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SEL: Social Awareness; Diversity

Math Standards: 4.NBT.A.1; 4.NF.A.1; 5.NBT.A.1; 6.RP.A.1; 6.RP.A.3

Science Standards: 4.P4U1.2; 5.L4U3.11

Social Justice Standards: I will interact with people who are similar to and different from them and show respect to all people. (Diversity: 6-8.6)

Directions:

1. Read through the book.

2. Review the teaching ideas --- https://www.master-comm.com/guides/IfTheWorldWereAVillage_teaching.pdf. Do you have any other teaching ideas and activities for teaching ELA, Math, Science, Arts, and SS?

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ELA: K.RL.1; 1.RL.2; 2.RL.1; 3.RL.3; 4.RL.2; 5.RL.2

SEL:  Self-Awareness

Social Justice Standard: I like knowing people who are like me and different from me, and I treat each person with respect. (Identity: 3-5.6)

Directions:

1. Watch the video. Observe the read-aloud session. How is the teacher facilitating the students’ conceptual and critical thinking about identity? How are the students responding to the teacher’s questions and the story?

2. Share your observation and ideas you got from the video that broadened your thinking or extended it in different directions.

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What Works - Elementary "Skin Again" MC Reading

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ELA: Unit 3 (Life Science); Unit 6 (Theme); Unit 8 (Earth Science)
SEL:  Responsible Decision-Making; Social Awareness
Science 3.L1U1.5; 4.E1U3.9; 5.L4U3.11
Social Justice Standard: I know about the actions of people and groups who have worked throughout history to bring more justice and fairness to the world. (Justice: 3-5.15)

Directions:

1. How is water important to you and your daily life? Where does your water come from? What do we do to make sure the water we use is safe? Brainstorm all the ways we use water everyday.

2. Listen to the Water Protectors story.

3. The girl talks about fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves—the animals, plants, trees, rivers, and lakes. How can you fight for them? What resources exist in your community that help aid those that cannot fight for themselves?

4. Read “The Story Behind We Are Water Protectors.”  https://twowritingteachers.org/2020/05/11/authorspotlight-lindstrom/

5. How would you use this story in your teaching?

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We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade / Story Time Read Aloud

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Directions:

1. Read the social action project.

2. What new ideas did you get that broadened your thinking or extended it in different directions? What questions emerge for you?

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Why are Children’s and Young Adult Books Challenged and Banned?

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Why are Children’s and Young Adult Books Challenged and Banned?

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Vocabulary

pollution [ p uh- loo-sh uhn ] (noun) material in the natural environment that does not belong there, and that damages the environment and living things, including people

inequality [ in-i- kwol-i-tee ] (noun) unfairness; a situation in which some people gain privileges simply because they are members of a group defined by race, wealth, sexual orientation or other factors. Those who are not members of those groups are denied the same privileges.

environmental justice [ en- vahy-r uhn-m uhnt-l juhs-tis ] (noun) The fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, incomes and educational levels with respect to the development and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies

environmental racism [ en- vahy-r uhn-m uhnt-l rey-siz-m ] (noun) the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color

Procedure

1. This lesson is about pollution, and why it affects some groups of people more than others. Working with a small group, clarify some definitions by answering these questions. What is pollution? What are some of its causes? What are some effects of pollution?

2. Now think about who is affected most by pollution. List your answers in the left-hand column of the chart called The Effects of Pollution: Who and Why. When you've got your list, look at the right-hand column. Think about why each group of people is affected by pollution. For example, if the left-hand column reads "people with asthma," then in the right-hand column you might write "because they have a physical health issue."

3. When you've filled in the chart, look to see if your list includes any groups of people who are affected by pollution for reasons besides their physical health. For example, do you have low-income people on your list? If not, add it to the left column, and discuss with your group why low-income people might be more affected by pollution than those who have more money.

4. Then add "members of race and ethnic minority groups" to the left-hand column if it's not already there, because members of race and ethnic minority groups are more likely to be exposed to pollution than others. Fill in the right-hand column with the reason(s) why this might be true.

5. Now look at the map Air Pollution in Minority Areas. This is a map of Connecticut. Use the guidelines below to help you interpret the information it presents. With your group, look at the key.

What two kinds of information does the map show?

What do the yellow dots represent?

What do the different shades of blue represent?

What do you notice about where the yellow dots are concentrated?

Write a sentence or two summarizing what the map shows.

Write a sentence or two explaining why the situation that the map shows exists.

What is unfair about the situation the map shows? Why might it be difficult for the people in the polluted areas to move somewhere less polluted?

Read the definition of environmental justice. What would a more environmentally just situation look like on the map?

At this point select from option 1 or 2 to conclude this lesson.
Option 1 (for a more in-depth discussion and unpacking of the concept of environmental bias):

6. As you have seen from the map of Connecticut, one way that members of race and ethnic minorities sometimes experience discrimination is the fact that air pollution sources are more likely to be located in the areas where they live. Another group that sometimes experiences discrimination is defined by their income. There is evidence that one place that income-based discrimination shows up is that people of lower economic status are more likely to live in areas near pollutants than those with higher status. Look at this evidence of the relationship of income to exposure to pollution by studying some graphs of data gathered in Massachusetts.

a. Look at graphic 1 Exposure to Chemical Releases According to Income. Write a sentence under the graph that summarizes in words what it shows. Then do the same for graphic 2 Exposure to Hazardous Waste Sites According to Income. What relationship do the graphs show between income and exposure to pollution?

b. Complete the same tasks for the two remaining graphs 3 and 4: Exposure to Hazardous Waste Sites According to Race and Exposure to Chemical Releases According to Race. What relationship do the graphs show between race and exposure to pollution?

7. The data show that race and income are connected to exposure to pollution. As a class, discuss reasons why that might be true. Define the term "environmental bias." Do you think environmental bias is happening in the situations shown in the graphs? In other words, do you think that it is an institutionalized system that unfairly deprives people of the right not to be exposed to toxins? Do you think it is an institutionalized system that unfairly protects some people from such exposure simply because of their race, ethnicity, or financial status? Why or why not?

8. Look at your own community, town, or state. What examples of environmental biases do you see? For example, do highways, with their noise and pollution, cut through neighborhoods where people who are poor live? Do people who are members of poor and/or minority communities live near power plants that pollute the air? Then see if there are any groups that are addressing these inequalities. If so, contact them to see how you can help. If not, look at what groups in other areas are doing to address environmental biases. What can you do to address similar problems in your area?
Option 2:
6. Think about your community.

a. What source(s) of pollution exist? For example, does a major highway cut through your town, exposing residents to a lot of noise and fumes? Is there a landfill or a hazardous waste disposal area? Is there a power plant that is noisy and puts smoke into the air?

b. Who lives in the areas where these pollutants are concentrated? Is there a pattern similar to what you saw on the map of Connecticut?

c. Are there any organizations or individuals in your area talking about the situation being unjust?

7. What would a more environmentally just situation look like in your community?

Find out about efforts in your area to secure environmental justice. If there is a local organization, invite a member to speak to your class. If not, see if you can start a group at your school to learn more about environmental justice.

Summarizing What You've Learned

One way to consolidate what you've learned is to summarize it. Think of it as explaining what you've learned to someone who doesn't know anything about it. Do this using one of the following techniques, or use one of your own.

Write a paragraph.

Make a bulleted list of the key points.

Make a slide show (with or without illustrations).

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pollution [ p uh- loo-sh uhn ] (noun) material in the natural environment that does not belong there, and that damages the environment and living things, including people inequality [ in-i- kwol-i-tee ] (noun) unfairness; a situation in which some people gain privileges simply because they are members of a group defined by race, wealth, sexual orientation or other factors.

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English Language Arts: Intersecting Identities	An Introduction

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English Language Arts: Intersecting Identities	An Introduction

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Finding Solutions to Food Waste: Persuasion in a Digital World

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Finding Solutions to Food Waste: Persuasion in a Digital World

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback

Students explore the problem of food waste using electronic and traditional modalities. They begin by tracking food waste in the school cafeteria. Then they examine the waste on a larger scale, using multimodal resources and applying metacognitive reading strategies. Considering radical and basic solutions to the problem, students plan persuasive arguments and create blog posts appropriate to their purpose and audience. By interacting with videos, blogs, and online articles, students become more flexible and confident in this emerging area of literacy, learning not only to access and analyze, but also to produce and publish persuasive text in a multimodal environment.

Researchers agree that multimodal literacy should become a standard part of literacy curriculums.

Students should be exposed to multiple texts that evoke emotional responses and tap into popular culture.

There is a correlation between overall dispositions toward reading on the Internet and online reading comprehension ability.

Positive interactions with online text lead to successful online readers who are able to manage complex texts with confidence and flexibility.

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

1. On your teacher website, create links to the ReadWriteThink Persuasion Map, TED Talk: Marcel Dicke: Why Not Eat Insects?, Food Facts: Your Scraps Add Up, Food Waste Basics, and the student blog you choose so students can access them quickly and efficiently.

2. Make one copy for each student of the following:

3. Schedule computer lab time for Sessions 3, 4, 5 (optional), 7, and 8. Decide whether more than nine sessions should be prepared, based on the level of scaffolding needed for student mastery and the grade level taught; plan for any additional sessions.

Students will

Develop research skills by conducting a brief investigation of food waste in the school cafeteria

Analyze and evaluate persuasive techniques by deconstructing a persuasive argument from an audio/visual source and online resources

Apply metacognitive reading strategies to understand written text

Identify facts and supporting arguments in online articles to answer specific research questions

Develop persuasive arguments supported by evidence gleaned from research

Apply persuasive argument techniques by creating a blog post that includes a thesis and quality arguments appropriate to the writer's purpose and electronic audience

Presession: Waste in the Cafeteria Survey

1. After five days of data collection, divide students into groups of three to five. Have them compile and analyze the information they have collected by determining the overall percentage of food wasted over the last five days.

2. Have each group of students synthesize their findings into a pie chart that can be displayed. Have the class draw conclusions about the findings as they examine the charts. Collect students' activity sheets for assessment.

Session 1: PowerPoint Presentation

Teach persuasion basics using The Art of Persuasive Writing PowerPoint presentation, having students take notes. Use the presentation notes included at the bottom of some of the slides to guide your discussion. Stop frequently to allow students to share their own examples of persuasive speech. Presentation highlights include types of persuasive speech, elements of the persuasive essay, and persuasive vocabulary like logos, pathos, ethos, and counterarguments.

Session 2: Analysis/Deconstruction of the Persuasive Argument in Video Format

1. After watching the video, discuss the presenter's purpose and intended audience with students.

2. Have students use their notes to fill in the ReadWriteThink Persuasion Map, identifying the thesis and major supporting arguments. Collect their notes organizers for assessment.

Sessions 3-4: Research (computer days)

1. Set a purpose for reading the following articles: Food Facts: Your Scraps Add Up, Food Waste Basics, and the Waste Not, Want Not blog. Review what students know about food waste.

2. Have students explore the online articles for answers to the food waste problem. Briefly model the process of collecting information from the online articles.

3. Have students record their findings on the Research Guide.

Session 5: Developing Thesis and Arguments (optional computer day)

1. Briefly model the process of developing a single, focused thesis and arguments from the Research Guide. Some students may want to tackle all of the issues discovered in their research, so you should provide the necessary scaffolding as students work to narrow their focus. (Please note that the focus of Waste Not, Want Not is reducing food waste at home; however, students should be free to choose any food waste topic from their research when writing their own blogs.)

2. Have students develop a thesis and arguments for their own blog post, offering persuasive solutions to the waste problem. Students should refer to facts from the Research Guide to craft their arguments.

3. Have students consider the appropriate tone for their electronic audience. Since students are addressing their own academic community about a social issue, the tone should be thoughtful and insightful. Caution students to avoid informal or flippant remarks.

4. Have students print out their work at the end of the session. Collect both the Research Guide and the Persuasion Map for assessment.

Session 6: Writing the Rough Draft

Have students apply what they have learned by writing the initial draft of their blog. Students should write about a topic from their research that interested them. For example, they could write about the costs of meat production, how restaurants can reduce waste, or how food waste contributes to rising methane levels.

Session 7: Revising and Publishing Persuasive Blogs (computer day)

1. Have students revise based on self-evaluation and, if working in pairs, peer feedback.

2. Have students publish blog posts.

Sessions 8-9: Response and Reflection (computer day)

1. Have students read at least two other student blogs and respond to each.

2. Circulate around the room to check for student understanding and response quality. Scaffold and support students by offering specific feedback. Look for evidence that students are crafting well-thought-out responses by making connections, questioning, inferring, and/or evaluating.

3. Review each student's blog posts and responses, and evaluate them according to the Persuasive Blog Rubric.

Have students plan a "No Waste" class party.

Find and deconstruct another TED Talk video about reducing waste or recycling.

Have students organize a cafeteria waste reduction program for your school.

Start a class blog or online forum where students can share their ideas about another community or school issue.

Create an advertisement for the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Open the EPA's Food Waste Basics and follow the link at the top of the page titled, "Source Reduction/Prevention." Scroll down to "Source Reduction and Prevention Success Stories." Have students plan a campaign for your community, and express their ideas in a letter to the editor of the local newspaper.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Review the Cafeteria Waste Activity Sheet to assess student research and investigation skills.

Review the Why Not Eat Insects? Notes Organizer to assess student understanding of persuasive techniques.

Review the Research Guide to assess student ability to apply metacognitive reading strategies to comprehend, identify facts and supporting arguments, and answer specific reading questions.

Review the ReadWriteThink Persuasion Map (interactive or hard copy) to assess each student's ability to craft a well-supported, persuasive argument.

Use the Persuasive Blog Rubric to assess student ability to apply persuasive argument techniques in a blog post and responses written for an electronic audience.

Informal assessment is ongoing as you and each student conference throughout the process of doing research, developing arguments, and creating the blog post.

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Finding Solutions to Food Waste: Persuasion in a Digital World

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We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback Students explore the problem of food waste using electronic and traditional modalities. They begin by tracking food waste in the school cafeteria. Then they examine the waste on a larger scale, using multimodal resources and applying metacognitive reading strategies.

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Dangerous Numbers? Teaching About Data and Statistics Using the Coronavirus Outbreak

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Dangerous Numbers? Teaching About Data and Statistics Using the Coronavirus Outbreak

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In this guest lesson, the math teacher Patrick Honner helps students practice looking critically at data in the news.

Credit... Daniel Zender

Find all our Lessons of the Day here. Featured Article: "We're Reading the Coronavirus Numbers Wrong" by John Allen Paulos

What have you heard about the coronavirus? Do you talk about it at school or with friends or family?

How do you see coronavirus discussed in the news or on social media? Have you seen memes or TikTok videos about the coronavirus? What tone do these sources take?

How concerned are you about the coronavirus? What has influenced how you think and feel about global outbreak?

In his recent New York Times Opinion piece, John Allen Paulos, a professor of mathematics, cautions about the way in which we interpret and report disease-related data. In this lesson, you will see what numbers and statistics can tell us about disease outbreaks and how that data can be misinterpreted. Then you will analyze other examples of data reporting in the news and determine how accurate or effective it is.
Read the article, then answer the following questions:
Respond to the following questions in writing, or engage in a class discussion:

(Feel free to join our related Student Opinion conversation about these topics. Commenting is easy - it only takes seconds to register, and it's free - but you must be 13 or older to participate.)

1. How can you calculate the case fatality rate for a disease? What are the challenges to determining an accurate coronavirus fatality rate?

2. How do the changing coronavirus numbers in Hubei, China, illustrate how numbers can provide a distorted picture of what is going on?

3. What role does the media play in our understanding of the coronavirus outbreak? Why does Mr. Paulos say, "Constant on-the-nose reporting, however much it seems to serve transparency, has limitations, too." What do you think? What are the advantages and disadvantages to the 24-hour news cycle?

4. How does the case fatality rate of Covid-19 compare with that of other diseases, based on what we know now? How might the numbers tell a different story as we gather additional data over the next weeks or months?

5. What are some of Mr. Paulos's suggested remedies?

Teachers: The featured Op-Ed essay creates an opportunity to actively engage with how data is presented and reported. In this activity, encourage students to analyze data and see if they can find other examples of "dangerous numbers."

Have students search The Times and other news outlets for articles that focus on data. Students could choose to look further at the latest updates on the coronavirus. Or they can search poll numbers for the Democratic primaries, climate change statistics or unemployment data. With an eye on the numbers, students can identify potential misrepresentations and misinterpretations of data, and maybe spot a "numerical optical illusion" of their own.

Here are some questions that can help frame their analysis:

Numbers may seem fixed and unambiguous, but as Mr. Paulos points out, even a seemingly straightforward data point like "number of deaths" can be vague:

The coronavirus might be blamed for the deaths of vulnerable people, especially seniors, already suffering from other illnesses, such as diabetes and other chronic conditions.

Real World Example: Unemployment may seem like a clear concept: People either have a job or they don't. However, what if a person works only a few months out of the year? Or what if they work multiple part-time jobs at once?

Ask Yourself: Do I really understand the nature of the data? Find out where the data comes from and what it actually represents. Then consider how different interpretations of that data could lead to different conclusions.

When quantities rise and fall, medical officials and news outlets often create a narrative around why that happened; however, those narratives are not always accurate. For example, when looking at the increase in reported cases of coronavirus, Mr. Paulos explains that it could be because the virus is spreading, but it could also be a result of the revised definition of what it means to be "infected" with the coronavirus.

Real World Example: When stock prices rise and fall, there is no shortage of explanations for why it happened. However, it is important to ask if the company's stock price fell because of a C.E.O.'s poor decision, or because the company just had a bad week?

Ask Yourself: Who benefits from interpreting the numbers in this way? What perspective or bias might they have? For example, is there a reason that one candidate is "surging" when polling at 13 percent, while another is "struggling" with the same numbers? Every story has a narrator, and you want to identify who the narrator is and why he or she is telling the story in a particular way.

There is always more data, so look for related reporting to see what else there is to know. For example, local polling data can be compared with national polling data. And industry averages can help put individual business numbers in perspective, while looking at transportation and travel data can help us understand how outbreaks might be spreading.

Ask Yourself: What else is there to know? Where can I find more data on this subject? This question is particularly helpful to ask when you are trying to paint a picture using data.

Teachers: If there is time, students can present a summary of their findings, including an analysis of how the data was used and interpreted. They can also share whether they think they found any "dangerous numbers." Student can also offer suggestions on how to improve the reporting and interpretation of the data.

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Dangerous Numbers? Teaching About Data and Statistics Using the Coronavirus Outbreak (Published 2020)

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In this guest lesson, the math teacher Patrick Honner helps students practice looking critically at data in the news. Find all our Lessons of the Day here. Featured Article: " We're Reading the Coronavirus Numbers Wrong " by John Allen Paulos What have you heard about the coronavirus?

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This is a dialogue poem written by a working-class Chilean woman in 1973, shortly after Chile’s socialist president, Salvador Allende, was overthrown. The paired voices of the two Chilean women, one poor and one rich, show how the historical events in their country changed their lives, from Allende’s election to his overthrow.

Read the poem and discuss the following questions with your group.

What is your personal responses to the poem?

What would be potential personal and academic values of the poem to your students?

How would you use this poetry in teaching ELA, SS, SEL, or other subject areas? Share teaching ideas and activities.

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Two families, one White and one Black, discuss a police shooting in their community.

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Animation Series: Something Happened In Our Town (#AtlantisBuild)

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Standard:

4.RL.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

Directions:

1. Listen to the story.

2. Discuss: What are your reactions to the story? Analyze how the differences in point of view create emotional effects? How might your students relate to the characters?

3. Review questions for read-aloud session. Something-Happened-in-Our-Town_Final_36278.pdf

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Standard

RL.1.2. Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

Direction:

1. Listen to the story.

2. Discuss the questions:

What decision (s) did the character make?

What steps did the character take in making the decision (s)

What emotions affect the characters decision making?

What was [character’s] motivation for making that decision?

Do you think the outcome was what [character] hoped for?

Did [character] think about the consequences of their decision?

What should [character] have thought about before making such a decision?

Will the results of [character’s] decision have an impact on the other characters or the environment?

Who could [character] have discussed their idea before making a decision?

Will this decision help [character] reach their goal(s)?

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A chair for my mother by Vera B. Williams.  Grandma Annii's Storytime