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Project Based Learning for all. We build the capacity of teachers and school leaders to design and facilitate quality Project Based Learning.

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Publications, presentations, CTE handouts, bibliographies, and diversity resources for teachers, including assessment resources and video channel.

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Teaching Materials | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

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Understanding how school discipline policies can contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline is essential for educators and families. Harsh punishments, automatic out-of-class time and police involvement for discipline can push young people out of classrooms and into the criminal legal system. But educators, parents and caregivers can help to change this harmful system by advocating for and implementing practices that prioritize mental health and well-being.

We offer this new resource page that highlights LFJ articles and content to open dialogue, shift practices and foster change to benefit all young people.

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Learning for Justice | Education Resources

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Learning for Justice provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.

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IWitness:Video testimonies from Holocaust survivors and witnesses

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IWitness brings educators and their students (ages 13-18) together at the intersection of Holocaust education and the development of critical literacies needed in the 21st century.

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#HipHopEd | At the intersection of Hip-Hop and Education

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HipHopEd is an organization that brings together a community of educators and scholars who challenge traditional educational systems to value the power of youth culture and voice.

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I'm very pleased to share my New York Times Learning Network blog post with the Educator Innovator blog. One thing I'd like readers to keep in mind if this is your first introduction to teaching with student civic action: if a full-blown project seems overwhelming, time-gobbling, and hard to control, it's fine to start small. A good strategy is the "soap box" curriculum from the Mikva Challenge organization in Chicago, readily available on the Web. It comprises just four lessons plus a speech presentation session. If you want to do the full monte but with more explicit lessons, you can obtain a full Mikva Challenge project curriculum for a fee. (Note: I don't work for that organization, but am a fan.) I've tried to provide ideas and supports in my book, From Inquiry to Action, and on my blog at https://medium.com/@szemelman/latest. While the Learning Network post originally emphasized the role of politics in the recent focus on student civic engagement, most issues students will want to tackle are very local, immediate, and not really controversial-like supporting students in the school who deal with disabilities, strengthening young people's health, or improving school culture. Just know that when you involve your students in this kind of active learning, you are doing the work that public school in America was originally established to do: guiding them to become the responsible and active citizens our society needs.

Overview: Five Steps for Getting Started

Many outstanding teachers guide student civic action in their classrooms, and some have been at it for a long time. In fact, this kind of learning was repeatedly promoted over the past century, as this 1928 article from The New York Times shows. At times, as in this New York City public school project in 1992, foundations have even funded it.

What can these projects look like? Chicago high school teacher Elizabeth Robbins explains one approach in the TEDx talk above.

While individual efforts are valuable, students can learn the skills of collaborating on civic issues by working together as a whole class. Here are the five broad steps they should follow:

1. Identify issues important in their lives and community, and decide on one to address.

2. Research the chosen issue and decide how to change or improve the situation.

3. Plan an action, including determining a goal for change; identifying who or what body in the community has power to make the change; and deciding how to approach that person or those people.

4. Carry out the action through letters, talks, meetings with officials, policy proposals, and activities, depending on the specific goals of the project.

5. Reflect on the effort when it is over in order to understand their successes, challenges, and ways to continue learning in the future.

Two features are especially crucial to making the experience authentic and empowering. First, students must own the key choices and decisions and figure out solutions to problems themselves, so they discover that they can do this. The teacher facilitates the work, of course, but leaves as much of the decision-making as possible to the students.

Second, the work should culminate in some action focused on change in the school or community. It's not enough to just talk about change, practice mock legislatures, or serve in a soup kitchen (as valuable as these activities may be). Only when students see adults listening to them with respect, do they realize they have a voice and can make a difference in their world. Their efforts may not always succeed, but in being heard they come to value the studying, reading, writing and planning that they have done.

A good preparatory step is to start students thinking about democracy and whether it's important in our lives. (One way to begin? This series of Learning Network writing and discussion prompts on the question How Strong Is Your Faith in American Democracy?)

After a quick-write and some sharing of responses, invite students to discuss how they can promote democracy in their own classroom, not just by voting on matters but by become active citizens themselves.

Step 1-Identifying an Issue That Matters to Students

Here are several strategies to get students started:

Ask them! Young people often have a lot to say about problems and concerns in their school or community, and sometimes these are issues we teachers would never think of. It's a good idea to encourage focus on issues in their own school or community, since it's more likely that the students can have some influence on them. (For example, as I described in my book, one group of students at Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest, Ill., focused on solutions to the problem of repeated flooding in their neighborhood.)

Offer a list of social issues to help get brainstorming started. The Learning Network recently provided suggestions for possible charitable actions for individual students, and these can also be tackled by a whole class together. While many of the examples are about giving time or money, any of them can be expanded into larger efforts for substantive change. For example, providing warm clothing for the homeless can grow into advocacy for more essential programs to end homelessness.

Guide the class to survey fellow students in the school, or adults in the neighborhood, to identify issues of concern. Have students work in small groups to create draft surveys. They can try them out on one another, or on a sample of people outside the classroom to see which questions provide them with the most useful information. This Learning Network set of activities on surveys can help guide students in this work.

Another resource? This lesson plan, from Suzie Boss, a writer who specializes in Project-Based Learning: For Authentic Learning, Start With Real Problems.

Step 2-Researching the Issue

In Step 2, students become well-informed on their chosen issue. While local news items introduce students to conditions in their own community, national news on the issue can provide more information and perspective.

For example, the issue of lead in drinking water, which has been a major crisis in Flint, Michigan, is also proving to be a problem in places all over the country.

Students or teachers might then scroll through the Times Topics page on water, and find pieces like these that take the topic on from different perspectives:
2017 Article | America's Tap Water: Too Much Contamination, Not Enough Reporting, Study Finds 2016 Article | Flint Weighs Scope of Harm to Children Caused by Lead in Water 2016 Op-Ed | Poisoned Water in Newark Schools 2013 Article | The Arsenic in Our Drinking Water
This is just an example of one topic, but whatever topic your students take on, the more they can be charged with finding their own information, the more ownership they will have over the product. (Of course, a few quick lessons on how to find and evaluate information may help.)

Next, have students brainstorm other resources they might use to augment what a web or library search offers. For example, a class at Polaris Charter Academy in Chicago, concerned with gun violence in their neighborhood, talked to a local police official, leaders of neighborhood organizations, and their city alderman. It led to a project so rich it was described in The Times, as part of a piece on the question, Can Teenage Defiance Be Manipulated for Good?:

At Polaris Charter Academy on Chicago's West Side, seventh graders learning about the Second Amendment decided to start a campaign against gun violence in their neighborhood. They created four public-service announcements, which aired on television; published a book about peacemakers in their community; and presented their work to the mayor.

Ameerah Rollins, now 16 and a junior at Richard T. Crane Medical Prep High School, was one of the seventh graders. At first, she said, "none of us really thought we would make much impact." But as the students began to interview local officials and organize community events, "I noticed that people were starting to look at us, to acknowledge what we were doing." Nine out of 10 of her classmates knew someone who had been shot or killed. Taking action felt like a way to begin to avenge those deaths. "It triggered something very personal. And when it became personal, we actually started to put in the work."

From her experience, Ms. Rollins concluded that teenagers may have a distinct capacity to change society.

Step 3-Identifying Solutions and Planning Actions

At this stage, students can be helped to examine and compare solutions thoughtfully. A great tool is the "root cause tree" graphic organizer. Unlike some graphics that do most of the work in advance, this one invites real thinking and often further research, because it encourages students to consider the many factors that may influence a problem, rather than cavalierly jumping to a conclusion.

Considering a range of causes can lead students to search for creative solutions to problems. Here, for example, is a student-created debate and lesson plan from The Learning Network the topic of how to fix the criminal justice system.

Another example: If students are focused on homelessness (an issue many young people find they want to work on), they can start with a search of The New York Times, and find, via the Times Topics page on homelessness, a whole collection of proposals by experts on the issue.

As they read, they may realize that the need for jobs is one salient factor. A bit of searching could then uncover job strategies that already exist, such as this one developed by the city of Albuquerque.

This positive approach is often called " appreciative inquiry " - that is, instead of just defining the goal as an absence of the problem, look for solutions that already exist.

Once students have a proposal in mind, whom do they approach to advocate it? This calls for what organizers term a " power analysis " - but it's really a civics lesson students teach themselves.

If the concern is about the safety of drinking water in their community, students will need to inquire into exactly who is responsible for it, and who might have the authority to make changes in how it is assured. News articles often reveal the responsible agency or official. Another approach is for students to contact a local government official who can give them guidance, even if he or she is not the responsible party.

Now it's time to start preparing communications to advocate their solution. Depending on the target audience, this may involve:

letter writing

fliers

presentations to local governing boards, commissions, local businesses, or civic groups

podcasts

public service announcements by video or audio

The support a teacher provides now depends very much on the students' decisions about how they plan to proceed.

In the Polaris seventh grade class mentioned earlier, students decided to make public service videos, like the one you see above, and persuaded their local alderman to run them on his YouTube channel. To help these young people create their videos, the teachers contacted a nearby high school video instructor to obtain expert high school students' help training their younger protégés.

In a high school algebra classroom at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, students who had analyzed statistics on minority standardized test performance created a website and distributed fliers to inform students in disadvantaged neighborhoods about free SAT prep programs. In a setting like that, a quick lesson from an art teacher could be especially helpful for promoting quality design of the fliers.

More ideas? A recent Times article, " A Low-Tech Guide to Becoming More Politically Active," gives ideas to help people educate themselves on an issue, engage with lawmakers, and find groups doing similar work who might help.

Step 4-Carrying Out an Action

Just as with planning, as students move to carry out their planned advocacy or civic improvement project, the support a teacher provides depends entirely on the specifics of the action. At this stage, the primary role is to cheer the students on, and make sure their efforts are positive and acceptable in the community.

Teachers concerned with involving students in highly charged issues needn't worry, however. Most of the issues students identify tend to be quite local and noncontroversial - and, with teacher guidance, can be done in a way that gives all stakeholders a voice.

For example, the " Salad Girls," fifth graders at Park Forest School in State College, Pa., simply wanted to have non-meat salads in the school lunches because of their dietary needs. When they planned to make complaints about the quality of the cafeteria food, the teacher encouraged them to meet with the cafeteria manager first. When they did, they quickly learned that nutritional rules were made at the state level, and out of the hands of local administrators. You can read here about the months-long process they then undertook that resulted in more salad offerings in the cafeteria.

Step 5-Reflection

Finally it's essential to guide students to reflect on their work after it's finished. One teacher expert in this work, Heather Van Benthuysen, explains that her assessment is primarily based on this reflection, since this is when she learns what the student has or has not learned.

Additional Resources
By Steven Zemelman
Originally posted atThe New York Times Learning Network
Photo/ Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action

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Ideas for Student Civic Action in a Time of Social Uncertainty

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I'm very pleased to share my New York Times Learning Network blog post with the Educator Innovator blog. One thing I'd like readers to keep in mind if this is your first introduction to teaching with student civic action: if a full-blown project seems overwhelming, time-gobbling, and hard to control, it's fine to start small.

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Engage students in issues of science and media literacy with KQED's entertaining and informative hype-busting video series Above the Noise.
If you want your students to tackle real-world issues and take a deeper look at evidence, data and research, then KQED's video series Above the Noise belongs in your classroom. Keep reading to find ideas about using this new series to help your students cut through the hype and learn more about the world around them.

What is Above the Noise?

Above the Noise is a YouTube series for middle- and high-school students that dives deep into the big questions behind issues affecting students' daily lives. Episodes take on complex subject matter with facts and research to help young viewers draw informed conclusions, while inspiring media literacy and civic engagement.

Above the Noise focuses on data and science literacy, but the series takes on issues that are just as relevant in English and social studies classrooms.

The Anatomy of an Above the Noise Episode

Each episode has a similar structure in order to help students unpack the topic.

The hype: Every episode starts with what we call "the hype." We choose issues that are already being talked about. Then, the hosts go beyond the hype and find out what's really going on.

The research: We do research, analyze information and evaluate the data behind the hype. The hosts model how to look at information by talking about things like sample size and research protocols, citing research papers and discussing what the experts are saying.

The call to action: Episodes end with a question students can answer. This can be a jumping off point or serve to wrap up the topic. We'd love for your students to respond to this question in the comments on our YouTube channel, either individually or as a class. Many episodes are also featured resources for KQED's The Lowdown.

Using Above the Noise with Students

Step 1: Choose an Above the Noise episode
Check out the episode list on our YouTube channel and accompanying resources on the KQED Education website. From gerrymandering to genetically engineered mosquitoes, there's something for everyone!

Step 2: View and Discuss
As a class or in small groups, have students watch the Above the Noise episode. True to YouTube style, the narration can move quickly, so plan to watch more than once. You can also stop and start the video as needed and use the closed-caption function. Use the student viewing notes handout to help your students keep their thoughts organized.

Before Watching the Video
Gauge what students already know about the topic. If you want to provide a brief overview, you can find more resources in the episode's blog post on KQED Education. Start by asking students the following questions:

What do you already know about this topic?

How well do you think you understand this topic? Is what you know based on your own reading, word of mouth or from scanning headlines on social media?

What questions do you have about this topic? What do you want to know more about?

While Watching
Stop to check for understanding and point out the data and media literacy aspects of the episode. Here are questions that apply to almost all videos:

What issue does this episode discuss?

What is the "hype" around this topic or issue?

What does the data or other evidence tell us about this issue?

How does the host analyze the data? What kind of research or information is presented?

Are the sources used in the episode credible? How do you know?

Do you think graphics are used effectively in this episode? How do they add or detract from your understanding of the topic?

What other production choices (color, sound effects, etc.) did you notice while watching the episode? How did they add or detract from the topic?

After Watching
Help students share their thoughts and internalize the media literacy strategies from the episode using the following questions:

Have your views on the topic changed? If so, how?

Did the evidence provided in the episode help to change or refine your views? Explain.

How would you respond to the "call to action" question at the end of the episode? (Give your students time to respond in the comments section of the YouTube page or on the episode's page on KQED Education.)

What did you learn about analyzing evidence or data from this episode that you can use when reading about other controversial topics or doing your own research?

What is another aspect of this issue that you think should be studied further? What would your research question be?

How might someone else look at the evidence presented in the video differently than you do?
What questions do you still have about the topic? What is unclear?

If you and your students want to explore the issue further, you can review the research behind each episode and find links to further reading on the Above the Noise collection page.

Want to know more about the Above the Noise hosts? Check out the Welcome video.
Step 3: Let Us Know What You Think!
In addition to sharing your thoughts on individual episodes, we are also looking for new ideas and will give a shout out (and full credit) to any classroom who comes up with an idea for an episode we produce. Youth voice is integral to Above the Noise. In addition to asking our audience for ideas, we work closely with KQED's high school Youth Advisory Board, which co-produces the series.

Connect with us on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram using #TeachATN. That way, we'll be able to able to find your comments and questions. We would love to hear from your students, but also from you! Let us know how you are using Above the Noise as a teaching tool!
By Andrea Aust and Rachel Roberson
Originally Posted onKQED Education

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Engage students in issues of science and media literacy with KQED's entertaining and informative hype-busting video series Above the Noise. If you want your students to tackle real-world issues and take a deeper look at evidence, data and research, then KQED's video series Above the Noise belongs in your classroom.

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Join us for a webinar with education experts from the American Federation of Teachers , the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project , the Anti-Defamation League and Facing History and Ourselves .
Tuesday, August 22
6:00 PM EDT
REGISTER Available for one-hour of PD credit.
We will review lessons on the events in Charlottesville, covering topics such as the so-called alt-right, the history of hate and white supremacy, how to talk about race and religion, memorials and monuments, the First and Second amendments, and the emotional impact on our students. We will share resources on these topics and concrete examples of how to discuss these issues with students in elementary, middle and high school.

Our students and their families deserve to know that we are allies in the fight against intolerance and bigotry. Providing thoughtful, intentional lessons on the events in Charlottesville, and on the fight against bigotry and intolerance, is one way of addressing their very serious questions and concerns.

After the webinar concludes, we will continue our conversation with a Twitter chat using the hashtag #CharlottesvilleCurriculum .

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When Hate Is in the Headlines: Resources for K-12 Educators

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Join us for a webinar with education experts from the American Federation of Teachers , the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project , the Anti-Defamation League and Facing History and Ourselves . Tuesday, August 22 6:00 PM EDT REGISTER Available for one-hour of PD credit.

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ELA.SL.9-10.1a

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

SL: Speaking and Listening Standards 6-\x80\x9312

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

1a:
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-\x80\x9310
topics, texts, and issues, building on others'\x80\x99 ideas and expressing their own
clearly and persuasively.

a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under
study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from
texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful,
well-reasoned exchange of ideas.

b. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making
(e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of
alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.

c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the
current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate
others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and
conclusions.

d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of
agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their
own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the
evidence and reasoning presented.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.SL.9-10.1c

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

SL: Speaking and Listening Standards 6-12

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

1c:
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10
topics, texts, and issues, building on others'\x80\x99 ideas and expressing their own
clearly and persuasively.

a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under
study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from
texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful,
well-reasoned exchange of ideas.

b. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making
(e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of
alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.

c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the
current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate
others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and
conclusions.

d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of
agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their
own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the
evidence and reasoning presented.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.RH.9-10.3

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

RH: Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-12

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

3:
Analyze in detail a series of events described in
a text; determine whether earlier events caused
later ones or simply preceded them.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

Thought starters

1. What are the benefits of having students choose their own research topics?

2. How does the tree diagram help students think about root causes and effects of the contemporary problems they're researching?

3. How do civic engagement lessons prepare students for their futures?

School Details

Oakland Technical High School
4351 Broadway
Oakland CA 94611

Data Provided By:

Teachers

English Language Arts Social Studies / 9 / Teacher

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High school students in Matt Colley's social studies class work in small groups to synthesize research they've done on a contemporary issue, and begin to make a plan about how and where they can make change. Class begins with students working individually on a tree diagram to process their research.

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Students in Chela Delgado's senior seminar class present their ideas and research on a contemporary issue through an infographic. First, students analyze a sample infographic and score it on a rubric. Next, students complete a planning sheet and consult with Ms. Delgado. Finally, students begin designing their infographics.

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Reading Like A Historian curriculum is a unique and effective way to teach High School History. By turning students into history investigators, teachers help them develop critical thinking skills and increase student engagement.

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Learn about this TT Award winner's five-pillar support system for fifth graders.

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Self Advocacy- A State Of Mind | Abby Edwards | TEDxYouth@Dayton

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How a nonprofit in Baltimore is building advocacy in students.

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Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

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Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

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A completely revised edition of James W. Loewen's classic retelling of American history, based on six new textbooks and including an all-new chapter on the recent pastSince its first publication in 1995, Lies My Teacher Told Me has gone on to win an American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship, and has sold over a million copies in its various editions.

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For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin

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For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
for white folks who teach in the hood... and the rest of y'all too: reality pedagogy and urban education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
urban - united states - sociological aspects

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
education / teaching methods & materials / science & technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
teaching methods & materials - science & technology

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For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A New York Times Best SellerMerging real stories with theory, research, and practice, a prominent scholar offers a new approach to teaching and learning for every stakeholder in urban education.Drawing on his own experience of feeling undervalued and invisible in classrooms as a young man of colo...

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A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn

# data[].attributes.subject
A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
political science / political ideologies / democracy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With a new introduction by Anthony Arnove, this updated edition of the classic national bestseller reviews the book's thirty-five year history and demonstrates once again why it is a significant contribution to a complete and balanced understanding of American history.Since its original lan...