How Can We Make a Difference?: Developing a Plan for Taking Action | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G4:M4:U3:L5

How Can We Make a Difference?: Developing a Plan for Taking Action

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • SL.4.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. 
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can discuss with my peers issues in our community and decide on an issue to take action on and improve. (SL.4.1)
  • I can develop an action plan with my peers outlining how we will address an issue in our community. (SL.4.1)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Chalk Talk protocol (SL.4.1)
  • How Can We Make a Difference?: Action Plan anchor chart (SL.4.1)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Chalk Talk: Brainstorming How to Take Action (15 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Debrief: Choosing a Cause and Developing a Plan (30 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment 

A. Exit Ticket: Project Teams (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • In this lesson, students begin planning the project their class will complete to take action and make a difference in their community. Students use the Chalk Talk protocol to initially brainstorm ideas. They then, with teacher guidance, choose an issue to address and plan their project, consulting their research notes as they decide how to address the issue (SL.4.1).
  • If students need additional support with identifying an issue to address or developing a project to address it, refer to the list of projects provided in the supporting materials. This list can be used as a jumping-off point for students as they brainstorm, or they can choose a project directly from it. It is important for student engagement and motivation that they are able to choose and develop the project themselves.
  • Students focus on working to contribute to a better world as they plan how to take action to make a difference in their community.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • In Lessons 1-4, students researched how kids have made a difference. In this lesson, students begin planning how they themselves will make a difference in their own community.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • When students describe the need for the problem they have identified in their community, they may struggle with finding facts and data that show it is a problem. Because students are identifying the community need they want to address in this lesson, set some time aside to gather a few resources for students to draw facts and data from in the next lesson.
  • Because much of this lesson is discussion-based, students who need additional support with auditory processing may need additional support. Consider posing discussing questions in advance and inviting students to jot notes down to refer to during the whole group discussions, or providing sentence starters for students to refer to.

Assessment guidance:

  • Consider using the Speaking and Listening Informal Assessment: Collaborative Discussion Checklist when students discuss whole group in Work Time A (see the Tools page).

Down the road:

  • In the next lesson, students will split into project teams and have time to work in their teams to plan specific details of their project. Before that lesson, use students' exit tickets to form project teams. Note that time outside of the module lessons may need to be devoted to planning and implementing the project.
  • Students will spend several lessons planning and writing a PSA that raises awareness about the issue the class selects. For the end of unit assessment, students will plan and write a new PSA encouraging other kids to take action and make a difference in their community.
  • The performance task for this module is a press release describing the project students begin planning in this lesson; students begin working on this task in Lesson 13. Note that students must complete their action project by then in order to begin work on the press release. Keep this in mind as students plan their projects in this lesson: The scope of their projects should not be so big that the projects are not completed by then.

In Advance

  • Pre-determine four groups for the Chalk Talk protocol in Opening A.
  • Prepare four identical Chalk Talk posters by writing the following questions on the top of a piece of chart paper:
    • "What problems have you seen, heard, read about, or experienced in our community that you want to change?"
    • "How can we make a difference?"
  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-3 to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.A.1, 4.I.A.3, 4.I.B.5

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with the opportunity to engage in a class discussion and decision-making process about an issue students want to address as a class. Giving ELLs the time and space to think about and share their concerns in a supportive environment, while guiding them to take action to make a difference, builds their confidence and sense of belonging in the community. 
  • ELLs may find it challenging to participate in the Chalk Talk protocol without an opportunity to think about the questions and prepare responses beforehand. Students may also find it challenging to keep pace with and stay engaged during the class discussion during Work Time A. Check in with students periodically, ensuring that they understand the purpose of the activity and the discussion. Display, repeat, and rephrase discussion questions, and provide sentence starters to bolster student participation (see Levels of support and Meeting Students' Needs).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Challenge students to create sentence frames for students who need heavier support to use during the class discussion in Work Time A. (Examples: "The problem our class wants to address is ______. It is important to our class because ________." "We know that ______ is a problem because _______. Something we want to change is _______.")

For heavier support:                

  • Consider providing and discussing the questions for the Chalk Talk protocol with students before the lesson. Because the protocol is done in silence, giving students time to orally process their responses to the questions beforehand increases their meaningful participation in the activity.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In order to facilitate effective learning during this lesson, ensure that all students have access to the directions in each activity, and that they feel comfortable with the expectations. Vary the ways in which you convey expectations for each activity or task. Consider engaging in a clarifying discussion about the directions, or creating an outline of the steps for each activity.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Continue to support a range of fine motor abilities and writing need by offering students options for writing utensils--for example, pencil grips, slanted desks, and alternative writing tools.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to encourage self-regulatory skills by helping students anticipate and manage frustration by modeling what to do if they need help from their partners during discussions. Consider offering sentence frames to strategically selected peer models. Recall that offering these supports for engagement promotes a safe learning space for all students.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)              

  •  issue, action plan, awareness, service, advocacy, philanthropy (L)

Materials

  • Chalk Talk posters (new; teacher-created; see Teaching Notes)
  • Colored pencils or markers (various colors; one color per group)
  • Sticky notes (two per student)
  • Performance Task anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • How Can We Make a Difference?: Action Plan anchor chart (new; co-created with students during Work Time A; see supporting materials)
  • How Can We Make a Difference?: Action Plan anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Taking Action Research note-catcher (from Lesson 2; one per student and one to display)
  • List of projects (for teacher reference)
  • Exit Ticket: Project Teams (one per student and one to display)

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Chalk Talk: Brainstorming How to Take Action (15 minutes)

  • Point out the Chalk Talk posters around the room and tell students they are going to use the Chalk Talk protocol. Remind students that they used this protocol in Module 2 and review as necessary. Refer to the Classroom Protocols for the full version of the protocol.
    • Distribute colored pencils or markers and move students into pre-determined groups.
    • Guide students through the protocol using the following questions:

"What inequalities have you seen, heard, read about, or experienced in our community that you want to change?"

"How can we make a difference?"           

    • Circulate to support students as they work through the protocol, reminding them that all writing and responding should be done in silence.
    • After 10 minutes, invite students to move to a Chalk Talk poster of their choice. Ensure students are evenly distributed among the posters.
    • Distribute sticky notes and invite students to read their poster, and then record what they notice and what they wonder about the responses recorded on it.
  • Refocus whole group and conduct a whole-group share, inviting students to report out what they noticed and what they wondered until all groups have shared.
  • Invite students to return to their seats.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with activating prior knowledge: (Activating Prior Knowledge) Before beginning the Chalk Talk protocol, invite students to discuss in pairs some of the inequalities they have read or heard about in this module, and the various ways kids have taken action to make a difference with regard to those inequalities. (MMR)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with organizing ideas for written expression: (Sentence Starters) Consider providing various sentence starters on the Chalk Talk posters for students to choose from during the activity. (Examples: "One inequality I have seen in our community is______." "One problem I have noticed in our community is _______." "Something we can do to make a difference is __________." "I think we can make a difference by _________.") (MMAE)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (10 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the Performance Task anchor chart and remind them that they are working toward writing a press release describing how they took action in their community and the impact of their project.
  • Direct students' attention to the learning targets and read them aloud:

"I can discuss with my peers issues in our community and decide on an issue to take action on and improve."

"I can develop an action plan with my peers outlining how we will address an issue in our community."

  • Focus students on the first learning target and underline issue. Turn and Talk:

"What word could you use to replace the word issue in this learning target?" (problem)

  • Underline the words action plan. Tell students that today they will work as a class to develop a plan for how they will take action to address something they want to change in their community.
  • Focus students on the Working to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart, specifically take care of and improve our shared spaces and the environment, and apply my learning to help our school, the community, and the environment. Tell students that they will be focusing on both of these habits as they develop their action plan.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with vocabulary: (Word Meanings: Making Connections) When discussing the word issue, point out that students discussed issues with their peers when they discussed inequalities during the Chalk Talk activity. Note that they will choose one of the inequalities listed on the Chalk Talk posters as the issue, or problem, they will take action to address. Write the words inequality and problem above the word issue(s) in the learning targets. (MMR)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with motivation: (Summarizing the Target) Ask students to summarize and then personalize the learning targets. (MME)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Debrief: Choosing a Cause and Developing a Plan (30 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the How Can We Make a Difference?: Action Plan anchor chart. Tell students that they will use their brainstorm from the Opening to make a plan about how they will take action in their community.
  • Point out the question at the top of the anchor chart and invite students to read it chorally with you:
    • "What problem is our class trying to address? Why is this important to our class?"
  • Using the Chalk Talk posters and the patterns students noticed after the protocol, guide the class in choosing a problem to address in the community. Record the problem and why it is important to the class on the anchor chart. Refer to How Can We Make a Difference?: Action Plan anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.

Conversation Cue: "Can you say more about that?" (Responses will vary.)

Conversation Cue: "So, do you mean...?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Repeat with the next two questions on the anchor chart:
    • Read each question chorally.
    • Use the Chalk Talk posters and the patterns students noticed to discuss each question.
    • Record student ideas on the anchor chart:

"Describe the need for this problem to be addressed in our community. What facts/data show that this is a problem?"

"What would you like to see change?"

  • Tell students that now that they know what problem they want to address and what they would like to see change, they can decide how they will take action.
  • Record the following on the anchor chart. Refer to How Can We Make a Difference?: Action Plan anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary:
    • Service
    • Show public support for and persuade important people
    • Raise funds
    • Raise Awareness
  • Tell students that these are action strategies, which are ways they can take action to address the problem, and invite them to review what each one means.
  • Invite students to retrieve their Taking Action Research note-catcher against the four action strategies listed on the anchor chart. Use a total participation technique to invite responses from the group:

"Thinking back to our research, who used this strategy to take action? Why do you think so?" (Responses will vary; students should name a person from their research and cite evidence from the corresponding research text.)

  • Invite students to record each person's action strategy in the "How did he or she take action?" column on their note-catchers.
  • Tell students that one way they will take action is to build awareness about the problem they are trying to address through a PSA that they will write as a class. Tell students they will now choose as a class another action strategy for their project: through service, showing public support for and persuading important people, or fundraising.
  • Using the Chalk Talk posters, and the patterns students noticed, guide students to choose an action strategy, circling it on the anchor chart.
  • Refer to the list of projects for ideas of projects students can plan and carry out.
  • Guide students in using that action strategy to develop a project that addresses the problem in their community using the following sentence frame:
    • "Our class is going to support _____________ (cause/problem). We are going to __________ (description of project). Our goal is _________________ (vision)."
  • Record the project by "Our project" on the anchor chart.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the learning targets and how well they worked to contribute to a better world in this lesson.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with working memory: (Highlighting Chosen Issue: Chalk Talk Posters) After the class chooses an issue to address, consider inviting a few students to underline or highlight any references to the chosen issue on the Chalk Talk posters. This makes it easier for students to clearly see references to the issue being discussed, and increases their level of engagement and participation during the discussion. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: (Display, Repeat, and Rephrase) Display, repeat, and invite students to rephrase the lesson questions.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Paraphrasing Definitions: Action Strategies) Consider providing paraphrased definitions of the action strategies to ensure student comprehension of each. Write the paraphrases on the board and invite students to write them in the margin on their own tip sheet. (Examples: Awareness = Tell people about the problem; Service = Volunteer; Advocacy = Ask leaders to do something; Philanthropy: Raise and/or donate money.) Alternatively, challenge students to generate their own paraphrases. (MMR)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Exit Ticket: Project Teams (5 minutes)

  • Tell students that now that they have developed a basic plan for their project, in the next lesson they will break into teams to begin planning specific parts of the project: Advertising, Community Involvement, Gather Resources, and Organize Logistics.
  • Briefly explain what each team will do:
    • Advertising: Get the word out about the project.
    • Community Involvement: Encourage the community to join in the project.
    • Gather Resources: Identify and get the materials you will need for the project.
    • Organize Logistics: Plan other details so the project runs smoothly.
  • Distribute and display Exit Ticket: Project Teams and read the directions aloud, inviting students to follow along on their copy.
  • Invite students to complete their exit tickets. Collect and use students' rankings to form groups before the next lesson. 
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Providing Concrete Examples) To support students in ranking their preferences, consider providing concrete examples of the kind of work students from previous years completed for each of the teams listed on the exit ticket. (MMR)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with sustained effort: (Revisiting Learning Targets) Revisit the learning targets introduced in Opening B. Invite students to rephrase them with specific examples. (MME)

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with written expression: (Oral Response) Read aloud, discuss, and respond to your prompt orally with a partner, a family member, or a student from Grades 3 or 5, or record an audio response. 

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