his month, we will be going into classrooms focusing on the topics of citizenship and community. Our school-wide learning target is: I can define citizenship and I understand what it means to be a citizen in my community as well as ways in which I can contribute to my community.
5th Grade: We will begin our lesson with a definition and discussion of citizenship as it applies to living in a community. We will discuss ways in which they, as 5th graders, can demonstrate citizenship within their communities. We will then discuss what it means to live in a community and how community does not just mean the town you live in; communities come in all shapes and sizes. The 5th graders will then fill out a survey titled, My Year So Far, in which they can give feedback on the CMS community, what is going well and what can be improved. After completing the survey, the students will then learn about and create a 6 word memoir. Creating this memoir is a way for them to explore who they are and how they think of themselves and the community they live in.
6th Grade: We will begin our lesson with a definition and discussion of citizenship as it applies to living in a community. We will discuss ways in which they, as 6th graders, can demonstrate citizenship within their communities. We will then discuss what it means to live in a community and give examples of what communities they belong to. We will then watch video clips depicting a variety of communities and people practicing citizenship within those communities. After the videos, we will have a discussion about character traits; the 6th graders will then choose a character trait they believe they bring to their community.
7th Grade: We will begin our lesson with a definition and discussion of citizenship as it applies to living in a community. We will discuss ways in which they, as 7th graders, can demonstrate citizenship within their communities. We will then discuss what it means to live in a community and give examples of what communities they belong to. The 7th graders will then participate in a variety of activities to demonstrate the importance of citizenship and community. For example, in the Salem Witch Trials activity, the students will be secretly told if they are a witch or a 'normal citizen'; without telling each other if they are a witch, they must attempt to form groups without witches in them. After a few minutes of attempting to form groups, I will ask the students to raise their hand if they are a witch, and it will be revealed that no one was chosen to be one. This activity demonstrates how easily community members can turn on each other and the importance of supporting each other and working together.
8th Grade: This month I will co-teach with Mr. Warren. We will examine the idea of discrimination through a classroom activity where students are assigned to a group based on how close to the front of the classroom they are. (Wealthy merchants/plantation owners in the front row, slaves in the back row, etc) They will then be asked to ball up a piece of paper and throw it into the trash can at the front of the room. If students make it, they “keep” their wealth and get to move closer to the front. If the miss they must stay where they are. This generates a discussion about how history still affects groups of people today.
