First Grade Social Justice - What Do You Do With An Idea??? (Maybe make the world a little better...)
First Grade Social Justice Final Unit: What Do You Do With An Idea?
Our final collection and examination of books this year involved looking at four very different "true" stories of individuals who had an idea and put it into action to make the world better.
***Before you read about each of these books, take the challenge of looking at each photo below that directly connects to each of the stories and THE IDEA that helped solve a problem and make the world better and brainstorm what you think those ideas might be...
These enduring understandings helped shaped our focus and learning
this past 6 weeks:
1. Sometimes one small act or idea can impact someone's life in a big way.
2. As Jews we are commanded to do tikkun olam - repairing the broken parts of the world.
3. Most people want the chance to make their lives and other people's lives better.
These essential questions helped shape our conversations about what we can do with our own ideas as well as how the individuals in each of these stories put their ideas into action:
Why are some ideas put into action and others aren't?
How do you know when an idea can help make your own life or the world better?
Why is it important to believe in your own ideas?
What happens when you think in a new way about an ordinary thing?
We began with the story: What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada. Through a unique way of visually representing what happens when we think of an idea, the students learned that one can walk away from it, one can worry what others will think about it, one can keep it hid away and not talk about it or...one can keep company with it, play with it, pay attention to it and even become friends with it.
Following reading this story, we asked students to respond to the prompt: Some problems that I would like to help solve are: Here were some of their ideas:
1. "We are very lucky people to have a home, food, water - everything that we need... but it is very sad that those who are poor don't have all the stuff that they need - like if you have children - it is very sad because you don't have all of the stuff you need... I want to think of something that would make a lot of money and then give money to people who don't have enough..."
2. I want to do something about cars. I think you can use electricity.
3. Don't use electricity - use sunlight.
4. I want to make sure that every child has their basic needs met
5. I want to help other countries that can't really get strong good houses because they don't have enough money to get what they need.
6. I want to help women in Arab countries because some women can't go to college because they are not allowed and they can't get their rights.
7. I want to help make sure that people stop taking over habitats where animals might live.
"Oh, Mugisa!" she whispered. "Today I am the lucky one. You have given me the gift I wanted most."
Next we read the book Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood. I was excited to share with the first graders that the Rashi School honored this recycled orchestra a few years ago at Tamchui and that the orchestra performed for the students the following year! (Check out the TED Talk with Ceasar Chavez - the visionary behind the orchestra - and listen to this "recycled" orchestra.)
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"The world sends us garbage. We send back music." - Ceasar Chavez "The orchestra does not search to develop musicians; they aim to form good people." - Ceasar Chavez |
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| To set the stage for our next story The Red Bicycle: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle by Jude Isabella, students worked in pairs and were challenged to think about two new ways a bicycle could be used to make someone's life better. They shared some great creative and practical ideas including transporting things, towing things, carrying people from one place to another like a taxi and providing first aid. |
"Leo is getting older and he's growing. He wants to give Big Red to someone who will love the bicycle as much as he does. He needs a bigger bike and a new home for Big Red. An organization in town is collecting bicycles. They send the bikes to a faraway country to people who can't afford a bicycle but need one for transportation. Right there Leo decides to donate Big Red. It will have a new home where it's really needed."
Ask your child to describe the different ways that "Big Red" was used and transformed to make people's lives better in Burkina Faso.
For our final true story spotlight Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia by Jeanette Winter,
students were asked to work in pairs again and think about two new ways a burro could be used to make the world better.
Students' ideas included bringing medicine to people who couldn't go to a clinic, visiting schools and teaching kindness and caring and bringing things to market to sell.
" Luis thinks long and hard.
At last an idea pops into his
head.I can bring my books to the faraway hills to share with those who have none." - Luis Soriano
"Please let us pass. The children are waiting."
"The children hold their books close as they say
good-bye and walk home."
To conclude...This was such a meaningful and inspiring social justice unit to share with the first graders! Each story touched the students in different ways and many shared how much they loved hearing them! If these final stories of the year got the first graders to imagine the power of their own ideas and the impact they might have in the future, then that will be a blessing! The last page of What Do You Do With An Idea teaches us: "What do you do with an idea? You make the world better."
Peace and love and gratitude - Stephanie
