Speaking Up for What Is Fair

Lesson Materials (word document)
 
Aim: Who knows what it means to stand up for rights? How do we stand up for the rights of another person? How do we stand up for our own rights?

Today we are each going to stand up for something... Stand up for something. That means to:
1. Pick out something that you think is not fair,
2. Decide who that something affects.
Think about how to make it "better" and then let people know what you think.

Materials:

• Big Board paper and markers for it
• Three questions pre written: What are you standing up for? Who are standing up for? What can we do about it?
• Ample space for sitting in large groups and breaking into small groups
• (For enrichment activities):
  Clipboards and/or writing spaces with hard surfaces (desks);
  Drawing paper and paper with area for picture and some lines
  Crayons or markers
  Record player, cassette recorder, or CD player

Grade Level(s): I used this program with kindergarten/first grade students in my own classroom. With some modifications, it may be used with kindergartners, first, second, and third graders.

Students: This program was developed for a mixed age K/1 class totaling twenty one children with a variety of readiness skills. They've worked in whole group and small group activities and are learning to complete ongoing work spread over a few days.

Major Goals: The instructional purpose of this program is to meet English language arts, social studies, art, and music standards while providing a basis and understanding of the concepts of fairness and equity as they apply to young children.

Subject Areas:
Music
Social Justice


Grade Levels:  K-2

About the teacher:

Jessica Harvey is entering her 5th year of teaching in the New York City Public School system. She teaches at PS3 in Manhattan, and enjoys living in the same neighborhood in which she teaches- a rarity in New York City, where real estate and rental prices are so high and teacher salaries are low, relatively speaking. Jessica teaches in a mixed-age classroom comprised of Kindergarten and First Grade students. She is grateful for this opportunity to more closely and thoughtfully look at issues in education, and is hoping to study the changes to -and the relative effectiveness of- mixed-age school grouping programs within the current educational and political climates.

Joybabies@aol.com