This year I have been working on introducing, naming and nurturing the Core Competencies in my classroom https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies . In doing so I recently began a learning journey with the picture book "What Matters" by author Alison Hughes and illustrator Holly Hatam. This picture book and activities has been inspiring. See below for our learning journey, activity details write up I used in students digital portfolios, curriculum links, and reflection questions.
Link to Surrey Learning By Design Digital Portfolio Sample, Write Up and Student Sample of Final Project https://surreylearningbydesign.ca/demos/digital-portfolios/intermediate/
Social
Responsibility Core Competency Lesson
Anchor
Book: What Matters by Alison Hughes and Holly
Hatam
Pre-Activity-
Open up the core competency profile for
Social Responsibility (https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/SocialResponsibilityCompetencyProfiles.pdf)
and as a class read the document, go over key vocab words, ask questions and
have students deconstruct the ideas and the four facet areas 1. Contributing to
community and caring for the environment, 2. Solving problems in peaceful ways,
3. Valuing diversity, and 4. Building relationships. Narrow focus to #1.
Contributing to community and caring for the environment Students develop
awareness and take responsibility for their social, physical, and natural
environments by working independently and collaboratively for the benefit of others,
communities, and the environment. Have students use chart paper and work in
groups collaborating on ways they feel they show and are socially responsible
beings. Students collaborate and as a group you can to a gallery walk when
completed the charts and view others ideas, they can make connections and build
upon others ideas.
Next indicate you are moving on to a read
aloud of What Matters and it will connect directly to #1 contribute to
community and caring for the environment as well as being socially responsible.
Read aloud the story.
To give meaning a provide a graphic for students to connect with the story have class observe you dropping a rock into a container of water and the resulting ripples grow and grow. Make connections to the story about the rock being the kind act, and the resulting ripples the layers of impact.
Next give students the task of brainstorming
every day small acts that have an effect and growth and impact that matters.
For instance, what is something in our classroom, school, community city, park
etc. that matters and why and who does it matter for. Next, have students write
in their journal their ideas and map their own original story as it grows in
impact like what you modelled on the board for whole group.
Sentence Starters/ Story Framework
1.
What is the problem?
2.
Your action
3.
“It was only a little thing. A small, small thing. He/
she didn’t know it mattered at all. But it did.”
4.
It mattered to… explain why….
5.
And it mattered to… explain why……
6.
He made the world just a little more…. And a smidgen
more…
7.
… was only a little thing. A small, small thing. But
it mattered.
8.
More than he/she ever knew.
Provide the circle graphic organizer, have
them record their stories onto the organizer in order from initial act, then
small impact to big impact.
Have
students take the graphic organizer and expand their ideas into a writing
sample. Focusing on the writing processes, developing, revising,
editing, and considering the audience. As well as understanding the
organization in meaning, and used personal experience and knowledge to connect
to text and develop understanding of self, community, and world.
When completed students can work in a group or by
themselves to make their own what matters story into a visual project- ie
iMovie, explaineverything, powerpoint, art project, book, book creator etc. To
share, digitally document their learning and inspire others to do a small act
that can matter and have impact.
Freshgrade
Activity Details, Curriculum Connections and Assessment
We began working on a project inspired by
the story "What Matters" by Alison Hughes and Holly Hatam. The story
starts with a boy doing a small act (picking up a can and throwing it into the
garbage) and it being a small thing, that the boy didn't know mattered at all,
but it did. The story follows the ripple effect of that small act, and all the
ways that responsible action mattered. We were inspired by this story and after
studying and discussing the core competencies about Social Responsibility and
the idea that "students who demonstrate social responsibility are active,
caring, and responsible members of society. They collaborate effectively with
others, demonstrate a strong sense of community-mindedness, and take actions to
support diversity and the environment." We took a look at our daily lives
and in our classroom, we reflected, and as a class we brainstormed some small
acts that mattered, and how these acts had a ripple effect and impact. For language arts students collaborated then
came up with their own ideas and created mind maps to trace their ideas and
subsequent impacts and greater effects of the act. Later students moved their
ideas on to graphic organizers which helped them arrange their ideas in terms
of growing impacts. Next we moved on to writing a story and expanding on our
creative ideas. We worked further on the idea of showing the reader not
telling, adding sparkle words and details. Our stories needed to follow the
guidelines of what is a small act that can have big consequences/ ripple
effect, and how can we all make a difference. Lastly, students were tasked with
working in a group, team or individually to create final product that showed
their creativity, thinking, and inspire others to do a good deed to show how we
can all make a big difference. Some students chose imovies, book creator,
powerpoints, green screen films, art, and other methods to tell and share their
story.
Language Arts-
Students practiced their writing processes,
revising, editing, and considering the audience. They worked on understanding
the organization in meaning, and used personal experience and knowledge to
connect to text and develop understanding of self, community, and world.
Students will be assessed on
- I can use writing and design processes to plan,
develop, and create texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
- I can transform ideas and information to create
original texts
- I can show an increasing understanding of the
role of organization in meaning
Core Competencies
Social Responsibility Competency
"Social responsibility involves the ability
and disposition to consider the interdependence of people with each other and
the natural environment; to contribute positively to one’s family, community,
society, and the environment; to resolve problems peacefully; to empathize with
others and appreciate their perspectives; and to create and maintain healthy
relationships."
Reflection
Questions:
How did you come up with your original What Matters
moment, small act that had a large impact?
Why did you choose the tiny act? Why did the tiny
act matter?
What are you proud of for this writing activity?
What is something you would like to share about
your project that your audience should know?
What is something you can see improvement on in
your writing?
How did the graphic organizers, drafts and to do
list help you organize your thinking and plan your final project?
Reflection
Questions:
How
did you come up with your original What Matters moment, small act that had a
large impact?
Why
did you choose the tiny act? Why did the tiny act matter?
In
what way did you demonstrate the core competency of social responsibility in
your story?
What
are some ways that you are socially responsible? How do you see this in
yourself?
What
is a goal you can set for yourself about social responsibility and how are you
going to achieve this?
What
are you proud of for this writing activity?
What
is something you would like to share about your project that your audience
should know?
Process and behind the scenes story recorded by Antonio Vendramin with SD36 about What Matters Project with @sd36msjames
Completed Student Project
Social Responsibility Task Published by SD36
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1p67cxNy54HLyx9wn4g9kq4KEMjgz1JZqcJCNWN3MneA
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