Name: Katie McCurdy

Cohort: YBO B1

Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Social Justice Activists One Person Can Make a Difference Grade: 6 Date: ___________
Subject/Strand: Social Studies Unit: People & Environments: Canadas Interactions with the Global
Community Location: Homeroom
Time: (length in minutes): 60 minutes
Lesson Plan Description

(What are you teaching? How does it fit into the context of the unit? What are the big
ideas/essential/enduring understandings?)

This is the fifth and final lesson before the culminating task for the unit. Thus far we have talked
about NGOs and specific organizations that make a difference in this world. It is beneficial for the
students to realize that these groups are made up of individuals and show how individuals can
make a difference not only in the world, but also our daily lives. These individuals have created a
rippling effect in terms of encouraging others to help be social justice advocates.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Ontario Curricular Overall Expectations

(numbers from documents and details)

B1 - Application: explain the importance of international cooperation in addressing global issues, and evaluate
the effectiveness of selected actions by Canada and Canadian citizens in the international arena

Ontario Curricular Specific Expectations

(numbers from documents and details) selected & listed from the Ont.
Curriculum, refined when necessary, has verbs that are observable & measureable, has realistic number of expectations (1 to 3), have
expectations that match assessment

B 1.2 - Analyze responses of Canadian governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and individual
citizens to an economic, environmental, political, and/or social issue of international significance

Learning Goals

Discuss with students: What will I be learning today? (clearly identify what students are expected to know
and be able to do, in language that students can readily understand.)

Today I will learn

That it is not just organizations that make a difference it is also individual people.
About various people and their stories that have turned into globally known movements.
About issues occurring around the world, and in Canada that need activists to make a
difference
ASSESSMENT and EVALUATION
Success Criteria

Discuss with students: How will I know I have learned what I need to learn? (Clearly identify the criteria
to assess students learning, as well as what evidence of learning students will provide to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and
thinking, in language that students can readily understand).

I can: Explain Mark Kielburgers story and how it influenced him to start the world known organization, Free
the Children
I can: Explain certain issues that people such as Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Ghandi have made to make a
difference in the world.
I can: Help to make a difference regarding issues occurring not only within Canada but also globally (ex. child
labor, fresh water, education).
Assessment How will I know students have learned what I intended?

Achievement Chart Categories (highlight/circle the ones that apply):

Knowledge and Understanding;
Thinking;
Communication;
Application
Assessment For, As, Of Learning (Circle One) (Describe way(s) you and/or your students will assess.)
Assessment Mode
Written, Oral, Performance
(Write, Say, Do)

Assessment Strategy and

Task for Students- What are the

Assessment Tool - Instrument used to

assess task and record learning e.g.,

students doing to show their learning?

e.g. turn and talk, role play/individual,
cooperative, etc.

rubric, checklist, observation sheet, turn/talk, role play

etc.

Lakehead University Orillia, 09 02 15

WRITTEN at the end

of the lesson students
will use the
commitment and
kindness of individuals
taught throughout the
lesson to pay it forward
with positive acts and
comments towards
others. Here students

The students will be writing

positive notes on the pieces
of paper for other students in
the class. These comments
are anonymous, and leave the
individual with an
overwhelming sense of
happiness. Proving how one
small act of kindness can
make a difference.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR PLANNING

I will have a checklist/observation

sheet with me during the time the
students are writing their warm and
fuzzies. Here I will ensure positive
comments are made and participation
of everyone is being done. This will
help later on when students are to
write their culminating task which is a
paper on a global issue they are going
to research.

Prior Learning: Prior to this lesson, students will have

* Been taught about NGOs and other organizations that are working to combat social justice
issues
* Been taught about Canadas specific roles in global issues, and what more they can do
* Students have also already been educated on current issues that are occurring globally and
efforts that are being made to help reduce and rid these issues (Syrian refugee crisis,
environmental issues)
Differentiation: Content, Process, Product, Environment, Assessment/Accommodations,
Modifications
Templates for the warm and fuzzies activity are provided for all students. The content is
well suited for most students, a childrens book will be shared with the class along with
videos and quotes.

All students can do the activity, some students may include more detail on the warm and
fuzzies then others. Depending on if I have a student who is very low then perhaps I could
provide them with examples of warm and fuzzies that they could write or tape to the
students sheets.
Learning Skills/Work Habits Highlight/circle ones that are assessed: responsibility, organization, independent
work, collaboration,

Vocabulary

initiative,

self-regulation

(for word wall and/or to develop schema)

Activists, social justice (if not already there), advocate, Bonded Labor Abolition Act (from story),
child labor
Resources and Materials /Technology Integration

List ALL items necessary for delivery of the lesson. Include any
attachments of student worksheets used and teacher support material that will support communication of instruction. Include the use
of Information Technology (ICT) in your lesson plan where appropriate.

Computer, projector screen, videos from the internet (access to the internet),
premade PowerPoint presentation, pictures, music the story The Carpet Boys
Gift, pieces of paper for warm and fuzzies created by teacher, writing utensils...
Warm and Fuzzy Sheet/Template is provided after the lesson plan

Learning Environment (grouping; transitions; physical set up)

The learning environment of the classroom will be set up as it usually is for the introduction portion of the
lesson. Throughout the Consolidation Phase students will be navigating the classroom to write on others
students warm and fuzzies. Before they do this I will go over the appropriate ways to do so, so that the
room does not turn into complete chaos.
Cross Curricular Links

Three Part Lesson

Identify what the students are expected to think about or do. Write the lesson description with
enough detail that another teacher could replicate the lesson without a personal discussion.
What Teachers Do:
What Students do:
Minds on: Motivational Hook/engagement /Introduction (5-15 min)
Establish a positive learning environment, connect to prior learning, set the context for learning, pre-determine key questions to guide
lesson.
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Time: 10 minutes (Indicate time breakdown of instructional

elements)

Lesson is started by showing a mini PowerPoint

slideshow of influential people in the world such
as: Mother Teresa, Mahatma Ghandi, Malala
Yousafzai, Martin Luther King Junior, and David
Suzuki to name a few. Included in the slideshow
will be powerful quotes and/or initiatives these
people have been a part of.
The teacher will then pose the question what do
all of these people have in common?

Students are seated at their individual desks as slide

show is starting.
Students respond with: they are people who have
made a difference in the world! Other responses
include: more specific details about each person (David
Suzuki is an environmental expert, Malala Yousafzai is
an advocate for girls right to education, and Martin
Luther King Junior promoted equality of all people
(specifically black people)

The teacher is impressed with the childrens

knowledge of these influential people.
The teacher will then go on to say how each of
these people overcame barriers and certain
ideologies that were perceived as normal at the
time to stand up for what they believed in no
Students share with me and the rest of the class what
matter what the consequences.
they know about Mark & Craig Kielburger
I will then share two people in particular who had
made an influential impact on me. Mark & Craig
Kielburger.
I will then explain how Mark was initially
motivated by reading the true story of a young
boy depicted in a childs book.
Action: During /Working on it (time given for each component, suggested 15-40 min)
Introduce new learning or extend/reinforce prior learning, provide opportunities for practice & application of learning.
Time: 35 minutes (Indicate time breakdown of instructional
elements)

I will introduce the story The Carpet Boys Gift.

And I will then quickly scan/share the story with
the class.
This is a very powerful book that should touch
kids on a deeply emotional level; at least it did
that for Craig Kielburger & me.
At age 12 Craig read the newspaper article about
Iqbal Masih and wanted to do something about it.
He struggled with the question of fighting a
problem as big as international child labour. He
later shared this story with his classmates and
asked for support in creating a group to take
action. This small group of 11 students named
themselves Free the Children and began to learn
as much as they could on child labour to then
share with the public. They went on to give
presentations at schools, churches and clubs.
Craig later mentions in his book Free the
Children that the group realized that knowledge
was the key to making a difference and
educating others.
I will now ask students their thoughts and
knowledge about child labour.
Here I will show how I was personally motivated
and connected to Free the Children. In my grade
12 year at high school I was fortunate enough to
take part in a mission to Kenya through Free the
Children. Here 20 other students as well as
teachers helped build the first all girls school in
the rural town of Kisaruni, Kenya. We also dug
trenches so piping could be laid to distribute
water from the main water tank to different
locations within the community.
Lakehead University Orillia, 09 02 15

Students will respond with feelings and thoughts about

the story shared with them.

A lot of this lesson has to do with self-reflection yet

comprehending that it is not just organization but also
people that make a difference. Each organization
started because someone had an idea or dream to try
and achieve equality. Ensure that this message is
understood by the students.

Students respond with what they know about child

labour and what it means.

Students respond with answers such as: I wouldnt be

able to shower! I wouldnt be able to drink water. I
think it would be hard too cook. Water is needed for so
many things, it would be difficult to go about with your

Again I will be providing the students with

normal daily routines.
prompting questions to ensure continued
I couldnt imagine not going to school and just working
engagement. Examples include: what would you
day after day; it leaves no time to be a kid!
do if you did not have access to running water?
What if you were forced to drop out of school and
begin working at a far too early age?
These questions provide the students with what
their lives would be like if they perhaps lived in
the developing third world. Essentially placing
the students in the shoes of others across the
globe.
I will then go on to explain that both education
and clean water are things that this community
didnt have. But with the collaboration of the
Students respond with a pencil is something I write
community members and the skills they had we
with! I have a lot of pencils; some of them are broken
were able to work with them and help provide
so I should just throw them out. I prefer pens to pencils.
them with these essential resources.
During this explanation I will also be playing a
slideshow of pictures from my mission to Kenya. I
will also show them the now finished product of
the all girls boarding school in Kisaruni.
I would then ask students what a pencil means to
them? During our time in rural Kenya we visited
another school where on our last we had the
opportunity to give each child a pencil. You would
not believe how grateful these children were to
receive this pencil. To them this pencil served as
a tool to their continuing education.
Throughout this explanation I will be open to
questions I believe this is a great way to help
answer and inform children on these global
aspects and how we can be connected. I will also
provide them with the resources to access Free
the Children initiatives. Perhaps they too will
want to take part in the mission to other global
areas Free the Children is partnering with.
Consolidation & Connection (Reflect and Connect) (5-15 min.)
Help students demonstrate what they have learned, provide opportunities for consolidation and reflection.
Time: 15 minutes (Indicate time breakdown of instructional
Each student is provided with a sheet
elements)

For the consolidation aspect of the lesson, I have

prepared sheets of paper for the class that
include 10 numbered lines and a blank space at
the top for students to fill their name in. I want
the students to pay it forward in their own way to
one another. This will be then be modeled by
partaking in an activity called warm and
fuzzies. Essentially warm and fuzzies are brief
sentences peers from the classroom write about
the student whose name is on the top. Each
remark is positive and personalized to that
individual.
This activity takes into account the commitment
and kindness individuals can make no only in our
world, but within our communities. These small
acts of kindness can occur on a daily basis, and
can involve anything from holding the door open
for the person behind you, to paying for
someones coffee in the drive thru line.
Essentially this task is similar to a pay it forward
type activity. These are selfless acts that I want
the students to realize theyre fully capable to
Lakehead University Orillia, 09 02 15

that they will

then write their name at the top of. The sheet will
contain 10 numbered lines that will then be filled in
anonymously by other students in the class. For the
interest of time I estimated 10 comments because
doing the entire class would take a long time. If you did
want to continue this activity so that every classmate
has written on each others warm and fuzzy you will
have to continue it on in a different time slot.
Students will circulate the class and ensure everyone
has 10 remarks on their sheet. One comment per
person is allowed, although you can write on as many
peoples as you want to help them achieve their goal of
10.
Students will then read the warm and fuzzies their
classmates provided them with independently. The
feeling of positivity and self-worth that floods over the
children is a feeling that simply cannot be replaced by
most classroom activities.
The students are to then keep these warm and fuzzies
and are encouraged to look at them from time to time
if they need encouragement or a pick me up.
Lastly, they can also refer to their warm and fuzzies

do, and these small acts can create big change.

I will provide a couple of examples of warm and
fuzzies to the students, but for the most part I
want them to create meaningful comments for
one another.
I chose this activity because I didnt want to
overwhelm the students with another long
writing activity because the upcoming
culminating task will be based on writing. I also
believe it connects the idea that individuals can
make a difference at a micro level to then be
done on a macro scale.

when or if they feel passionate about a topic or event

and need that bit of motivation to realize that all great
ideas start at an individual level and only continue to
expand into bigger and better things!

Extension Activities/Next Steps (where will this lesson lead to next)

As mentioned earlier this lesson is towards the end of the unit, preparing the students for the culminating
task of writing a paper on a current global issue they are passionate about. From here they will explain the
issue, and include any organizations or people that are helping combat the issue. Lastly, they will research
Canadas involvement in regards to the global issue and note whether more could be done.
Personal Reflection (what went well, what would I change, what will I have to consider in my next lesson for this subject/topic)
The Lesson:
The Teacher:

Warm & Fuzzy

Student Name:

1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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6. ____________________________________________________________________________________
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7. ____________________________________________________________________________________
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8. ____________________________________________________________________________________
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9. ____________________________________________________________________________________
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10.
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