen emoji, the boy's bleak world is suddenly filled with more color.

The other spot is a long-form video showing popular YouTube stars reading mean comments about themselves, and then speaking out against bullying. See both spots here:

The whole project started at Adobe, whose CMO, Ann Lewnes, is highly committed to the anti-bullying cause. Last year, she and Adobe launched a project inspired by Lee Hirsch's documentary Bully. This year, Adobe approached its agency, GS&P, looking for a way to extend the message. And the new work also ended up being inspired by Bully.

"We saw this scene in the movie where this kid was getting bullied on a bus," Cassi Norman, the Adobe account director at GS&P, told Adweek. "We stopped ourselves and said, 'Yeah, there's a kid being bullied. And there's a bully. But what about all these kids that are witnessing it and not doing anything?' "

Norman added: "A lot of these campaigns speak to victims and bullies. But we know there's witnesses out there. If we could activate them in some way, they could be a much more powerful tool in stopping bullying happening. That was the driving insight."

GS&P copywriter Kate Baynham said the agency leaned toward the idea of an eye for the emoji from the very beginning, even though the image does carry some baggage. (Apple designed the actual emoji itself, based on GSP's other campaign materials.)

"Obviously the eye is a very strong symbol," Baynham said. "We've had questions like, 'Are you worried about drawing connotations to Big Brother or anything like that?' But so often, victims of bullying feel completely isolated and unseen. And bullies feel empowered to bully because they feel like they might be a little anonymous. By making the symbol an eye, it's like, 'No, I see what you're doing.' It's about accountability."

The eye is also a useful mark as it can adapt to many contexts in which it could be used.

"We wanted to give these a teenagers a tool that's pretty flexible in however they want to use it," Norman said. "Whether it's bringing kindness or support to the person who's experiencing the bullying, or calling it out, or just saying 'I don't stand for it,' it's a flexible symbol that can adapt to those different needs."

Creating and encouraging use of an emoji was attractive in another way, too: It fits the target's existing habits. The campaign already asks them to do something unfamiliar-to take a visible stance against bullying. It shouldn't make the means of doing so unfamiliar as well.

"It's so natural for them to use," Norman said. "We're already trying to change a pattern and change a behavior, so giving them something that's easy and natural to use eliminates an extra barrier to that."

Could use of a simple emoji actually help prevent bullying?

"It seems like it really could. We have a lot of faith in it," Baynham said. "The majority of anti-bullying campaigns are either talking to victims or talking to bullies. They're saying 'Wait until you get to college, and then everything will be fine' or 'Hey, stop doing that. We're all the same person.' Those messages are very important. But for this one, rather than building awareness, it's building activation. We're not asking a lot. We're asking people to consider using this emoji when they see bullying. It seems like something that could really scale up in terms of use."

The campaign will also include activations on platforms including BuzzFeed, Instagram, Kik, Shots, Snapchat, Tumblr, Vevo, We Heart It and Whisper. Nonprofit partners including The Bully Project, GLSEN, PACER and The Trevor Project have also provided expertise and resources.

See more imagery from the campaign below.

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iOS 9's Puzzling Eye Emoji Is Explained: It's the First Ever Made for a Social Cause

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A number of anti-bullying campaigns have rolled out in recent years, with most of the messaging aimed either at the victims or the bullies themselves. But now, Adobe is teaming with the Ad Council, agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners and a host of media companies to launch an anti-bullying effort that speaks to a new target-and gives them a clever new language to help make a difference.

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The video is engaging, but does not go in depth. The article explains the social cause for the emoji, which creates a group of proactive people against bullying

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A number of anti-bullying campaigns have rolled out in recent years, with most of the messaging aimed either at the victims or the bullies themselves. But now, Adobe is teaming with the Ad Council, agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners and a host of media companies to launch an anti-bullying effort that speaks to a new target-and gives them a clever new language to help make a difference.

The target is people who witness bullying. The new language is the first Unicode Standard approved emoji ever created for a social cause-an eye inside a speech bubble that's meant to be used when people see bullying, and want to speak out against it in some way.

The emoji, which was a mystery when it appeared in the developer preview of iOS 9.1 last month, has now launched on Apple's keyboard. (Those who have the current iOS 9.1 will see it appear automatically.) It's not available natively on Android yet, though Android users will be able to download a special keyboard, developed pro bono by Snaps, that has similar imagery.

The larger campaign, called "I Am A Witness," was developed pro bono by GS&P, Adobe and the Ad Council-with support from powerful media partners Apple, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Johnson & Johnson and Twitter, all of whom will provide exposure and customized content on their own platforms.

Several videos, meanwhile, will generate awareness for the campaign and the emoji.

One is an animated, interactive spot about a kid named Jack who is being bullied. It was created by Moonbot Studios (which also did Chipotle's famous "Scarecrow" spot) with music from Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. When the user interacts with the video using the onscreen emoji, the boy's bleak world is suddenly filled with more color.

The other spot is a long-form video showing popular YouTube stars reading mean comments about themselves, and then speaking out against bullying. See both spots here:

The whole project started at Adobe, whose CMO, Ann Lewnes, is highly committed to the anti-bullying cause. Last year, she and Adobe launched a project inspired by Lee Hirsch's documentary Bully. This year, Adobe approached its agency, GS&P, looking for a way to extend the message. And the new work also ended up being inspired by Bully.

"We saw this scene in the movie where this kid was getting bullied on a bus," Cassi Norman, the Adobe account director at GS&P, told Adweek. "We stopped ourselves and said, 'Yeah, there's a kid being bullied. And there's a bully. But what about all these kids that are witnessing it and not doing anything?' "

Norman added: "A lot of these campaigns speak to victims and bullies. But we know there's witnesses out there. If we could activate them in some way, they could be a much more powerful tool in stopping bullying happening. That was the driving insight."

GS&P copywriter Kate Baynham said the agency leaned toward the idea of an eye for the emoji from the very beginning, even though the image does carry some baggage. (Apple designed the actual emoji itself, based on GSP's other campaign materials.)

"Obviously the eye is a very strong symbol," Baynham said. "We've had questions like, 'Are you worried about drawing connotations to Big Brother or anything like that?' But so often, victims of bullying feel completely isolated and unseen. And bullies feel empowered to bully because they feel like they might be a little anonymous. By making the symbol an eye, it's like, 'No, I see what you're doing.' It's about accountability."

The eye is also a useful mark as it can adapt to many contexts in which it could be used.

"We wanted to give these a teenagers a tool that's pretty flexible in however they want to use it," Norman said. "Whether it's bringing kindness or support to the person who's experiencing the bullying, or calling it out, or just saying 'I don't stand for it,' it's a flexible symbol that can adapt to those different needs."

Creating and encouraging use of an emoji was attractive in another way, too: It fits the target's existing habits. The campaign already asks them to do something unfamiliar-to take a visible stance against bullying. It shouldn't make the means of doing so unfamiliar as well.

"It's so natural for them to use," Norman said. "We're already trying to change a pattern and change a behavior, so giving them something that's easy and natural to use eliminates an extra barrier to that."

Could use of a simple emoji actually help prevent bullying?

"It seems like it really could. We have a lot of faith in it," Baynham said. "The majority of anti-bullying campaigns are either talking to victims or talking to bullies. They're saying 'Wait until you get to college, and then everything will be fine' or 'Hey, stop doing that. We're all the same person.' Those messages are very important. But for this one, rather than building awareness, it's building activation. We're not asking a lot. We're asking people to consider using this emoji when they see bullying. It seems like something that could really scale up in terms of use."

The campaign will also include activations on platforms including BuzzFeed, Instagram, Kik, Shots, Snapchat, Tumblr, Vevo, We Heart It and Whisper. Nonprofit partners including The Bully Project, GLSEN, PACER and The Trevor Project have also provided expertise and resources.

See more imagery from the campaign below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
iOS 9's Puzzling Eye Emoji Is Explained: It's the First Ever Made for a Social Cause

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A number of anti-bullying campaigns have rolled out in recent years, with most of the messaging aimed either at the victims or the bullies themselves. But now, Adobe is teaming with the Ad Council, agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners and a host of media companies to launch an anti-bullying effort that speaks to a new target-and gives them a clever new language to help make a difference.

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This blog brings up scenarios to discuss healthy pressures and negative pressures friends can put on others

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Responding to peer pressure is part of human nature - but some people are more likely to give in, and others are better able to resist and stand their ground. Find out how to make the right choices for you.

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#1: students will create a multimodal poster depicting someone being 'weighed down' by bully's language (makes students aware)
#2: students will work in small groups to discuss ways they can counteract what bullies may say (makes students become responsible)
#3: students will create a physical or a digital chart that the classroom or school can use when a bully brings someone down. The chart would include actions and things to say during certain situations (makes students take action and show respect)

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One Green Apple by Eve Bunting: Farah begins her class field trip feeling isolated because she's Muslim. That all changes when one person reaches out and removes all Farah's fears

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One Green Apple has 971 ratings and 272 reviews. Leslie said: One green apple is a childrens book about a young girl who ia new to a country and goes to ...

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Where Will I Live? by Rosemary McCarney: This nonfiction text follows the lives of children who are forced to abandon their homes with no secure residence in sight

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Where Will I Live? has 99 ratings and 54 reviews. Montzalee said: Where Will I Live? by Rosemary McCarney is a heart wrenching book that had me choking s...

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Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan: Esperanza had the life she loved in Mexico, until she had to move to California to work as a migrant farm worker. She must rise above the hardships to find her identity

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Esperanza Rising has 54,715 ratings and 5,081 reviews. Michelle said: I just finished this book with my class today...couldn't read that last sentence be...

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My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits: Yoon struggles to find her place in America when she really wants to live out her Korean heritage

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My Name Is Yoon has 2,232 ratings and 426 reviews. Kristen said: My Name is Yoon by Helen Ricorvits is a story about a little girl named Yoon who moves h...

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Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate: Kek moves to a foster home in MInnesota (thousands miles away from Africa). While trying to find his mother in his old country, Kek gains pride in his new home thanks to his new-found friends

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Home of the Brave has 6,708 ratings and 1,076 reviews. Krista the Krazy Kataloguer said: This is the story of a young Sudanese boy, one of the Lost Boys...

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Refugees and Migrants by Ceri Roberts: This nonfiction text answers reader's questions about migrants and refugees and reveals to readers that these are people too

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Refugees and Migrants has 10 ratings and 5 reviews: Published October 27th 2016 by Wayland, 32 pages, Hardcover

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Following the lives of four immigrants from various countries, children answer questions about their heritage and their lives in America

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This content resource is an interactive tour of Ellis Island. Students can explore different rooms in the main building at Ellis Island, and can view original photographs, listen to audio, or watch video.

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With the use of the green card, Marcela is able to go to school in America. Her career goals are in jeopardy, and she speaks out to defend the DACA program

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how daca changed this dreamer's life

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Marcela Zhou is a third-year medical student at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She says DACA was life-changing for her, and worries that students like her could face deportation in six months if there's no deal to preserve the program.

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The same children who were video interviewed also provide viewers with journal entries that go into further detail about their immigration journey

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This content resource is an interactive tour of Ellis Island. Students can explore different rooms in the main building at Ellis Island, and can view original photographs, listen to audio, or watch video.

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Compiling recent residencies of immigrants, students can view the demographics of the modern immigrants in America

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Interactive Map Showing Immigration Data Since 1880 - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

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See how foreign-born groups settled in your area and across the United States from 1880 to 2000.

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#1: students would comprise questions that they personally have about immigrants and the immigration process (makes students responsible)
#2: students would arrange a video or audio interview with an immigrant to discuss their written questions (allows students to become more aware)
#3: students would compile immigrant's answers and share their new understandings with the class (simultaneously has students showing respect and taking action when sharing)

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Children Growing Up With War by Jenny Matthews: Documented by Matthews' camera, images of refugee camps, clinics, and decimated villages highlight the impact was has on children

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Children Growing Up with War has 36 ratings and 13 reviews. Esther said: Photojournalism on war, presented without pulling too many punches for kids. Tak...

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I Was Only Nineteen by John Schumann: From the perspective of a young man is a story told about the horrors of the Vietnam War

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I Was Only Nineteen has 17 ratings and 7 reviews. gemsbooknook said: I Was Only Nineteen by John Schumann, illustrated by Craig Smith: This beautiful boo...

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The Donkey of Gallipoli: A True Story of Courage in WWI by Mark Greenwood: Soldier Jack Simpson saves over 300 Allied soldier lives with the help of his donkey companion

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The Donkey of Gallipoli has 50 ratings and 14 reviews. Bhebden said: The Donkey of Gallipoli is based on a true story of a young man named Jack Simpson w...

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War and Peas by Michael Foreman: King Lion goes to war with Fat King over resources, but soon realizes the power of peace

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King Lion looked around his country and was sad. For a long time, there had been no rain, and the ground was hard and dry. Nothing could ...

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Otto: The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear by Tom Ungerer: Told through the perspective of stuffed animal Otto, he sees the horrors of WWII when he's with a Jewish child, a soldier, and many more

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Otto has 321 ratings and 64 reviews. Manny said: A little corner of the Holocaust, seen through the eyes of a teddy bear - very nicely done, with just th...

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Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls are Used in War by Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine: Documenting his time as a rebel militia soldier, Michel recounts the horrors and how he was able to escape

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Child Soldier has 682 ratings and 194 reviews. Nicola said: The author's memoir of his early life in Congo and the time he was kidnapped by rebels to be ...

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Emmanuel Jal discloses the innocent blood he shed as well as other terrifying times in his childhood during an interview. He shares how he copes with the past

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Emmanuel Jal was only 8 when he was dragged into Sudan's long civil war. Like 12,000 other children, he was recruited as a soldier, fighting and killing alongside South Sudanese armed groups.

Only a few, like Jal, have managed to escape.

This week, the United Nations says that it has made an agreement that will gradually release 3,000 child soldiers from the armed group called the South Sudan Democratic Army Cobra Faction. The children are between 11 and 17 years old and have been "forced to do and see things no child should ever experience," Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF's South Sudan representative, said in a press release.

"Most of us have seen our homes burned down, have seen terrible things happen," Jal recalls. "So when I witnessed one of my aunts raped and my home village burned down, and then we're told that I'm going to be given skills and guns to fight the people who did that in our homeland, there was not much for me to be convinced."

Jal, now 34, is an actor, musician and activist in Canada. He had a role in last year's film, The Good Lie, about a group of Sundanese refugees adjusting to life in Kansas City, Mo. He joined NPR's Scott Simon on Weekend Edition to talk about his experience.

Here is an excerpt from their conversation, edited for length and clarity.
What was I like being a child soldier?
It's hell. Seeing 6-, 7-year-olds dead. Nobody going to give them [answers] when they begin to ask questions: "Why are we here, where is our mommy?" That's when you get to know these are children.
Is it easy to forget that these are still children?
They're still children but, you know, they've grown really fast in terms of [being] trained to be killing machines. The only thing is, children don't know you [only] die once. And AK is a terrible gun that has been invented because young people can carry the gun. An 8-year-old can fire an AK-47 as good as a 20-year-old.
How did you escape?
We planned an escape. It was really dangerous. The movement that we were struggling in became tribal and so you see soldiers turning on each other. We said we go and die where our family members are. We were around [200] to 400, I think. And only 16 people survived. On the way some died of starvation, dehydration. I arrived at a place called Waat and I met a British aid worker, Emma McCune, who smuggled me into Kenya and put me in school.
When you heard that the U.N. is arranging the release of 3,000 child soldiers, how did you feel?
It's exciting on one hand but it's also sad because if the war hasn't stopped, those kids are still going to go back [to fighting]. When they are disarmed, where are they going to go? Is there a place safe for them that the U.N. is going to keep them in? Where are their families?

The best thing is get them to school. If they are not schooled, they'll be at home. They'll still get guns and go back. It'll just be [a] publicity stunt.
A former child soldier, Dominic Ongwen, is currently standing trial for the war crimes he committed as a rebel commander. In your moral judgment, does he deserve some leniency?
Most child soldiers - even me, I am not clean. As a child soldier I did stuff. But along the way I got help, I wanted to change and I'm here. So sometime we need to ask ourselves: Why do people do extremely terrible things? Crime is like a disease. We have some psychopaths governing people and they kill millions of people. They're the same as [that] gentlemen [on trial].

Getting that guy to the [International Criminal Court] - it's a good sign. It gives hope to a lot of people who have been hurt. But at the same time, he was a child soldier as well. So what I wonder is, what do the people say? Is there a situation where people who are directly affected [can] come and testify? What would they feel would be the best way to find justice?
Do you still get nightmares?
Yeah, I used to have a lot of nightmares - life was difficult then. But music became the place [where] I was able to see heaven. So through music I was able to dance, I was able to become a child again. And I did not know that I was going to be a recording artist. I was doing it for fun because it kept me busy.
Does your current life seem unreal?
I feel like I'm dreaming where I am now, I feel like I don't even know why I'm here. I've just been nominated for the biggest award in Canada - the JUNO awards - which means my music is getting recognized. I just had a new album, I also acted in a movie with Reese Witherspoon. All these platforms, I'm using them to raise conscious awakening. So even when the nightmare comes it's not as effective as it used to be.

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A Former Child Soldier Finds Escape, Heaven Through His Music

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Emmanuel Jal was only 8 when he was dragged into Sudan's long civil war. Like 12,000 other children, he was recruited as a soldier, fighting and killing alongside South Sudanese armed groups. Only a few, like Jal, have managed to escape.

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The video depicts America's backlash to the War in Vietnam: people rioting, burning draft cards, and so on to demonstrate their disapproval to war

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The anti war protests against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. HD Stock Footage

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Link to order this clip: http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675032122_antiwar-protests_against-Vietnam-War_people-protest_Martin-Luther-King Historic Stock Footage Archival and Vintage Video Clips in HD. The anti war protests against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Anti-war protests in the United States. New York: pacifist protesters march and demonstrate against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War from the Central park to the UN headquarters building.

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Michel shares his decision to take his child soldier identity and make a graphic novel in order to educate children about war dangers

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Michel Chikwanine was 5 years old when rebel militiamen kidnapped him from a soccer field near his school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He had decided to stay out to play rather than follow his father's instructions to head straight home. As the fighters approached his group of friends, he was more concerned about having disobeyed his dad than about what the men would do.

Chikwanine's life would quickly and irreconcilably change, however, as the militia abducted the boys and took them to its camp. There, a fighter drugged him with a mix of cocaine and gunpowder. Chikwanine was blindfolded and made to hold a gun, then told to shoot it.

"I was forced literally to kill my best friend as an initiation process into the army," Chikwanine told The WorldPost. "That's something I will never forget, and I still fight with every single day."

Chikwanine spent weeks as a child soldier with the group before he managed to escape and find his way back home through the help of townspeople who knew his family. He later escaped the conflict to a displaced persons camp in northern Uganda, and in 2004 made it to Canada as a refugee with his mother and younger sister.

Now 27, Chikwanine has written about his experiences in a graphic novel released this month that's aimed, perhaps counterintuitively, at 10- to 14-year-olds.

Along with co-author Jessica Dee Humphreys and illustrator Claudia Davila, Chikwanine has created Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War, a work he hopes will give young people greater context and awareness of the use of children in war.

The novel recounts Chikwanine's story, but also gives a wider look into the conditions that led to the conflict that consumed a large part of his life and millions of others.

After the Rwandan genocide in 1994, millions of the country's ethnic Hutu population -- many of whom had participated in the campaign against the ethnic Tutsis -- fled into eastern DRC. Once there, Hutu extremist groups attacked Tutsis within the nation and threatened further attacks on Rwanda.

Rwanda responded by supporting a Tutsi-led rebel campaign that toppled longtime Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko while also committing horrific abuses against the populace and Hutu refugees. But DRC's newly installed rebel leader-turned-president, Laurent Kabila, turned against his former Rwandan allies once in power.

In 1998, Kabila's government and Rwandan-backed rebels started warring over who would control DRC. The conflict also involved a number of regional powers backing different sides and plundering the nation's natural resources.

An estimated 30,000 children were fighting at the peak of the war, according to UNICEF. The conflict killed and injured millions, left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, and led to widespread destruction.

Chikwanine's book looks at the DRC's history and its brutal legacy of colonialism, and includes resources to find out more about child soldiers -- all of which Chikwanine said were necessary to show that such atrocities do not happen in vacuum.

"I wanted to change the narrative of conflict and war, especially for young people," he said, adding that he hopes to separate his work from Western depictions of African nations that remove nuance and humanity of their history.

"When we talk about Africa, or any other part of the world, it's always talked about in headlines," he said. "Africa has a very stereotypical mention of being very violent and poor, but we forget to mention the context of the conflict and the poverty. It leads people to conclude the very stereotypical idea of what Africa is, and that's not what it is."

Chikwanine returned to the relative safety of his home after being abducted, but his family saw more suffering in the years to come. The rising instability and violence in DRC descended in the late 1990s into a civil war that killed over 5 million people and brought more attacks against Chikwanine and his family. His father, a human rights activist, was tortured and ultimately assassinated after fleeing the country, while his sisters and mother survived sexual violence.

Chikwanine said he wants to increasing children's understanding of the world, as well as to increase an opportunity for them to have a dialogue with adults about issues of social justice.

"Sometimes, as adults, we shy away from having conversations with our own young people, but every day in the world a young person sees atrocities that are happening," he said. "It's important to start having conversations with young people, to engage them in that way if we want them to grow up to be engaged citizens in society."

In recent months, Chikwanine has spoken out on the worldwide refugee crisis and how governments should do more to support aid programs and embrace people fleeing conflict. As someone who arrived in Canada as a refugee, he has criticized how people and politicians who haven't experienced war have dismissed the needs of people seeking asylum.

"When we see conflict on the news it's a headline, but for many people that was life and reality and it was hurtful," Chikwanine said. "To see other human beings going through difficult situations like that, it's one of the hardest things to watch."

Chikwanine is currently a student at the University of Toronto, and after graduation he hopes to turn his focus to promoting education and shifting policy in African nations. He is also involved in The Child Soldiers Initiative, which seeks to prevent the use of children in war, and speaks publicly on child's rights.

"It's never been easy to tell my story," Chikwanine said. "As any person who has been through conflict will tell you, it's not easy to stand up and tell people some of the most difficult moments of your life, but it is necessary."

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A Former Child Soldier Shares His Story In New Graphic Novel

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Michel Chikwanine was 5 years old when rebel militiamen kidnapped him from a soccer field near his school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He had decided to stay out to play rather than follow his father's instructions to head straight home.

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Looking at all wars fought by America, information is presented on how much each war costed in terms of bodies, financials, and other resources

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united states defense and military forces

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Comparing the Costs of America's Wars - Graphic - NYTimes.com

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The combined costs of Iraq, Afghanistan and other post-9/11 operations are exceeded only by those of World War II.

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#1: students create a venn diagram where they compare popular war games to actual wars (makes students aware of differentiation)
#2: students will write an imaginative diary/journal entry as either a soldier or as someone impacted by war (has students apply their knowledge of respect)
#3: students will email or mail or even video communicate with an active soldier with the goal to express concerns as well as ask questions (allows students to take action in their own awareness, thus making them responsible)

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The Dust Bowl Through the Lens by Martin W. Sandler: The aftermath of the Dust Bowl was documented through various photographs to capture displacement and disparaging villages

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The Dust Bowl was a time of hardship and environmental and economic disaster. More than 100 million acres of land had turned to dust, cau...

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How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O' Connor: Georgiana believes stealing a dog to gain the 'lost ad found' prize money would get her family out of living in the car, but she eventually confesses her deeds.

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How to Steal a Dog has 8,414 ratings and 963 reviews. A. Riley said: Wow! This is a touching story that shined some light for me into the life of homeles...

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The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes: Wanda is bullied by classmates since she boasted about dresses she actually never owned. When her taunters discovered her poverty, Wanda was already gone

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The Hundred Dresses has 27,852 ratings and 2,090 reviews. Melki said: This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid, but I somehow lost touch with i...

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Poverty and Hunger by Louise Spilsbury: this nonfiction text outlines the FAQs children have about poor families around them

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With our 24/7 news cycle and constant access to the latest headlines, the world can be a scary place. Now imagine you're a child trying t...

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Trash by Andy Mulligan: Three vagabond boys while dumpster diving discover a key which is sought after by crooks and cops alike. The key send them on a action adventure which ends with rewards and their own fishing business

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Trash has 8,247 ratings and 1,351 reviews. K.D. said: Trash by Andrew Andy Mulligan, a British theatre director, drama teacher and now novelist is set ...

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The Can Man by Laura E. Williams: Tim learns a great lesson when he collects cans to buy his new skateboard: to give unto others in need. He gives his earnings to the can man, who shows kindness in return

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To earn money, a young boy decides to collect and redeem empty soft drink cans, but ends up giving away his money to help a local homeles...

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Following the like of Keynyang, he is one of the millions of children living in extreme poverty around the world due to external factors

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Global Poverty And Hunger: Take Action! | Action Against Hunger

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Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization that takes decisive action against the causes and effects of hunger. We save the lives of malnourished children. We ensure families can access clean water, food, training, and health care. We enable entire communities to be free from hunger.

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Although it looks different on the outside, there are high numbers of American children living in poverty (homelessness, lack of hygiene, etc)

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Uploaded by Jenna Van Dyke on 2014-11-10.

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article provides bulleted facts about the number of students living in poverty and what the implications are when living in poverty

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1 child in every 7 will be born into poverty in the United States. Are you surprised?

You may think that - because the United States is a rich nation - the poor in that country are only poor by American standards. But the childhood poverty rate is actually much higher in the U.S. than in other developed countries. The realities of poverty for American kids become clear when you know the facts.

The federal "poverty line" in 2014 for a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 kids under age 17) is about $24,000. But social welfare researchers say it would take an income of about twice that amount to achieve basic financial security. - U.S. Census Bureau

1 kid in 5 lives in poverty compared to 1 in 8 adults. That's 15.5 million impoverished kids in the U.S. - U.S. Census Bureau

Kids in the U.S. experience higher poverty rates than most developed nations. Only Greece, Mexico, Israel and Turkey have higher child poverty rates than the U.S.

Almost 40% of American kids spend at least 1 year in poverty before they turn 18. - Urban Institute

Between 2012 and 2014, federal spending fell for kids' education, nutrition, social services and early education and care. The government spends just 10% of the national budget on kids - a fraction of what other developed countries spend. - Urban Institute

Poor kids are more likely to experience hunger. And food insecurity has a lifelong effect: lower reading and math scores, more physical and mental health problems, more emotional and behavioral problems and a greater chance of obesity. - Feeding America

the top 3 states with the
HIGHEST RATES
of child poverty

Find out how we are helping kids in the U.S.

CI's U.S. sponsorship program operates in Little Rock, where 2,700+ impoverished kids receive life-changing support.

Students from 16 to 24 years old from low-income families are 7x more likely to drop out than more well-off peers.

24 states and the District of Columbia have poverty rates higher than the national average of 14.8%. The majority of the nation's poor live in the South. - Center for American Progress

86% of kids whose parents have less than a high school diploma live in low-income families. 67% of kids whose parents have a high school degree but no college education live in poverty. Less than a third of kids in poverty have at least one parent with some college or additional education. - National Center for Children in Poverty

Arkansas is ranked 46th of 51 (states and Washington D.C.). But that's where CI works!
See how we're helping

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Facts About Child Poverty in the U.S.A. | Children International | US Poverty Facts

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1 child in every 7 will be born into poverty in the United States. Are you surprised? You may think that - because the United States is a rich nation - the poor in that country are only poor by American standards. But the childhood poverty rate is actually much higher in the U.S.

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The brief article provides two ways (sponsor a child, and raise funds for that child) where students can make an impact for children who live in poverty

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#1: students will write a poem where they compare an item that can be viewed as trash and as treasure simultaneously from different perspectives (makes students aware of differentiation between poverty and wealth)
#2: students will conduct research on the number of food trays wasted in the cafeteria. students will observe and record data for one week before drawing conclusions (allows students to be further made aware, and take responsibility for their own awareness)
#3: students will sponsor a unopened food drive or a lightly used clothing/toy drive for those who are in need within their local community (allows students to take action for those in poverty, thus showing them respect)